September 9th, 2026 5:00am
Two weeks into the season, Gulf South football has already delivered its share of statement wins and early separation. Valdosta State has climbed into the D2Football.com Top 10, and West Alabama's road upset of then-No. 21 Lenoir-Rhyne last week vaulted the Tigers into the national rankings for the first time this season. With records and reputations both on the line, here's a look at what's ahead this week around the league.
LAST WEEK (home team in bold)
No. 15 Valdosta State 59, Warner (NAIA) 10
West Alabama 34, No. 21 Lenoir-Rhyne 23
Wingate 36, Delta State 13
THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE (all times Eastern)
Saturday Sept. 12
Pittsburg State (0-2) at No. 25 West Alabama (2-0) | Livingston, Ala. | 1:00 PM | STATS | VIDEO
Pittsburg State heads to Livingston to face 25th-ranked West Alabama in desperate need of answers after an 0-2 start that has included a staggering 932 yards and 63 points allowed over two games. The Gorillas actually moved the ball reasonably well in last week's 21-10 loss to Emporia State — 279 total yards, with Syre Padilla rushing for 87 yards and a touchdown — but quarterback Jake Wolff has already thrown five interceptions on the season, including two more in that setback, and the defense has yet to record a single sack through two games. Blake Carr has been a bright spot up front with 16 tackles on the year, 10 of them coming against Emporia State.
Coming off West Alabama's 34-23 statement win at then-No. 21 Lenoir-Rhyne, the Tigers have vaulted into the D2Football.com Top 25 at No. 25 and now sit 2-0 heading into their next test. Quarterback Luther Richesson has been the engine of the attack, completing 38-of-56 passes for 416 yards and five touchdowns on the season — including a 201-yard, two-score effort in the Lenoir-Rhyne win — while also picking up 137 yards on the ground, with Jaylon York (eight catches, 95 yards) and Kaden Cupp (three grabs, two touchdowns) giving him reliable targets. Defensively, linebacker Ayden Gibson has been disruptive up front with two sacks — both coming in the win over the Bears — and safety Joseph Harper leads the unit with 11 tackles, part of a defense that has notched three interceptions and five sacks through two games, including a pair of defensive scores from legend Doggett that proved decisive against LR.
Prediction: No. 25 West Alabama
No. 10 Valdosta State (2-0) at Fayetteville State (2-0) | Fayetteville, N.C. | 6:00 PM | STATS | VIDEO
Valdosta State rolls into North Carolina ranked 10th in the latest D2Football.com Top 25 poll after a dominant 2-0 start, capped by a 59-10 demolition of Warner (NAIA) in which the Blazers rushed for 275 yards and six touchdowns. The ground game has been the engine all season — 830 yards and 12 touchdowns on 134 carries through two games — with Shawn Paschall (128 yards) and dual-threat quarterback Champ Harris (100 rushing yards, 145 passing yards, four total touchdowns) leading the way, while Kenai Grier chipped in two scores of his own against Warner. The defense has done its part too, picking off two passes in the Warner win with several players generating pressure up front as 12 defenders have at least one tackle for loss.
Fayetteville State enters its showdown with national-power Valdosta State unbeaten at 2-0, having just survived a defensive slugfest against UNC Pembroke, 10-7, on a game-winning 34-yard field goal. Quarterback Jamir Dismukes was efficient in that win, completing 18-of-27 passes for 219 yards and a touchdown, with Marcus Fleming turning in a monster day of seven catches for 128 yards; on the season, Fleming leads all Broncos with 171 receiving yards, and Braylon Vinson paces the ground game with 169 yards and a touchdown, including a 63-yard breakaway against the Braves. The defense has really been the calling card, though, racking up eight sacks through two games — four from Osirus Rhodes — and three interceptions from ZyKing Patillo, with Jatavien Taylor leading the way against Pembroke with eight tackles.
Prediction: No. 10 Valdosta State
Delta State (0-2) at Central Missouri (1-1) | Warrensburg, Mo. | 8:00 PM | AUDIO | STATS | VIDEO
Delta State heads to Central Missouri sitting at 0-2 after a 36-13 home loss to Wingate that dropped its total offensive output to just 266 yards through two games — that’s 133.0 per contest and includes only 70 rushing yards on 43 carries to start the year. Quarterback Emile Picarella III has carried what little offense there is, completing 18-of-36 passes for 186 yards and two touchdowns on the season, including a 12-of-19, 140-yard, two-touchdown effort in the Wingate loss. The defense has been stretched thin too, managing just one sack and zero interceptions through two games, though Alonzo Jackson II posted 10 tackles a week ago and leads the team with 275stops on the year.
Central Missouri brings one of the more explosive offenses in the country into its home date with Delta State, having bounced back from a 44-25 loss to sixth-ranked CSU Pueblo in the opener with a 49-10 blowout of Missouri Western State last week. Quarterback Jordan Pachot has been sensational through two games, throwing for 572 yards, five touchdowns, and a 286-yard-per-game average, and he tossed four more scores in the Missouri Western win while DJ Brown punched in three rushing touchdowns as part of his 209-yard, five-touchdown season on the ground. The Mules are averaging 37 points and 460.5 total yards a game as a team, and while the defense has been the lesser story, Marcus Williams' 12 tackles and Kyan Franklin's 1.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss in the Missouri Western game hint at the kind of pressure Central Missouri is able to bring.
Prediction: Central Missouri
Columnist Picks
Last week: 1-2
2026 season: 4-2