• Following a crucial 26-10 road win over North Greenville to snap a 2-game losing skid, the UWF football team returns home for its biggest game of the year - playing host to seventh-ranked and undefeated Valdosta State. 

TOP STORYLINES
• Saturday's UWF-VSU game is the only matchup between teams ranked in the top-10 of the Super Regional 2 rankings.
• After a record 3-0 start in Gulf South Conference, the Argos are 4-2 for the first time in program history.
• UWF is 12-10 all-time in GSC regular-season games, with a 5-6 record at home and 7-4 on the road.
• UWF is hosting a ranked opponent at Blue Wahoos Stadium for the third time in 2018 - a school record occurrence. They previously defeated Carson-Newman and fell to West Georgia.

THE COACHES
• UWF coach Pete Shinnick was hired as the first coach in program history on Feb. 6, 2014. He has a 125-59 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.
• Valdosta State coach Kerwin Bell is in his third season and has led the Blazers to a 21-7 record. He guided the team to an 8-3 mark in 2016 the NCAA Playoffs. He spent the previous nine years at Jacksonville Univ. where he went 66-35.

ABOUT UWF
    UWF is 6-3 on the season and in third place in the Gulf South Conference at 4-2. The Argos are also eighth in the latest NCAA Super Region 2 rankings, which help determine the seven teams that advance to the NCAA Division 2 Playoffs.
    The Argonauts are averaging 247.4 passing yards and 133.6 rushing yards on the season. Their 381.0 yards per game are fourth in the GSC and 80th nationally.
    Graduate QB Sam Vaughn has completed 56 percent of his attempts for a GSC-leading 2,201 yards (244.6 ypg). He also has 20 passing touchdowns.
    The running back group of Chris Schwarz, Anthony Johnson, Jr., Jervon Newton and Quaide Weimerskirch have combined for 1,210 yards (134.4 ypg) on 233 carries.
    Senior Ishmel Morrow has 35 receptions for 506 yards and three touchdowns. Junior Tate Lehtio has 476 yards and 34 receptions, along with a touchdown. Ezra Saffold has four TD receptions, which ranks as the fourth-highest total in the GSC.
    The defense allows 374.8 yards per game and has forced 21 total turnovers - good for 14th in the country and first in the GSC. UWF 12 fumble recoveries rank second in the country behind CSU Pueblo's 13.
    Graduate LB Gavin Burford ranks second in the GSC in tackles (72) and in tackles per game (8.0). LB Andre Duncombe, Jr. is third in tackles for loss with 8.5. DB Jamel Jackson is tied for fourth in the league with three interceptions. His 83-yard pick-6 last week at North Greenville was a school record and the second-longest in the conference this season.

ABOUT VALDOSTA STATE
    Valdosta State is 8-0 on the season and tied for first in the GSC with West Georgia at 6-0. The Blazers are coming off a bye week.
    VSU averages an eye-popping 53.4 points and 527.8 yards per contest. They are very balanced with 237.9 rushing yards and 289.9 passing yards per game. They Blazers rank second in the GSC, allowing just 19.5 points per game, just ahead of UWF's 20.2.
    Sophomore QB Rogan Wells is averaging 236.1 passing yards per game and has 26 touchdowns with just three interceptions. He also averages 37 yards rushing.
    The Blazers have four receivers with at least 14 catches, led by Lio'undre Gallimore and Brian Saunds, who each have over 500 yards receiving.
    Redshirt freshman Jamar Thompkins has 714 rushing yards through eight games with 10.8 yards per carry.
    Junior DB Ravarius Rivers has 49 tackles to lead the defense. VSU has eight players with at least four tackle for loss on the year. Sophomore LB Craig Watts has 47 stops with a pair of sacks and a pass breakup. Their 30 sacks lead the GSC with UWF's 24 in second.

SERIES HISTORY
    Valdosta State leads the all-time series 2-0 after a pair of wins the past two seasons. The Blazers claimed a 40-28 win in Valdosta in 2016 in UWF's first-ever GSC contest. VSU led 20-0 early on and had to hold off a late UWF rally for the win. UWF outgained VSU 379-340 overall and 385-210 in the air. The UWF defense dominated for large portions of the game, including the fourth quarter when the Blazers were held to just 24 total yards.
    In last year's contest at Blue Wahoos Stadium, UWF made five trips to the red zone but managed just four field goals in a 30-19 loss. Antoine Griffin had 109 receiving yards and Austin Williams was 4-of-5 on field goals.

WE'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE
    UWF snapped a 2-game losing streak last week at North Greenville and improved to 6-3 overall and 4-2 in GSC play - it's best league record after six games in three years of football.
    A year ago, the Argonauts were not in the first NCAA Super Region 2 rankings and collected wins over North Alabama and at West Georgia to springboard into the postseason for the first time in program history.
    After not appearing in last week's initial 2018 rankings, UWF is now No. 8 with games against No. 2 VSU and No. 5 West Alabama ahead. With three losses, the Argos may be playing elimination games the rest of the way.

NCAA SUPER REGION 2 RANKINGS
Rk.    School    SR 2 Rec.    D2 Rec.    LW
1     West Georgia     9-0    9-0    1
2     Valdosta State     8-0     8-0    2
3     Lenoir-Rhyne     8-1     8-1    3
4     Bowie State     6-1     7-1    5
5    West Alabama    6-3    6-3    nr
6     Florida Tech     6-3    6-3    4
7     Albany State     5-3     5-3    10
8    WEST FLORIDA    6-3    6-3    nr
9    Wingate    6-3    6-3    nr
10    Fayetteville St.    6-1    6-1    nr
Dropped out
--     Carson-Newman     5-3     5-3    6
--    Morehouse     6-2     6-2    7
--    Virginia Union     5-3     5-3    8
--    Tuskegee     5-2     5-3    9

    Last year, none of the bottom four teams in the initial rankings made the playoffs.

UWF TO HONOR 33 ARGOS ON SENIOR DAY
    The 2018 season marks the fourth fall season of football student-athletes at the Univesity of West Florida. With tat being said, the program will recognize 33 players on Saturday for their devotion and committment to the early stages of the UWF football program.
    The group below includes two players who sufferedn career-ending injuries, eight graduate transfers who will exhaust their eligibility after this season, 11 who transferred into the program, the first 3-year graduate in program history, eight players from the inaugural recruiting class and the only three remaining players from the originial nine that joined in the spring of 2015.

Part of the Original 9
Marvin Conley, Antoine Griffin, Anthony Ryals.

Part of the Inaugural Signing Class
Alex Condor, Austin Dukes, Asante Griffin, Mark Harris, Bruce Holloman, Austin Johnson, Josh Lindsey, Malik Williams.

First to Graduate in 3 years
Chris Schwarz.

Players who transferred into the program
Sam Adams, Ben Antoine, Johnathan Coleman, Clifton Flemming, Jamel Jackson, Aleden McClellon, Ishmel Morrow, Kalu Onumah, TJ Stokes, Prince Thomas, Hiram Velez.

Graduate Transfers
Glen Bethel, Damarius Brinson, Gavin Burford, Andre Godfrey, Ezra Saffold, Tyler Threatt, Jefferson Vea, Quaide Weimerskirch.

Players who suffered career-ending injuries
Leroy Taylor, Reggie Turner.

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 a stretch of 12 games for the Argonauts.

    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.

    After the loss to No. 4 West Georgia, the Argonauts are now 7-6 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    L, 7-27

7/7    Valdosta State    

* 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 Valdosta State marks the 11th UWF opponent to enter the game without a loss on the season. The Argonauts are 8-2 in those contests following the West Georgia game three weeks ago.

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

2018    No. 4/4 West Georgia    6-0    L, 7-27

2018    No. 7/7 Valdosta State    8-0    ???

UWF AMONG GSC VICTORY LEADERS SINCE 2016

    Even before they played a game in 2016, coaches, administrators 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 12 GSC contests, ranking them fourth in the league.

RECORD IN GSC REGULAR-SEASON

TEAM    2016    2017    2018    TOTAL

Valdosta State    6-2    5-3    6-0    17-5

West Alabama    6-2    7-1    3-3    16-6

West Georgia    4-4    5-3    6-0    15-7

WEST FLORIDA    3-5    5-3    4-2    12-10

Florida Tech    5-2    3-5    3-3    11-10

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    18    20

Completions/game     27    19.0

Passing Yards    19    2,192

Passing Yards/game    22    243.6

Total Offense/game    46    247.0

Pass. Yds/Completion    67    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.

    Below are the debut performances of the players who have started a game at QB for UWF:

Name    Game

Kaleb Nobles    at Ave Maria, 9/3/16

20-for-28, 229 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT

Mike Beaudry    at Missouri S&T, 9/2/17

20-for-31, 192 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT

Grey Jackson    Miss. College, 10/6/17

10-for-21, 101 yards, 2 rush for 5 yards

Sam Vaughn    at MSU Texas, 9/8/18

19-for-37, 251 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT, 

4 rush for 22 yards

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 three weeks ago with a school-record 268 rushing yards on 36 touches at Delta State.

    Junior RB Chris Schwarz has posted two of his three 100-yard games this season, and with his 107 yards on 14 carries at North Alabama, he is the first player in program history with consecutive 100-yard games.

    He ranks 24th in the country with 6.31 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    1202    133.6

WHICH RECEIVER IS IT
GOING TO BE THIS WEEK?

    UWF has one of the deepest receiving groups in the country. The Argos regularly dress around 10 and have 8-10 catch at least one ball each game.

    A total of seven different players have at least 10 receptions and nine have caught a TD pass.

    Last season, a total of eight players had 10 or more receptions and 11 reached the end zone.

ARGOS HAVE FORCED TURNOVERS IN 32 OF 35 GAMES

    The UWF defense forced a school-record five turnovers earlier this season at Mississippi College and four more at Delta State.

    UWF has 12 fumble recoveries to rank second in the country (behind CSU Pueblo with 13) and nine interceptions - including a pick 6 by David Richardson against FIT and another by Jamel Jackson last week at North Greenville, extending it's active streak of games with at least one turnover to 11 games.

    Further inspection shows the Argonauts have gotten at least one turnover in 32 of their 35 all-time games. UWF is 21-10 when getting a turnover and 1-3 when unable to force a sudden change.

GRIFFIN FINALLY BREAKS ONE,
GETS FIRST PUNT RETURN TD

    For all of the 'firsts' that have occured in UWF history over three seasons of football, the team had not returned a punt of kickoff for a score... until two weeks ago against Florida Tech.

    Antoine Griffin weaved his way through the FIT punt coverage unit for a 61-yard TD return early in the second quarter. Following a solid day last week at North Greenville where he had three returns of 10 yards or more, he is 12th in the country and second in the GSC with 16.1 yards per return.

    For the record, the Argonauts do have two scores on punt returns but both came on blocked punts.

AUSTIN WILLIAMS BREAKS
INTO GSC ALL-TIME FG TOP 10

    UWF PK Austin Williams made three field goals against Delta State and was named the Gulf South Conference Special Teams Player of the Week for the third time in 2018 and sixth time in his two years in Pensacola.

    He went 1-for-3 a week later at UNA, seeing his consecutive field goals made streak end at eight.

    His 1.3 FG per game rank eighth nationally. He is 65th in total points scored (62) and 73rd overall and third in the GSC in points per game (6.9).

    The junior from Phelan, Calif. made a GSC-record 27 field goals in 2017 and now has 39 career field goals, moving into a tie for eighth place on the Gulf South Conference career list.

GSC CAREER FIELD GOALS MADE

51    Will Rhody, Valdosta St.    2002-04

    James Knowles, UNA    1982-85

48    Ted Clem, Troy State    1984-87

46    Coy Nance, Harding    2000-03

43    Ki Tok Chu, UT-Martin    1986-89

40    Jason Williams, Southern Ark.    1997-00

    Nelson McMurrain, UNA    1978-82

39    Austin Williams, UWF    2017-PR

    Zach Wright, OBU     2005-08

37    Daniel Andersen, Valdosta St.    2009-12

    He has also kicked off 49 times this year with 23 touchbacks and is 1-for-1 in on-side kicks.

PUNT UNIT PROVING
TO BE VERY STINGY

    UWF freshman punter Dawson Hamlin enters the Valdosta State game with a 38.6 yards per punt average over 40 kicks.

    While his gross yardage ranks seventh in the GSC, the UWF coverage unit has limited teams to attempt a return six times for a total of nine return yards - that's a 0.86 yards per return avg! That is first in the country.

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