GSC/Conference Carolinas Week Six Preview & Picks

October 10th, 2025 3:00am

The front runners - both in the Gulf South Conference and Conference Carolinas - are pulling away from the pack with additional chances to separate themselves as we reach the midway point of the season. Look for programs from both leagues to continue to make noise in the national rankings as Super Region 2 continues to take shape.

Last Week’s Results
Home team in bold
*denotes Conference Carolinas game

• Ferrum 28, Shorter 25

• North Greenville 31, Chowan 16

• No. 4 West Florida 31, Northeastern State 24

• No. 24 UNC Pembroke 44, Erskine 7

• Delta State 45, Barton 0

• Lenoir-Rhyne 32, Valdosta State 25

Must-See Matchup

Chowan (2-3) at No. 5 West Florida (5-0) | Pensacola, Fla. | Saturday, Oct. 11 | 5:00 p.m. | Audio | Stats | Video

Chowan suffered a setback last week at home against North Greenville, but an injury to starting quarterback Maurice Smith, Jr. put the team in a hole early on. Reserve signal caller NyJal “Jelly” Johnson did give the offense a bit of life, throwing for 163 yards and touchdown; however, the run game was able to muster just 108 yards on the day. Thus far in 2025, the Hawks’ primary weakness has been defending the run, where they have allowed 235.8 rushing yards per game and 19 (!) total touchdowns on the ground through five games.

The Argos escaped Oklahoma with a 31-24 win over Northeastern State, holding the Riverhawks to ZERO rushing yards and racking up nine tackles for loss, two sacks, and two interceptions. On offense, Tyree Holloway had eight catches for 113 yards and two touchdowns, while running back TJ Lane had 85 rushing yards on just 14 carries. West Florida is one of the most complete teams in Division II, averaging 34.8 points and 435.4 yards per game on offense while limiting the opponents to just 17.8 points and 275 yards per game with 18 sacks and 12 total takeaways on defense.

What makes this a must-see matchup? Chowan has shown much improvement this season despite a 2-3 overall record. The Hawks only lost by 10 points to then-No. 22 West Alabama a few weeks ago where Smith, Jr. threw for 217 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for 44 yards and a score on the ground. CU won’t pull off the upset against a superior West Florida squad, but - if Smith, Jr. is healthy, they have the athletes to at least make a few exciting plays during the contest.

My pick: No. 5 West Florida

Week 6 Schedule at a Glance
All times Eastern
*denotes Conference Carolinas game

Saturday, Oct. 11 

*North Greenville (2-3,  2-0 CC) at Erskine (0-5, 0-1 CC) | Due West, S.C. | 1:30 p.m. | Stats | Video

After opening the season with a gauntlet of Top 25 foes, North Greenville cruised to a 15-point conference win over Chowan last week, racking up 249 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. The duo of Reggion Bennett and Deshawn Tompkins combined for 191 yards and two of those touchdowns as Tompkins broke out in a big way for a career-best performance. The Trailblazers have put up 30 or more points on three occasions thus far, however the defense has held the opposition under 20 points just once, totaling only six sacks in the process. They may not garner many more sacks this weekend, Erskine wants to run the ball and has given up just seven sacks in five games, but pressure in the backfield is a key for finding success on Saturday.

The Flying Fleet are winless to start 2025 and that is a trend that figures to continue in their second Conference Carolinas contest. Erskine is being outscored by nearly 30 points per contest, allowing 42.2 points and 506.4 yards of offense per game, while the offense has been able to put up just 12.4 points per game and given the ball away 13 times, including nine interceptions by quarterback Ryan Killmer. Running back Logan Coldren is the workhouse for the Fleet offense, carrying the ball 73 times for 310 yards and two scores after transferring in from Limestone during the offseason.

Simply put, the toughest part of North Greenville’s schedule is over and they should cruise to victory on the road against Erskine, so long as they aren’t looking ahead to next week’s face off with Preseason Conference Carolinas Co-Favorite, UNC Pembroke.

My pick: North Greenville

*Barton (0-5, 0-1 CC) at Ferrum (2-3, 1-1 CC) | Ferrum, Va. | 2:00 p.m. | Stats | Video

Barton ranks near the bottom of the NCAA in most statistical categories, including scoring offense (12.6 ppg), scoring defense (40.2 ppg), total offense (208.6 ypg), total defense (464 ypg), third down conversions (26.7%), and completion percentage (51.9%). The Bulldogs have no true quarterback, rotating between Trevor Nored and Al Lee, while relying too much on a run game led by Jackson Parrish who can’t find a hole behind a porous offensive line. Another glaring weakness for BC is its run defense, which surrenders 220.8 yards per game and 4.9 yards per carry to the opposing backfield. That doesn’t bode well for a contest against a run-first team like Ferrum. 

Ferrum escaped a close contest with Shorter last week, picking up its first Conference Carolinas win thanks to explosive plays on offense and a standout special teams performance from linebacker Ryan Schmidt. Schmidt was named League Special Teams Player of the Week after blocking a field goal in the first quarter and an extra point attempt in the second quarter, leaving Shorter four-points short of a victory. Omarza Gray erupted for six receptions and a school-record 203 receiving yards a week ago, scoring the go-ahead touchdown on a 92-yard catch and run with a minute left in the game. Ferrum’s bread and butter is controlling the clock and running the ball as the Panthers average 41 rush attempts and 113.8 rushing yards per game.

If you’re a bettor, I would take the under in an affair that will most likely be a low-scoring battle. Ferrum has a great chance to put together back-to-back League wins against a Barton program still searching for some semblance of an identity on both sides of the ball.

My pick: Ferrum

Valdosta State (2-3) at The Citadel (2-3) | Charleston, S.C. | 2:00 p.m. | Audio | Stats | ESPN+

The Blazers have now lost two in a row after last week’s setback to Lenoir-Rhyne at home, and now travel to face an additional tough test on the road against NCAA Division I foe, The Citadel. The pass game continues to be the downfall for Valdosta State as quarterback Harris Boyd threw four more interceptions last week, bringing his season total to a whopping EIGHT picks compared to just one touchdown while completing just 54% of his pass attempts. Such an anemic air attack allows defenses to key in on the run game, where experienced back Eric Watts has still been able to collect 259 rushing yards (6.0 ypc) and four touchdowns despite consistently facing a stacked box.

The Citadel collected win number two on the year last week, holding a talented Chattanooga offense to just 10 points on defense while the well-known ground game put up 336 rushing yards (5.8 ypc) and scored three times. Quarterback Quentin Hayes is a big-play threat with every snap, scoring three touchdowns on the ground in the triple-option offense.

Valdosta State doesn’t stand a chance this week, and their losing streak will run to three straight games as they’ll still be looking for answers heading into next week’s Homecoming contest inside Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.

My pick: The Citadel

*Shorter (1-5, 0-2 CC) at No. 22 UNC Pembroke (5-1, 2-0 CC) | Pembroke, N.C. | 3:00 p.m. | Stats | Video

Shorter was just minutes away from picking up its first Conference Carolinas win a week ago, but the defense gave up a 92-yard pass play with just a minute remaining in the team’s second straight loss. Quarterback Jeb Wells had a relatively strong day, throwing for 185 yards and two touchdowns to go along with 69 rushing yards and two scores on the ground; however, his accuracy (51% on the year) continues to be an issue in key moments. Defensively, the Hawks showed promise with seven tackles for loss and two interceptions as the unit has 12 takeaways and 16 sacks on the year.

The Braves continue to roll following last week’s 37-point victory over Erskine, where quarterback Tre Robinson tossed a league record six touchdown passes, including two apiece to Jaquan Albright, Malik Brown, and Que Kennedy. Pembroke’s rise up the rankings is indicative of a program that continues to improve weekly on both sides of the ball, outscoring opponents by an average margin of 16 points per game while outgaining opposing offenses 407.2 to 274 per game.

Momentum is on Pembroke’s side in this one, and they’ll be playing in front of a packed home crowd as the main event during the college’s annual homecoming weekend. Look for Robinson to have another big day and the defense to take full advantage of an inconsistent Shorter offense.

My pick: No. 22 UNC Pembroke

BYE WEEK: No. 25 Delta State, No. 14 West Alabama

Gulf South Players to Watch

• Ja’Kobe Clinton, West Florida, r-Sr., LB – Clinton is an absolute menace on the outside for the Argo defense, having racked up a team-high 37 tackles and 10.5 tackles for loss to go along with three sacks for the nation’s No. 1-ranked rush defense. This week’s game against Chowan provides UWF a chance to hold an opponent to zero rushing yards (or less) for back-to-back weeks and Clilnton should tally at least one mark in the sack column.

• Tyree Holloway, West Florida, Jr., WR – Holloway has made the most of his opportunities since transferring from Chowan to West Florida during the offseason. The North Carolina native has surpassed the century mark in receiving yards three times already this year and has five touchdowns to his name. Over the last two weeks, Holloway has 13 catches for 254 yards and three scores, and he has a great chance to keep the hot streak alive against his former team on Saturday.

• Eric Watts, Valdosta State, Sr., RB – Watts has been one of the few consistent performers for this Valdosta State offense, racking up 259 rushing yards (6 ypc) and four touchdowns out of the backfield. This week, he faces off against a defense in The Citadel that has given up an average of 147.2 rushing yards per game to the competition and allows 4.4 yards per carry, showing that there is room to run if Watts can find the right gaps.

Conference Carolinas Players to Watch

• Logan Coldren, Erskine, r-So., RB – As mentioned above, Coldren is the workhorse of the Flying Fleet offense after transferring in from the now-defunct Limestone program. This week, he faces off against many former coaches who now serve on staff at North Greenville, including Trailblazer Head Coach Nate Garner and Offensive Coordinator Dustin Noller. Cauldron will have every chance to make a statement against a host of familiar faces on Saturday.

• Que Kennedy, UNC Pembroke, So., WR – Pembroke has weapons all over the field, and Kennedy has risen above the crowd in recent weeks. The second-year wideout has eclipsed 100 yards in two straight weeks while scoring seven touchdowns across just five games for a Braves’ offense that shows no signs of slowing down.

• Brooks Russ-Martin, North Greenville, Grad., DB – Russ-Martin leads North Greenville with 30 total tackles on the year, including one tackle for loss, four pass breakups, one interception, and one forced fumble. The experienced defensive back leads NGU against an Erskine offense that has already thrown nine interceptions in the first five games, and that number is sure to grow this weekend.

Conference Carolinas Standings

Gulf South Conference Standings