• The 20th-ranked UWF football continues play in the 2019 NCAA Division II Football Championship with a second round contest against No. 1 seed and defending national champion Valdosta State Saturday at 1 p.m. Eastern Time/Noon CT.
• The winner of the game will advance to the Super Region 2 title game next Saturday and face the winner of the Carson-Newman at Lenoir-Rhyne game.

ABOUT UWF
• UWF enters the game at 9-2 overall and finished second in the Gulf South Conference with a school-record of 8-1. The Argonauts have established additional school records for home wins (5), longest winning streak (7) and best start this season.
• The Argo offense is averaging 397.2 yards per game which ranks third in the GSC and 55th nationally. The 248.9 passing yards per game is also third in the league and 42nd in the country.
• Not to be outdone, the UWF defense has been lights out all season and ranks 38th in the NCAA, allowing 313.7 yards per game. The scoring defense of 15.3 points per game is eighth nationally. The Argos are tenth in the country in red zone defense, 15th in fewest passing yards allowed and fourth in fumbles recovered with 15. The UWF defense has forced at least one turnover in every game this season and in 44 of the 48 games in program history
• On special teams, UWF is second nationally in net punting - after ranking 12th in the country in 2018 - and 38th in punt return defense. They average 6.9 yards per punt return and 21.9 yards per kickoff return. Sophomore Dawson Hamlin was named Second Team All-GSC and is fourth in the country with a 44.0 average.

ABOUT VALDOSTA STATE
• Valdosta State is 10-0 on the season and won the GSC with  an 8-0 mark. The Blazers have won a GSC-record 25-consecutive games, including their last 13 at home, which is the second-longest active stretch in Division 2 behind L-R's 14.
• The Blazers are fourth nationally and first in the league in total offense at 523.2 yards per game, while ranking 23rd in total defense, holding teams to just 299.2 yards per game.
• The Blazers are eighth nationally in rushing offense at 269.6 yards per game.
• VSU QB Rogan Wells is 10th nationally in total offense at 299.5 yards per game to lead the GSC. Wells is fourth nationally in completion percentage at a 71.7 clip for the season, while he is averaging 19.0 completions per game for 24th nationally and first in the GSC.
• VSU is 14th nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 16.6 points per game.

SERIES HISTORY
• Valdosta State has won all four games in the series, going 2-0 in Valdosta and 2-0 in Pensacola. UWF has trailed 20-0, 21-0, 14-0 and 20-0 in each game of the series.
• In 2016, VSU handed UWF a 40-28 defeat in the Argos' first-ever GSC game and fourth overall. That was also the game which saw the largest comeback in UWF history. 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. VSU transfer QB Kaleb Nobles threw for 330 yards with two TD and four interceptions in his first game back since paying for the Blazers from 2013-15.
• In 2017, the Blazers used a 21-0 lead to end with a 30-19 victory. UWF had four drives stall in the red zone and settle for a school-record four field goals by Austin Williams. The Blazers sacked UWF QB Mike Beaudry six times. UWF outgained VSU 378-300.
• Last season, the seventh-ranked Blazers scored the final 31 points for a 48-21 win in Pensacola. The Argonauts led 21-17 late in the third quarter before allowing a Rogan Wells TD, a field goal and a pick-6 in a 7:35 span that shifted the momentum to VSU.
• Three weeks ago, VSU defeated UWF 26-21 in Valdosta to win the GSC regular-season title. The Blazers led 20-0 at the half before holding off an Argonauts rally. UWF finished with 282 yards of total offense and 190 passing. The defense held VSU to 136 yards in the second half. Austin Reed was 19-of-32, including 14-of-23 for 156 yards after halftime. Shomari Mason carried the ball 12 times for 87 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Tate Lehtio had 103 yards receiving on eight catches. It was the second 100-yard game of his career.

UWF DOMINATES WINGATE IN NCAA FIRST ROUND
• UWF scored 31 unanswered points and forced three turnovers to defeat fourth-seeded Wingate, 38-17, in the first round last week.
• Anthony Johnson, Jr. ran for 109 yards on 19 carries as UWF advanced to the second round for the second time in as many appearances. The Argos rushed for 195 yards and outgained the Bulldogs 360-264 overall.
• Austin Reed threw for 165 yards with eight completions and three of those going for touchdowns. Tate Lehtio led the team with five receptions for 81 yards a score.
• Quentin Randolph followed last week's career game with two more touchdowns on two catches. He has now caught five touchdowns in his last nine receptions.

SHINNICK BITES
• Pete Shinnick was hired as the first head coach in program history on Feb. 2, 2014. The Colorado graduate (1988) is 31-17 in four seasons at UWF.
• He is 134-63 in his 18th season as a head coach, with previous stops at UNC Pembroke (50-24 from 2007-13) and Azusa Pacific (53-22 from 1999-2005).
• Shinnick was named the 2017 AFCA & D2Football.com Division 2 National Coach of the Year after leading the Argonauts to the national championship game in just the second season of play. He was also the AFCA Region 2 Coach of the Year.
• With last week's victory over Wingate, he improved to 5-3 as a head coach in the Division II Playoffs.
• He was 0-2 at UNC Pembroke. His 2009 team was ranked 13th before losing to Arkansas Tech, 41-13, on the road in Russellville, Ark. In 2013, the 8th-ranked and 2nd-seeded Braves had a first-round bye but fell to 16th-ranked and 3rd seeded North Alabama, 37- 13, in Pemboke, N.C.
• He also went 2-5 in the NAIA Playoffs while at Azuza Pacific from 1999-2005. The Cougars reached the national semifinals in 1999 & 2004.

UWF MAKES NCAA HISTORY AGAIN
• By virtue of its bid to the 2019 NCAA Playoffs, UWF has become the first football team in NCAA history to earn a postseason bid twice in the first four years of the program's existence.
• Two years ago the Argonauts made history with their first-ever tourney appearance, becoming the fastest startup program to reach the postseason. They followed that up with four-consecutive wins - all on the road against Top 25 teams - to reach the NCAA D2 National Championship Game.

RECORD 11 ARGOS NAMED TO ALL-GSC TEAMS
• For the third-consecutive year the UWF football team had a record number of student-athletes recognized by the Gulf South Conference as all-league performers, including quarterback Austin Reed who was named the Offensive Freshman of the Year.
• First team representatives included running back Shomari Mason, wide receiver Tate Lehtio, offensive tackle Samuel Antoine, defensive lineman Ian Bush, nickelback Trent Archie and special teams utility player De'Marco Artis.
• Argos on the second team were Reed, wide receiver Quentin Randolph, offensive guard Joe Wintrick, linebacker Kedrick Bradley and punter Dawson Hamlin..

DEFENSE CONTINUES TO BE THE ARGOS' CALLING CARD
• The UWF defense has been solid just about every week this season. The Argonauts rank first or second in the GSC in scoring defense, total defense, passing defense, red zone defense, QB sacks, turnovers gained, first downs allowed, third down defense and fourth down defense.
• UWF ranks eighth nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 168 points for 15.3 points per game and has given up only 20 TD (12 rushing/6 passing/2 INT) this season.
• The defense was especially stout from halftime of the Shorter game through the Valdosta State contest (7 and a half games), allowing just 10 TD in those 30 quarters.

D GETTING STINGIER AS THE GAME GOES ON
• The UWF defense has been strong all season, but especially in the second half. UWF has allowed 64 second half points for a 5.8 points per half average. They have had three second half shutouts.
• The Argos have allowed just two touchdowns in the third quarter (1 each by Carson-Newman and Florida Tech) and six TD and two FG in the fourth quarter (TDs by Miss. College, North Greenville, Valdosta State, West Alabama and Wingate (2), and FG by Delta State and UWA).
• UWF has made excellent hafltime adjustments, allowing fewer yards in the second half  than the first in eight games this season (it had the potential to be nine but UWG went from 48 to 88 yards in that contest). The biggest changes came against Valdosta State when the Blazers went from 20 points and 374 yards to six points and 98 yards.
• Additionally, they have held six teams to less than 100 yards after halftime.

ARGOS HAVE FORCED TURNOVERS IN 44 OF 48 GAMES
• The UWF defense forced a school-record six turnovers earlier this season at West Georgia, and four more at Florida Tech last month. A pair of  forced fumbles last week at Wingate extended the streak of consecutive games with a turnover to 11. The last time UWF didn't record a turnover was the finale at West Alabama last year.
• Further inspection shows the Argonauts have gotten at least one turnover in 44 of their 48 all-time games. UWF is 30-12 when getting a turnover and 1-5 when unable to force a sudden change.
• UWF finished 2018 with 15 fumble recoveries to rank first nationally and 10 interceptions - including a pick 6 by David Richardson against FIT and another by Jamel Jackson at North Greenville. The Argos did not get a turnover in the finale at West Alabama, ending their streak of games with at least one turnover at 12 games.
• The turnover prize for UWF is a navy blue Turnover Shield and was created by Defensive Coordinator Darian Dulin prior to the 2018 campaign. The 3-inch round wooden disk has a large UWF logo on a navy blue background. The shield, which is a replica of what Jason and Argonauts may have used, is then signed in silver marker by the player(s) who had a hand in creating the turnover.

WHOA! ARGOS LOVING THE RED (ZONE)
• If Joey Russo's character from the hit sitcom 'Blossom' was watching the Argos this season, he might blurt out his catch phrase of 'WHOA!' numerous times during a game. That's because UWF has converted 26 of 32 times inside the red zone through eight games.
• On the flip side of that, UWF ranks fifth in the country after allowing the opposition just a 60.7 percent conversion rate (17-of-28) inside the 20-yard line. Opponents have scored just nine TDs and eight FGs in the red zone on 28 trips. The Argos have surrendered just three passing TDs inside the Red Zone.

REED LAYING FOUNDATION FOR SPECIAL CAREER
• Redshirt freshman QB Austin Reed became the third player in program history to win a GSC Freshman of the Year award this season, joining current senior Trent Archie (Defensive FOY in 2016) and former QB Mike Beaudry (Offensive FOY in 2017).
• The St. Augustine, Fla. native averages 237.2 passing yards per game, has 27 passing TDs and a passing efficiency rating of 158.8. His passing ypg are first and his passing TD total leads the GSC and ranks 10th in Division 2.
• He is the first quarterback in program history to win his first seven starts and is currently 9-1 as a starter. Kaleb Nobles and Mike Beaudry each won their first two games as starters in 2016 and 2017, respectively. Beaudry holds the UWF records for wins as a starter with 10. Nobles is third with six and Sam Vaughn is fourth with five.

RANDOLPH, LEHTIO LEADING DEEP RECEIVER CORPS
• UWF has a strong group of receivers led by senior All-GSC selections Quentin Randolph and Tate Lehtio. Lehtio paces the team with 55 receptions for 65.3 yards per game and Randolph has 674 yards with seven touchdowns and 61.3 yards per game. He ranked 13th nationally with 21.06 yards per reception.
• Randolph leads UWF with 13 20-plus yard plays. Kevin Grant and Shomari Mason are tied for second with six, including three of those for TD for each. Not to be outdone, Ka'Ron Ashley and Tate Lehtio have four catches of at least 20 yards each, with two of Ashley's going for TD.
• The Argos have tossed 16 of their 37 20-yard passes for scores and three of their six long play runs for a TD.

LEHTIO SETS UWF RECEPTIONS RECORDS
• Senior WR Tate Lehtio pulled down his 137th career reception in the home win over Mississippi College, moving past Antoine Griffin for the most receptions in school history. Lehtio (Lee-tee-oh) now has 175 receptions. With his 75-yard day at Florida Tech, he passed Griffin on the career receiving yards list and now has 1,996. Griffin held that mark with 1,697 from 2016-18.

RUNNING BACK BY COMMITTEE
• The UWF rushing offense ranks 84th in the country and sixth in the GSC at 148.3 yards per game. While that may not seem like daunting numbers, with the team's pass-oriented attack, the numbers are actually the best in program history, progressing higher than the previous season in each year of the program.
• The Argos have attacked the ground game with a quartet or rushers in junior Anthony Johnson, Jr., sophomore Jervon Newton, freshman Shomari Mason and sophomore Jaden Gardner - three of which rank in the top 20 of the GSC.
• Johnson is the elder statesman and leader of the group. He has a team-high 468 yards on 106 rushes in 2019 for a 4.4 yards per carry avg. and four TD. He rushed for 109 yards on 19 carries with a TD last week at Wingate.
• Newton is second in the group with 41.1 yards per game and a 4.3 yards per carry average, including two 100-yard performances. He has missed the last two games with an injury and is expected to return this week at Valdosta State.
• Mason is arguably the most explosive in the group and has 416 yards on 64 carries for an eye-popping 7.7 per carry avg. - the third highest in the GSC and the highest by a RB. He has a pair of 100-yard performances against Delta State and at Florida Tech. He suffered a knee injury against West Alabama in the regular-season finale and is out for the remainder of the season.
• Gardner also has breakaway speed and is putting up 3.3 yards per rush over 67 carries. He had 15 rushes for 55 yards and a TD last week at Wingate.

WILLIAMS RESUMES PURSUIT OF GSC FIELD GOAL RECORD
• Senior PK Austin Williams made a 37-yard field goal last week at Wingate, pushing his career total to 43 and moving into a tie for fifth place on the Gulf South Conference career field goals made list. Those 43 place him sixth among active Division 2 kickers in the country.
• He is just 4-for-11 on the season but has made 3-of-5 in the last five games.
• Additionally, he now has 242 career points, extending his total as the program's all-time leading scorer. He has 43 career field goals and 115 career extra points.