It was another good week of Gulf South Conference football last weekend. I was 4-0 on my predictions last week and picked the UNA margin of victory correctly.

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Braly Stadium in my hometown of Florence, AL for the GSC-TV Game of the Week at my alma mater. I used my press pass to experience the game from areas I've never had access to before! I started the game on the sideline, moved to my regular section to see friends and enjoyed halftime from the press box. I've included a few snapshots.


GSC Week-in-Review

DSU 45, UWA 24 - Three Statesmen drives started inside the UWA 5 yard line setup by Tiger turnovers. That's tough to overcome for any team, especially against a talented squad like Delta State.

FIT 44, MC 9 - Kudos to Florida Tech's administration for knowing how to choose a Homecoming opponent. Cato + Milton = Touchdown. Good stuff in front of the alumi for the Panthers.

VSU 37, SC 6 - The Valdosta defense has not allowed a touchdown in their last three games. That, coupled with a clicking offensive, produces another blowout.

UNA 31, UWG 28 - A back-and-forth contest that went to the team with the ball last. UWG was utilizing the nice wheels of their senior back-up QB and it seemed to work in their advantage at first, but then was a disadvantage late in the game.


Previews & Predictions

This week around the Southeast has another full slate of conference match-ups. The weather will be cooling a bit in Livingston, Rome, Carrolton and Cleveland, but GSC gridiron action is still heating up!

Thursday's GSC-TV Game of the Week:

#21 Valdosta State (5-2, 3-2) vs. West Alabama (4-4, 1-3) @ 6 PM

UWA will be looking to right some wrongs in front of the home crowd and television audience. Their year has been up-and-down and the Tigers are at a recently unfamiliar .500 so far this season. Turnovers doomed them last week, yet they still have very capable weapons on offense. Reigning GSC Offensive Player of the Year Kyle Caldwell has over 1800 all-purpose yards. He is supported by RB Javae Swindle with 389 rushing yards and receiver Chad Toocheck's 363 yards this season. The Tiger defense is led by Fred Barnes with 45 tackles (6.5 TFL) and Jared Washington (7.0 TFL).

The Blazers have won three consecutive games and all were blowouts, outscoring their GSC foes 139-12. QB Jake Medlock's numbers continue to look good having over 1700 all-purpose yards on the year. He is complimented in the backfield by two strong runners, Austin Scott with 476 rushing yards and Cedric O'Neal with 474 rushing yards. Medlock's favorite passing target is Chris Anderson who has 403 yards on the year. The Black Swarm defense is anchored by Kenny Murphy with 50 tackle and Justin Williams with 49 tackles (7.5 TFL).

How will the defenses perform? VSU's defense is good but will be tested more by the talented West Alabama guys in the short week on the road. And, simply put, the Tigers will have their hands full against the VSU offense. I can see this game being close until later in the third quarter before Valdosta pulls away to victory.

Blazers 30-21


Saturday's Games:

Florida Tech (5-3, 2-2) vs. Shorter (3-4, 1-3) @ 12 PM

Shorter's option is run by QB Eric Dodson with 444 rushing yards and RB Erik Wilson with 388 rushing yards. The Hawks defense is still led by Jordan Shaw with 59 tackles and 8 interceptions and Trevaris Horton with 7.5 tackles for a loss. Yet, the unit has not gotten an interception in the past two games.

The FIT offense is consistently churning out yardage and scores. QB Mark Cato has over 2400 all-purposes yards and 23 touchdowns. Also strongly contributing are RB Trevor Sand, who has 825 rushing yards on the year with 7 TD's, and Xavier Milton with 818 yards and 6 touchdowns. The Panther defense is led by a trio of tacklers, Chris Stapleton (57 tackles, 6 TFL/3 Sacks), Jason Kollack (50 tackles), and J. J. Sanders (47 tackles, 15 TFL/6 Sacks).

Shorter's offense usually has a few good series per game but can't get up enough steam to outlast a quality opponent. Florida Tech's offense will be too much for the Hawks, but if Shorter produces any interceptions, it might be closer than folks are thinking.

Panthers 28-17


Mississippi College (1-6, 0-4) vs. West Georgia (6-2, 2-2) @ 2 PM

The Choctaws come into the game in last place in the GSC averaging just over 14 points per game. The bulk of the carries in their option attack are by QB Kyle Smith (228 yards) and running backs Chris Ingram (349 yards) and Adrian Cerrato (173 yards). Reggie Bennett has 70 tackles for the MC defense.

UWG's offense was led by a senior Emmanuel Taylor last week with Dallas Dickey out with injury. The squad performed well with him at the helm and I wouldn't be surprised if Dickey takes another week to heal with the Choctaws as the opponent. The team leads the GSC in rushing at 250 yards per game led by Seth Hinsley with 624 yards. The top receiver on the team is Shaq Hall with 402 yards. The Wolves defense is led by Laronji Vason with 52 tackles and Alex Armah with 11.5 tackles for a loss.

West Georgia is going to be angry over the heartbreaker in Florence. I could see this being close during a let-down first quarter, but then UWG will take control from there in front of the home crowd. I'm sure the Regional Rankings gave Will Hall a little more to motivate with this week.

Wolves 42-10


#4 North Alabama (7-0, 4-0) vs. #18 Delta State (6-1, 3-1) @ 6 PM

The biggest game this week features the conference's highest nationally-ranked teams.

The Statesmen feature a strong passing offense led by QB Tyler Sullivan (2281 yards and 19 TD's), but last week senior Eddie McCadney had three rushing touchdowns. He is tied for the lead in the GSC with 8 rushing touchdowns. DSU, averaging over 47 points, leads the GSC in several offensive categories even ranking in the Top 5 nationally. One of Sullivan's favorite passing targets is Casey Osbourne with 738 yards and 8 TD's. The Fighting Okra defense leads the nation in tackles-for-loss averaging 11 per game. The unit is led by Richard Nash with 46 tackles (2.5 TFL/1 Sack/1 INT), Landry Tullo (6 sacks) and Lawrence Hopkins with 33 tackles (7.0 TFL).

The Lion offense is getting back to normal with Luke Wingo (over 1100 all-purpose yards in 5 starts) returning to the lineup. The top rusher for the Lions is Lamonte Thompson (648 yards and 8 TD's) while the leading receivers are Delvon Carpenter with 415 yards, Dre Hall with 344 yards and Lee Mayhall with 201 yards. The UNA defense is led by Steven Rich with 50 tackles (4.0 TFL), DSU-transfer Ixavier Triplett with 35 tackles (1.5 TFL) and Jalan Jones with 33 tackles (4.5 TFL).

The feel number three trending. Last season, DSU was the only team to defeat the Lions during the regular season, winning by three points in Florence. This season, UNA has won three close GSC games by three points each game. For a possibly homer reasoning, I'm going with the Lions.

Lions 30-27