• Following three-consecutive road victories, No. 10/5 UWF plays its first game at Blue Wahoos Stadium in 28 days when it welcomes No. 4 West Georgia to town.

TOP STORYLINES
• Saturday's game is the first time UWF has hosted a top-10 opponent in program history.
• It is also the first time the Argos have played a top-10 opponent while they are also ranked in the top 10 of the national rankings.
• UWF is 3-0 in Gulf South Conference play for the first time in program history.
• UWF is 11-8 all-time in GSC regular-season games, with a 5-4 record at home and 6-4 on the road.
• UWF is ranked No. 10 in the AFCA poll (5 by the media of D2Football.com), putting the Argos into the rankings for the eighth-consecutive ranking period after ending the 2017 season ranked No. 2.
• UWF is 1-1 all-time at home on Homecoming - defeating Shorter, 37-0, in 2016 and losing to No. 20 Delta State, 28-25, in 2017.
• UWF is honoring the Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2018 at halftime.

THE COACHES
• UWF coach Pete Shinnick was hired as the first coach in program history on Feb. 6, 2014. He has a 124-57 career record in his 16th season as a head coach, which includes a 50-24 mark at UNC Pembroke from 2007-13 and 53-22 at Azusa Pacific from 1999-05. He was named the AFCA and D2Football.com National Coach of the Year last season.
• West Georgia coach David Dean is in his second season at UWG as the head coach but his 11th as a college head coach. He is 94-31 overall with a 79-29 record at Valdosta State from 2007-15. He led the Blazers to six NCAA Playoffs & two national championships during that time. He has also spent 19 seasons as an assistant at UWG, VSU and Georgia Southern.

ABOUT UWF
    UWF is 5-1 on the season and ranked No. 10 by the American Football Coaches Association (No. 5 in the D2Football.com media poll). The Argonauts have won four-consecutive games following last week's 24-19 come-from-behind road victory at North Alabama - the program's first-ever win over a Division I team.
    The Argonauts are averaging 286.6 passing yards (36th in NCAA; 2nd in GSC) and 162.2 rushing yards on the season. Their 429.7 yards per game are third in the GSC and 41st nationally.
    Graduate QB Sam Vaughn has completed 58 percent of his attempts for 1,579 yards (263.1 ypg) and 14 TD.
    The running back group of Chris Schwarz, Anthony Johnson, Jr., Jervon Newton and Quaide Weimerskirch have combined for 923 yards (153.8 ypg) on 172 carries.
    Junior Tate Lehtio is third in the GSC with 416 yards and second with 29 receptions, along with a touchdown. Senior Ishmel Morrow has 24 receptions for 301 yards and a touchdown. Ezra Saffold (pictured) has caught a TD in four of the last five games and is third in the GSC with four TD receptions.
    The defense ranks 79th nationally, allowing 367 yards per game and forcing 16 total turnovers - good for seventh in the country. UWF leads Division 2 with 10 fumble recoveries.
    Graduate LB Gavin Burford ranks third in the GSC in both tackles (55) and tackles per game (8.0)..
    UWF returns nine starters on offense and eight on defense to begin the year. In terms of statistical production, those players have accounted for 60 percent of last year's offense and 72 percent of the defensive tackles.

ABOUT WEST GEORGIA
    West Georgia enters the game as one of 17 undefeated teams in the D2 ranks. The Wolves are tied for the GSC lead with UWF and Valdosta State.
    UWG leads the country in kickoff return yardage, posting 32.9 yards per return. They are also ninth in kickoff coverage, yielding just 14.5 yards per runback.
    Junior QB Willie Candler is posting 272 yards of total offense to rank second in the GSC. Senior RB Devontae Jackson - the 2017 GSC Offensive Player of the Year, has 95 rushing yards per game and 6.7 yards per carry to go with 126 all-purpose yards.
    Senior DB Montrell Pardue leads the Wolves with 31 tackles and three pass break-ups. Junior Chad Price has six tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and a pair of forced fumbles from his defensive end spot.

SERIES HISTORY
    UWF leads the all-time series 2-1 after picking up a pair of victories in Carrollton last season. West Georgia defeated UWF 69-0 in 2016 to conclude the Argonauts' inaugural season. UWF repaid the favor last year, upending the Wolves twice at University Stadium. The Argos erased a 16-point deficit for a 34-29 win in the regular-season finale that vaulted them into the NCAA Playoffs for the first time in program history. Two weeks later, UWF earned a 17-14 victory in Carrollton in the NCAA Second Round on Thanksgiving weekend.

UWF PART OF HALF OF AFCA TOP-10 GAMES IN 2018
    As if first place in the Gulf South Conference and Super Region 2 ranking implications weren't enough of a selling point, the UWF-West Georgia game is also one of the two matchups this week pitting top-10 teams against one another. No. 3 Ferris State is at No. 2 Grand Valley State in a big GLIAC showdown.
    These are the third and fourth games this season with two top-10 teams meeting each other. UWF and Midwestern State have each been part of two of them.

AFCA TOP 10 MATCHUPS IN 2018
Wk.    Teams    Winner    Score
2    #2 UWF at #10 MSU    MSU    38-17
6    #9 A&M-Comm. at #4 MSU    TAMUC    20-19
7    #4 West Georgia at #10 UWF
7    #3 Ferris St. at #2 Grand Valley State

UWF VERSUS RANKED TEAMS
    The week 2 game against #10 Midwestern State was the eighth-consecutive contest against a ranked opponent for UWF. It was also the 10th in the last 12 games.
    UWF and Ashland were the only schools in Division 2 to play two ranked teams in the first two weeks to start the 2018 season.
    The Argonauts are now 7-5 all-time against ranked teams.
    UWF went 5-3 against ranked teams in 2017, with all five wins coming on the road in consecutive weeks, including four during the NCAA postseason run.

UWF ALL-TIME vs. NATIONALLY RANKED PROGRAMS
2016    
16    Florida Tech    W, 42-39
3    at North Alabama    L, 3-51
2017
21/20    Delta State    L, 25-28
25/23    at West Alabama    L, 18-35
24/18    at West Georgia    W, 34-29
16/18    at Wingate (NCAA)    W, 31-0
24/25    at West Georgia (NCAA)    W, 17-14
17/17    at West Ala. (NCAA)    W, 28-21
3/1    at Indiana (Pa.) (NCAA)    W, 27-17
8/8    vs. A&M-Commerce (NCAA)    L, 27-37
2018    
22/rv    Carson-Newman    W, 19-9
10/7    at Midwestern State    L, 17-38
4/4    West Georgia
* Rankings are AFCA/D2FB

• Prior to the Shorter game, UWF had played 12 games (out of 28) against teams ranked in the top 25 - meaning that 43 percent of the program's games in its history have been against ranked opponents.

UWF WITH SUCCESS AGAINST UNDEFEATED TEAMS
    This week's game against unbeaten West Georgia marks the tenth UWF opponent to enter the game without a loss on the season. The Argonauts are 8-1 in those contests following a 34-21 win over Mississippi College three weeks ago. UWF's lone loss came in a 38-17 setback at No. 10 Midwestern State in week two of this season.
    UWF could still face one more unbeaten team in the 2018 regular season - Valdosta State is currently 6-0 and pays a visit to the Argos on Nov. 3.

RECORD AGAINST UNBEATEN TEAMS
        Record entering
Year    Opponent    the game
2016    at Ave Maria    0-0    W, 45-0
2016    Missouri S&T    1-0    W, 45-28
2016    No. 16 Florida Tech    4-0    W, 42-39
2017    at Missouri S&T    0-0    W, 20-16
2017    at Florida Tech    3-0    W, 23-21
2017    at No. 1 Indiana (Pa.)    13-0    W, 27-17
2018    No. 22 Carson-Newman    0-0    W, 19-9
2018    at No. 10 Midwestern St.    1-0    L, 17-38
2018    Mississippi College    3-0    W, 34-21

UWF AMONG GSC VICTORY LEADERS SINCE 2016
    Even before they played a game in 2016, coaches, administrator and fans across the Gulf South Conference footprint had a feeling UWF could be a major player in the league and region really quick. In their three seasons of football, the Argonauts have won 11 GSC contests, ranking them fourth in the league.

GSC RECORD IN CONFERENCE GAMES SINCE 2016
TEAM    2016    2017    2018    TOTAL
Valdosta State    6-2    5-3    4-0    15-5
West Alabama    6-2    7-1    1-2    14-5
West Georgia    4-4    5-3    3-0    12-7
WEST FLORIDA    3-5    5-3    3-0    11-8
Florida Tech    5-2    3-5    2-1    10-8

UWF TO HONOR 2018 ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME CLASS AT HALFTIME
    The University of West Florida will recognize the 2018 Athletics Hall of Fame inductees at half time of Saturday's contest.
    The class includes Kevin Ducros from men's tennis, Shakira Duncan and Kaley Morris from women's soccer, Daniel Vargas-Vila from baseball and Dr. Pat Wentz, UWF's most recent Faculty Athletics Representative.

RECAPPING LAST WEEK'S WIN AT D1 FCS NORTH ALABAMA 
    Chris Schwarz posted his second-consecutive 100-yard rushing game to help lead UWF to a 24-19 road win over North Alabama. Schwarz finished with 107 yards to lead all rushers as the Argos totaled 182 yards on the ground. Quaide Weimerskirch carried the ball 10 times for 41 yards. Sam Vaughn threw for 172 yards on 16-of-28 with two touchdowns. He connected with seven different receivers. Ezra Saffold had four catches for 56 yards and a touchdown to lead the receiving corps.
    The Argos trailed 10-3 and 13-10 before Vaughn TD run and pass swung the momentum in their favor with a 24-13 lead.
OTHER POST GAME NOTES:
• Ezra Saffold's 55-yard kickoff return is the longest by an Argonaut this season.
• UWF had more rushing yards than passing yards for the second-straight game and just the sixth time in 32 all-time contests.
• UWF tied its season high with three quarterback sacks. The Argos have sacked UNA quarterbacks 10 times in the last two meetings.
• UNA was penalized 13 times for 128 yards – the second most yards by a UWF opponent in program history.
• Austin Williams went 1-for-3 on field goals and saw his streak of consecutive makes end at eight. He now has 39 career field goals, moving into a tie for eighth place on the Gulf South Conference career list.
• The Argos' first scoring drive lasted 8:35, the longest in program history by 33 seconds over a 20-play, 80-yard 8:02 drive against Shorter in 2016 that also ended with a field goal.

ARGOS OVERCOME 15-POINT DEFICIT AT DELTA STATE
    Two weeks ago, UWF found itself trailing Delta State 21-6 at halftime before scoring 24 unanswered for a 30-21 victory. That 15-point deficit proved to be the second-largest overcome for a victory in UWF's brief 3-year history. In last year's regular-season finale at West Georgia, the Argos trailed 16-0 after the first quarter before claiming a 34-29 win that vaulted the Blue & Green into the NCAA Playoffs.
    The largest deficit overcome by a UWF team was at Valdosta State in the fourth game in program history when the Argos spotted the Blazers a 20-0 lead 8:46 into the game. UWF took a 28-27 lead late in the third quarter before falling 40-28.

VAUGHN AMONG TOP 20 DIVISION 2 QUARTERBACKS
    Graduate QB Sam Vaughn made his first career start at Midwestern State in week two in place of week-one starter Mike Beaudry, who suffered an injury against Carson-Newman. 
    Vaughn had a solid game, throwing for 251 yards on 19-of-37 passing with two touchdowns and  two interceptions.
    The Fort Pierce, Fla. native has continued to improve each week since. Against Shorter in week three he threw for a career-high 369 yards on 25-of-34 passing with three touchdowns. His 72.5 percent completion rate was the second-highest in program history, while his 193.8 passing efficiency is third.
    He currently ranks among the NCAA leaders in the following categories:
Category    NCAA Rk.    Stat
Passing TDs    15    14
Completions/game     23    20.5
Passing Yards    19    1,570
Passing Yards/game    24    261.7
Total Offense/game    33    270.3
Pass. Yds/Completion    70    12.8

    In week one, he came on in relief of Beaudry, completing 17-for-29 for 218 yards with a TD and an interception. It was the first time in program history that the Argos had to make an in-game switch at quarterback due to injury.
    Vaughn spent the past four years as a scout team/preferred walk-on at Georgia and did not appear in a game. Prior to the opener, the last time he played in a live game was as a senior at Fort Pierce (Fla.) Central HS in the fall of 2013.

RUSHING ATTACK CONTINUES TO MAKE PROGRESS
    Dating back to the 2015 season when UWF fielded a team of redshirts with five intrasquad scrimmages, head coach Pete Shinnick has continued to praise the improvement of the offensive line.
    That improvement was on display in week three against Shorter with 195 yards rushing on 41 attempts and again two weeks ago with a school-record 268 rushing yards on 36 touches at Delta State.
    Junior RB Chris Schwarz has posted three 100-yard games against the Hawks and Statesmen, and with his 107 yards on 14 carries last week at North Alabama, he is the first player in program history with consecutive 100-yard games.
    He ranks 12th in the country with 6.92 yards per carry.

INDIV. SINGLE-GAME RUSHING YARDS
175    Chris Schwarz    at IUP, 12/9/17
171    Chris Schwarz    at Delta St., 9/29/18
114    Chris Schwarz    at UNA, 10/6/18
101    Tim Bellinger    at Ave Maria, 9/3/16
98    Chris Schwarz    Shorter, 9/15/18
94    Chris Schwarz    at UWG, 11/11/17

TEAM SINGLE-GAME RUSHING YARDS
268    at Delta State, 9/29/18
264    at Ave Maria, 9/3/16
222    at Indiana (Pa.), 12/9/17
195    Shorter, 9/15/18
182    at North Alabama, 10/6/18
170    at Mississippi College, 10/8/16

TEAM RUSHING YARDS PER GAME
Year    Net Rush Yards    Yards Per Game
2016    1091    99.2
2017    1734    115.6
2018    973    162.2