November 2nd, 2022 4:00am
Delta State puts it's Top 10 ranking on the line this week against West Georgia which reenters the Top 25 at No. 24 overall. Both Delta State and West Florida seemed poised for a postseason berth, while the Wolves of UWG are looking to make a case for a third Gulf South team to represent Super Region 2.
Last Week’s Results (home team in bold)
No. 8 West Florida 36, West Alabama 24
Valdosta State 58, North Greenville 37
West Georgia 49, Shorter 14
No. 7 Delta State 52, Mississippi College 38
Week Ten Schedule (all times Eastern)
North Greenville at Shorter*
Saturday, Nov. 5 at 12:00 PM | Rome, Ga. | Audio | Stats | Video
The Crusaders' offense was firing on all cylinders last week despite a loss to Valdosta State. Freshman of the Year frontrunner Dylan Ramirez had the best performance of his young career with 324 passing yards and three touchdowns while also running for a score and Corey Watkins scampered for 92 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. However, the defense was gashed for 534 yards, including 226 on the ground and did not force a turnover in a game for just the third time all season.
Things continue to spiral downward for the Hawks after last week’s loss to West Georgia as Shorter is now 0-6 in Gulf South play and has not won a conference game since 2015. Quarterback Aeneas Dennis continues to be a bright spot, ranking among the League’s elite with 194 yards of total offense per game and 18 total touchdowns (16 passing, two rushing). The passing defense is one of the tops in the conference (184.7 yards allowed per game), but they have just seven takeaways and allow over 35 points per contest.
If North Greenville can carry its offensive momentum over in this one, we should see a complete game from NGU and another road win in the books.
My pick: North Greenville
No. 24 West Georgia at No. 7 Delta State*
Saturday, Nov. 5 at 3:00 PM | Cleveland, Miss. | Stats | Video
West Georgia still has a chance to pick up a share of the Gulf South title and this Saturday is a must-win for the Wolves. Winners of three in a row, UWG has been getting it done on both sides of the ball scoring 38.6 per game and giving up just 20.1 points to opponents. Harrison Frost (2,185 passing yards, 17 touchdowns) and Jaxton Carson (778 rushing yards, 17 touchdowns) will need to be in top form if UWG has any chance to keep its postseason hopes alive.
With last week’s road win over Mississippi College, the Statesmen earned at least a share of the Gulf South title and will be looking to win it outright against the GSC’s top defense. Delta State is winning by an average of nearly 22 points per game on the strength of an offense led by quarterback Patrick Shegog who has over 2,000 passing yards, 500 rushing yards and 27 total touchdowns.
The DSU defense continues to “bend, not break”, but this weekend they will need to do a bit better than usual. This could be a shootout as both offenses are high-powered, but West Georgia has the defense to get stops when needed and make this a nail-biter.
My pick: Delta State
Mississippi College at West Alabama*
Saturday, Nov. 5 at 3:00 PM | Livingston, Ala. | Stats | Video
West Alabama’s defense held UWF to under 400 yards last week despite the loss, showing their strength is still on the defensive side of the ball. The second-ranked defense among all GSC schools in both total defense (332.4) and scoring defense (20.7) and will rely heavily on a powerful defensive line that leads the league in sacks (24) and tackles for loss (21) to slow down the potent Mississippi College run game.
The Choctaws are looking to right the ship after back-to-back losses and have a good chance this week against West Alabama. Defenses have been keying in a star running back Marcus Williams, but that has allowed freshman quarterback John Henry White to explode on the scene as the signal caller is averaging 122.8 rushing yards per game after taking over as the full-time starter in Week Six.
Look for this one to be a low-scoring affair as Mississippi College wants to control the pace and run the back against a West Alabama defense that has controlled the line of scrimmage for much of the 2022 season.
My pick: Mississippi College
No. 8 West Florida at Valdosta State*
Saturday, Nov. 5 at 7:00 PM | Valdosta, Ga. | Audio | Stats | Video.
The West Florida ground game continued to be in control throughout last week’s win over West Alabama despite leading-rusher Shomari Mason being held in check. Quarterback PeeWee Jarrett ran for a UWF quarterback record 114 yards and a score while throwing another to David Durden late in the third quarter. The Argos have now won five in a row, outsourcing opponents by an average of 16.2 points per game during the streak.
The Blazers returned to form last week, putting up 58 points and 534 yards of total offense to snap a four-game losing streak. Ivory Durham tossed four touchdown passes, while running back Seth McGill ran and threw for a score in the win. However, the defense still surrendered nearly 40 points and over 400 yards to NGU which doesn’t bode well as Valdosta State prepares to take on the potent offense of West Florida.
Valdosta State never lost its groove on offense, but the defense continues to show it doesn't have the speed needed to keep up in the GSC. West Florida will spread things out and put plenty of points on the board as it has all season.
My pick: West Florida