2018 Valdosta State Blazers football team

2018 Valdosta State Blazers football
NCAA Division II champion GSC champion
NCAA Division II Championship Game, W 49–47 vs. Ferris State
Conference	Gulf South Conference
Ranking
AFCA	No. 1
Record	14–0 (8–0 GSC)
Head coach	Kerwin Bell (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Kade Bell (1st as OC, 3rd overall season)
Defensive coordinator	Danny Verpaele (2nd season)
Home stadium	Bazemore–Hyder Stadium

2018 Gulf South Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 1 Valdosta State $^		8	–	0					14	–	0
No. 16 West Georgia ^		7	–	1					10	–	2
Florida Tech ^		5	–	3					8	–	4
West Alabama ^		5	–	3					8	–	4
West Florida		4	–	4					6	–	5
North Greenville		3	–	4					4	–	6
Delta State		2	–	6					2	–	8
Mississippi College		1	–	6					3	–	7
Shorter		0	–	8					0	–	11
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll

The 2018 Valdosta State Blazers football team represented Valdosta State University as a member of the Gulf South Conference (GSC) during the 2018 NCAA Division II football season. They were led by third-year head coach Kerwin Bell, who also served as offensive coordinator. The Blazers played their home games at Bazemore–Hyder Stadium in Valdosta, Georgia. Valdosta State compiled an overall record of 14–0 with a conference mark of 8–0, winning the GSC title. They beat Ferris State in the NCAA Division II Championship Game to win the program's fourth national title.

Preseason

Gulf South Conference coaches poll

On August 2, 2018, the Gulf South Conference released their preseason coaches poll with the Blazers predicted to finish in fifth place in the conference.

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	West Alabama	62 (6)
2	West Florida	59 (3)
3	West Georgia	44
4	Delta State	41
5	Valdosta State	38
6	Florida Tech	32
7	North Greenville	24
8	Mississippi College	16
9	Shorter	8

Preseason All-Gulf South Conference Team

The Blazers had five players at five positions selected to the preseason all-Gulf South Conference team.

Offense

Kenny Benjamin – AP

Jeremy King – OG

Defense

Raymond Palmer – DB

Special teams

Jairus Jones – BT

Stewart Spence – UTL

Schedule

Valdosta State's 2018 regular season football schedule consisted of five home games, four away games, and one neutral site game. The Blazers hosted GSC foes Delta State, North Greenville, Shorter, and West Georgia, and traveled to Florida Tech, Mississippi College, West Alabama, and West Florida. Three games were broadcast on ESPN3, as part of the Gulf South Conference Game of the Week.

The Blazers hosted non-conference foe Albany State from the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) and competed in the Okefenokee Classic against Fort Valley State, also from the (SIAC).

After an undefeated regular season, the Blazers were the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Division II playoffs.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	7:00 p.m.	Albany State*		Bazemore–Hyder Stadium Valdosta, GA		W 45–14	6,770
September 8	7:00 p.m.	vs. Fort Valley State*		Memorial Stadium Waycross, GA (Okefenokee Classic)	ESPN3	W 55–6	3,107
September 15	7:00 p.m.	at No. 8 West Alabama		Tiger Stadium Livingston, AL		W 58–24	3,285
September 22	7:00 p.m.	Shorter	No. 16	Bazemore–Hyder Stadium Valdosta, GA		W 52–0	5,130
September 29	8:00 p.m.	at Mississippi College	No. 13	Robinson-Hale Stadium Clinton, MS		W 63–42	2,654
October 6	1:00 p.m.	Delta State	No. 10	Bazemore–Hyder Stadium Valdosta, GA		W 59–28	2,036
October 13	1:00 p.m.	at Florida Tech	No. 8	Florida Tech Panther Stadium Melbourne, FL		W 51–21	3,679
October 20	3:00 p.m.	North Greenville	No. 7	Bazemore–Hyder Stadium Valdosta, GA		W 44–21	5,514
November 3	5:00 p.m.	at West Florida	No. 7	Blue Wahoos Stadium Pensacola, FL	ESPN3	W 48–21	5,893
November 10	7:00 p.m.	No. 3 West Georgia	No. 5	Bazemore–Hyder Stadium Valdosta, GA (rivalry)	ESPN3	W 47–31	10,558
November 24	1:00 pm	No. 25 Bowie State	No. 3	Bazemore–Hyder Stadium Valdosta, GA (NCAA Division II Second Round)		W 66–16	2,467
December 1	1:00 pm	No. 17 Lenoir–Rhyne	No. 3	Bazemore–Hyder Stadium Valdosta, GA (NCAA Division II Quarterfinal)		W 61–21	1,999
December 8	12:00 pm	No. 11 Notre Dame (OH)	No. 3	Bazemore–Hyder Stadium Valdosta, GA (NCAA Division II Semifinal)	ESPN3	W 30–24	4,672
December 15	4:00 p.m.	vs. No. 2 Ferris State	No. 3	McKinney ISD Stadium McKinney, TX (NCAA Division II National Championship Game)	ESPNU	W 49–47	4,306
*Non-conference game Homecoming 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
RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Final
AFCA	RV	RV	RV	16	13	10	8	7	7	7	5	3	1

Game summaries

Albany State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rams	0	0	0	14	14
Blazers	14	14	10	7	45

Fort Valley State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	0	3	3	0	6
Blazers	21	0	6	28	55

At West Alabama

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blazers	21	14	10	13	58
Tigers	7	7	7	3	24

Shorter

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hawks	0	0	0	0	0
Blazers	10	0	21	21	52

At Mississippi College

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blazers	7	35	14	7	63
Choctaws	7	14	14	7	42

Delta State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Statesmen	14	14	0	0	28
Blazers	14	14	17	14	59

At Florida Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blazers	14	10	0	27	51
Panthers	0	0	7	14	21

North Greenville

	1	2	3	4	Total
Crusaders	0	0	7	14	21
Blazers	13	10	7	14	44

At West Florida

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blazers	14	3	7	24	48
Argonauts	0	14	7	0	21

West Georgia

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wolves	7	14	7	3	31
Blazers	10	24	3	10	47

Bowie State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	7	9	0	0	16
Blazers	0	21	17	28	66

Lenoir-Rhyne

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	0	7	7	7	21
Blazers	10	24	13	14	61

Notre Dame (OH)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	0	10	7	7	24
Blazers	9	0	21	0	30

Ferris State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	10	14	14	9	47
Blazers	7	21	14	7	49

Players drafted into the NFL

See also: 2019 NFL draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Club
7	238	Stephen Denmark	CB	Chicago Bears