2021 Valdosta State Blazers football team

The 2021 Valdosta State Blazers football team represented Valdosta State University as a member of the Gulf South Conference (GSC) during the 2021 NCAA Division II football season. They were led by third-year head coach Gary Goff. The Blazers played their home games at Bazemore–Hyder Stadium in Valdosta, Georgia.

2021 Valdosta State Blazers football
GSC co-champion
ConferenceGulf South Conference
Ranking
AFCANo. 2
Record12–2 (6–1 GSC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorPhillip Ely (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorJason Semore (1st season)
Home stadiumBazemore–Hyder Stadium
(capacity: 11,249)
2021 Gulf South Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
No. 2 Valdosta State +^  6 –1   12 –2  
No. 12 West Florida +^  6 –1   9 –2  
No. 13 West Georgia ^  5 –2   9 –3  
West Alabama  4 –3   6 –4  
Delta State  3 –4   5 –6  
Mississippi College  2 –5   4 –6  
North Greenville  2 –5   5 –6  
Shorter  0 –7   3 –8  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from AFCA Poll

The Blazers competed for the 2021 NCAA Division II Football Championship Game against Ferris State.[1] This was their first appearance in the championship game since the 2018 game.[1]

Previous season

The Blazers finished the 2019 season 10–1, 8–0 in Gulf South Conference (GSC) play, to finish first in the conference standings. On August 12, 2020, Gulf South Conference postponed fall competition in 2020 for several sports due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] A few months later in November, the conference announced that there will be no spring conference competition in football.[3] Teams that opt-in to compete would have to schedule on their own. The Blazers did not compete in the 2020 season and opted out of spring competition.[4]

Schedule
DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 47:00 p.m.Savannah State*No. 6
FloSportsW 53–75,003[5]
September 115:00 p.m.at Virginia Union*No. 5
W 51–75,019[6]
September 187:00 p.m.Albany State*No. 4
  • Bazemore–Hyder Stadium
  • Valdosta, GA
FloSportsW 21–33,376[7]
October 27:00 p.m.ShorterNo. 4
  • Bazemore–Hyder Stadium
  • Valdosta, GA
FloSportsW 49–135,346[8]
October 97:00 p.m.Delta StateNo. 4
  • Bazemore–Hyder Stadium
  • Valdosta, GA
FloSportsW 55–03,063[9][10]
October 162:00 p.m.at No. 10 West AlabamaNo. 4
FloSportsW 42–172,563[11]
October 233:00 p.m.at Mississippi CollegeNo. 2
FloSportsW 41–141,256[12]
October 307:00 p.m.No. 3 West GeorgiaNo. 2
  • Bazemore–Hyder Stadium
  • Valdosta, GA (rivalry)
FloSportsW 36–346,102
November 63:00 p.m.North GreenvilledaggerNo. 2
  • Bazemore–Hyder Stadium
  • Valdosta, GA
FloSportsW 31–214,781
November 135:00 p.m.at No. 3 West FloridaNo. 2
FloSportsL 42–617,193
November 271:00 p.m.No. 13 West Georgia*No. 5
W 66–352,087
December 41:00 p.m.No. 10 Bowie State*No. 5
  • Bazemore–Hyder Stadium
  • Valdosta, GA (NCAA Division II Quarterfinal)
W 41–172,444
December 1112:00 p.m.No. 9 Colorado Mines*No. 5
  • Bazemore–Hyder Stadium
  • Valdosta, GA (NCAA Division II Semifinal)
ESPN+W 34–313,197
December 189:00 p.m.vs. No. 1 Ferris State*No. 5
ESPNUL 17–583,933
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AFCA Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

Rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
PollPre1234567891011Final
AFCA6–T5444442 (7)2 (4)2 (6)2 (5)52

References
  1. Brendan Savage (December 11, 2021). "Ferris State to play for Division II national football championship". Booth Newspapers. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  2. Paige Dauer (August 12, 2020). "Gulf South Conference and Valdosta State University announces postponement of several fall 2020 sports". WALB. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  3. "GSC Announces 2020-21 Basketball Schedule; Updates Status of Football, Soccer, and Volleyball". Gulf South Conference. November 17, 2020. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  4. "GSC Status Update of Football, Soccer and Volleyball". Valdosta State University, Department of Athletics. November 17, 2020. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  5. Connor DelPrete (September 5, 2021). "Kickin' It With Quinn: Episode 2, 2021 Season". WSAV-TV. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  6. Dominic Tibbetts (September 12, 2021). "Valdosta State blows out Virginia Union on the road 51-7". WTXL-TV. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  7. Dominic Tibbetts (September 19, 2021). "No. 3 Valdosta State football improves to 3-0 with 21-3 win over Albany State". WTXL-TV. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  8. Dominic Tibbetts (October 2, 2021). "No. 3 Valdosta State football takes care of Shorter in lopsided win". WTXL-TV. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  9. Shane Thomas (October 8, 2021). "Playoff Mentality: No. 3 Blazers host sliding Statesmen Saturday". Valdosta Daily Times. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  10. Dominic Tibbetts (October 9, 2021). "No. 3 Valdosta State football cruises past Delta State in 55-0 shutout". WTXL-TV. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  11. Shane Thomas (October 18, 2021). "Roaring Back: No. 4 Blazers overcome early hole to bury Tigers". Valdosta Daily Times. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  12. Dominic Tibbetts (October 23, 2021). "No. 2 Valdosta State football collects 21st straight regular season conference win". WTXL-TV. Retrieved October 26, 2021.


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