2017 Valdosta State Blazers football team

2017 Valdosta State Blazers football
2017 Valdosta State Blazers football
Conference	Gulf South Conference
Record	5–4 (5–3 GSC)
Head coach	Kerwin Bell (2nd season);
Defensive coordinator	Danny Verpaele (1st season)
Home stadium	Bazemore–Hyder Stadium
	Seasons ← 2016 2018 →

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 Gulf South Conference football standings
v t e
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

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll

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	Albany State University Coliseum Albany, GA		L 12–29	4,011
September 9	7:00 p.m.	vs. Fort Valley State*		Memorial Stadium Waycross, GA (Okefenokee Classic)		Canceled^[a]
September 16	7:00 p.m.	No. 10 North Alabama		Bazemore–Hyder Stadium Valdosta, GA	ESPN3	L 24–30	4,191
September 23	7:00 p.m.	at West Florida		Blue Wahoos Stadium Pensacola, FL		W 30–19	5,416
October 7	2:00 p.m.	at No. 25 West Georgia		University Stadium Carrollton, GA (rivalry)	ESPN3	L 13–42	4,927
October 14	7:00 p.m.	Mississippi College		Bazemore–Hyder Stadium Valdosta, GA	ESPN3	W 55–3	4,455
October 21	3:00 p.m.	No. 19 Delta State		McCool Stadium Cleveland, MS		W 34–13	3,451
October 28	7:00 p.m.	Florida Tech		Bazemore–Hyder Stadium Valdosta, GA		W 42–14	3,018
November 4	3:00 p.m.	No. 23 West Alabama		Bazemore–Hyder Stadium Valdosta, GA		L 14–38	5,921
November 11	1:30 p.m.	Shorter		Barron Stadium Rome, GA		W 52–0	1,100
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from American Football Coaches Association Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^{^[a]}The game between Fort Valley State and Valdosta State was cancelled in advance of the arrival of Hurricane Irma.^[2]

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Final
AFCA	11	RV	RV	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

^ "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.