The University of West Florida football team got back on track on Saturday, and in a big way.
The Argos snapped a two-game losing skid with a 31-0 shutout over Mississippi College, returning to a .500 record both overall (2-2) and in Gulf South Conference play (1-1). It was UWF’s first shutout since the 2019 season that, ultimately, ended in a National Championship.
It was also a hefty record-setting night for UWF’s defense. The Argos allowed just seven yards of total offense, consisting of negative-27 yards rushing and 34 yards passing, which is the second fewest allowed in GSC history (only behind negative-9 total yards when North Alabama beat Miles College in 1987). The negative-27 yards is a UWF school record, and is the least amount of yards allowed by any Division II school this season.
Catch your breath yet? UWF initially struggled in the game, but eventually wore down the Mississippi College defense to pick up what became a strong win in Week 5 for the Argos.
UWF (2-2, 1-1 GSC) have another tough test on Saturday, with the Argos hosting Delta State (4-1, 1-0 GSC), the 19th-ranked team in the AFCA Division II Coaches Poll (more on that below). The Statesmen are coming off a dominant 54-9 win against Chowan University last week.
“Obviously, we’re not satisfied. There’s a lot of meat left on the bone. We’ve got to keep getting better and keep improving. We’ll take wins when we can get them,” UWF football head coach Kaleb Nobles said after Saturday’s win. “I know our crowd is going to show up and be a big factor in the game. … They’ll be a good team. … It’ll be the most disciplined team and smartest team that wins that game, probably.”
Here are some weekly notes to keep an eye on leading up to Saturday’s contest.
UWF football still in receiving votes category of AFCA Division II poll
UWF received one less vote in this week’s American Football Coaches Association Division II poll, marking now back-to-back weeks the Argos haven’t been ranked in the Top 25. It doesn’t come at much surprise, given the quality of win over Mississippi College, now 0-5 on the year.
The Argos technically sit in 28th with 19 votes, slotted just behind Central Missouri (45 votes) and Augustana (28 votes).
Three Gulf South Conference teams remain in the rankings, with Valdosta State sitting in third. The Blazers topped Shorter, 59-6, on Saturday in dominant fashion. West Alabama improved four spots to No. 11 after its game against Erskine College got postponed to Nov. 16.
Delta State also saw improvement from 20th to 19th.
Nationally, the top three teams remain the same between Harding College, Grand Valley State and Valdosta State. Colorado School of Mines was upset by Colorado Mesa, and fell eight spots to No. 12. Also falling out of the top 10 was Lenoir-Rhyne, falling to No. 17 after dropping a game to Emory & Henry; and Minnesota State is now ranked No. 15 after losing to Sioux Falls.
Three GSC teams are in D2Football top 25 poll, but not the Argos
As expected, UWF stayed out of the top 25 teams in the D2Football.com poll. There aren’t any “receiving votes” teams in this poll, so it’s hard to say exactly how far “out” of the poll the Argos are.
The same three Gulf South Conference teams – Valdosta State, West Alabama and Delta State – remain in the top 25. Valdosta State is third, West Alabama is 13th (a two-spot improvement) and Delta State is 25th, joining the poll after a brief absence.
Similar to the AFCA poll, Harding, Grand Valley State and Valdosta State remain the top three teams in the poll. Elsewhere, Findley, Saginaw State and Delta State all joined the poll this week.
GSC Weekly Awards
Despite the strong performance on defense from a handful of Argos, plus a solid outing from Virgil Lemons on special teams (again), no UWF players earned weekly honors from the Gulf South Conference.
However, a few players were nominated for awards: Jay Sharp (offense), after 136 yards rushing and a touchdown; Kyriee Lewis (defense), who posted three tackles, including a sack for an 8-yard loss, and a 52-yard pick-6; and Virgil Lemons (special teams), who had six punt returns for 104 yards, including a 58-yarder returned for a touchdown.
Valdosta State and Delta State swept the awards for Week 5. On offense, Valdosta QB Sammy Edwards, earning his second Offensive Player of the Week award, went 19-for-29 in the air for 348 yards and two touchdowns, while also posting a 1-yard rushing touchdown.
Defensively, Delta State’s Ahmir Taylor and Valdosta State’s Larry Elder split the award. Taylor posted a team-high six tackles with 1 1/2 for a loss, including a sack and a forced fumble. Elder, earning his second Defensive Player of the Week award, had five tackles, including 2 1/2 sacks, and an interception.
For special teams, Delta State’s Jonathan James blocked both a field goal and an extra point, the latter of which led to a two-point scoop and score for the Statesmen. Delta State running back Nick Clark won Freshman of the Week after 42 yards and a touchdown from 3 yards out. He’s the first Freshman of the Week from Delta State since 2011.
Around the League
There was still one postponement due to the affects of Hurricane Helene, with Erskine College and West Alabama moving their game to November. However, it’s still yet to be seen how the Week 5 cancellations between West Alabama-Delta State and Delta State-Erskine will affect the league moving forward.
At the time, and they still are, West Alabama and Valdosta State were both undefeated.
Here are the Gulf South Conference standings entering Week 6:
- Valdosta State (5-0 overall, 1-0 Gulf South Conference)
- West Alabama (4-0 overall, 1-0 Gulf South Conference)
- Delta State (4-1 overall, 1-0 Gulf South Conference)
- North Greenville (2-2 overall, 1-0 Gulf South Conference)
- West Florida (2-2 overall, 1-1 Gulf South Conference)
- Chowan (1-3 overall, 1-1 Gulf South Conference)
- Erskine (1-3 overall, 0-1 Gulf South Conference)
- Mississippi College (0-5 overall, 0-3 Gulf South Conference)
Erskine College is the only team off this week, as there are three conference matchups scheduled for Saturday. Chowan has a non-conference game against Shorter. Here’s the Week 6 slate:
- Shorter at Chowan, 12 p.m. CST/1 p.m. EST on Saturday
- West Alabama at Mississippi College, 2 p.m. CST/3 p.m. EST on Saturday*
- Delta State at West Florida, 4 p.m. CST/5 p.m. EST on Saturday*
- Valdosta State at North Greenville, 6 p.m. CST/7 p.m. EST on Saturday
