2017 Valdosta State Blazers football team
The 2017 Valdosta State Blazers football team represented Valdosta State University as a member of the Gulf South Conference (GSC) during the 2017 NCAA Division II football season. They were led by second-year head coach Kerwin Bell and played their home games at Bazemore–Hyder Stadium in Valdosta, Georgia. Valdosta State compiled an overall record of 5–4 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, placing in a five-way tie for second in the GSC.
| 2017 Valdosta State Blazers football | |
|---|---|
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| Conference | Gulf South Conference |
| Record | 5–4 (5–3 GSC) |
| Head coach |
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| Defensive coordinator | Danny Verpaele (1st season) |
| Home stadium | Bazemore–Hyder Stadium (capacity: 11,249) |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 12 West Alabama $^ | 7 | – | 1 | 10 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 2 West Florida ^ | 5 | – | 3 | 11 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 21 Delta State ^ | 5 | – | 3 | 9 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 19 West Georgia ^ | 5 | – | 3 | 9 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Valdosta State | 5 | – | 3 | 5 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| North Alabama | 5 | – | 3 | 5 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Florida Tech | 3 | – | 5 | 5 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mississippi College | 1 | – | 7 | 1 | – | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shorter | 0 | – | 8 | 0 | – | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Schedule
Valdosta State announced its 2017 football schedule on March 17, 2017. The schedule consisted of four home games, five away games, and one neutral site game in the regular season. The Blazers hosted GSC foes Florida Tech, Mississippi College, North Alabama, and West Alabama and traveled to Delta State, Shorter, West Florida, and West Georgia.[1]
The Blazers were scheduled to travel to both non-conference games, which were against Albany State of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SAIC) a neutral site game against Fort Valley State, also from the SIAC.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2 | 7:00 p.m. | at Albany State* | No. 11 | L 12–29 | 4,011 | ||
| September 9 | 7:00 p.m. | vs. Fort Valley State* |
| Canceled[a] | |||
| September 16 | 7:00 p.m. | No. 10 North Alabama | ESPN3 | L 24–30 | 4,191 | ||
| September 23 | 7:00 p.m. | at West Florida | W 30–19 | 5,416 | |||
| October 7 | 2:00 p.m. | at No. 25 West Georgia | ESPN3 | L 13–42 | 4,927 | ||
| October 14 | 7:00 p.m. | Mississippi College |
| ESPN3 | W 55–3 | 4,455 | |
| October 21 | 3:00 p.m. | No. 19 Delta State | W 34–13 | 3,451 | |||
| October 28 | 7:00 p.m. | Florida Tech |
| W 42–14 | 3,018 | ||
| November 4 | 3:00 p.m. | No. 23 West Alabama |
| L 14–38 | 5,921 | ||
| November 11 | 1:30 p.m. | Shorter | W 52–0 | 1,100 | |||
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- ^[a] The game between Fort Valley State and Valdosta State was cancelled in advance of the arrival of Hurricane Irma.[2]
Rankings
| Week | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Final |
| AFCA | 11 | RV | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
References
- "Football Announces 2017 Schedule; Prepares for Spring Practice" (Press release). Valdosta State University Department of Athletics. March 17, 2017. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
- "Fort Valley State Game Cancelled Due to Hurricane Irma" (Press release). Valdosta State University Department of Athletics. September 7, 2017. Retrieved September 12, 2017.