2016 Valdosta State Blazers football team

The 2016 Valdosta State Blazers football team represented Valdosta State University during the 2016 NCAA Division II football season. They were led by head coach Kerwin Bell, who was in his first season at Valdosta State. The Blazers played their home games at Bazemore–Hyder Stadium and were members of the Gulf South Conference.

2016 Valdosta State Blazers football
Conference	Gulf South Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 18
2016 record	8–3 (6–2 GSC)
Head coach	Kerwin Bell (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	James Rowe (1st season)
Home stadium	Bazemore–Hyder Stadium (Capacity: 11,249)

2016 Gulf South Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 2 North Alabama $^		7	–	0					11	–	2
No. 18 Valdosta State ^		6	–	2					8	–	3
West Alabama		6	–	2					7	–	4
Florida Tech ^		5	–	2					8	–	3
West Georgia		4	–	4					7	–	4
West Florida		3	–	5					5	–	6
Delta State †		3	–	5					4	–	6
Mississippi College		1	–	7					3	–	7
Shorter		0	–	8					0	–	11
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant † – Delta State's record is officially listed as 2–8 (1–7) due to the use of ineligible players in two wins, but the opponents are not credited with wins. Rankings from AFCA Poll

Schedule

Valdosta State announced its 2016 football schedule on March 17, 2016. The schedule consists of 5 home, 4 away, and 1 neutral site games in the regular season. The Blazers will host GSC foes Delta State, Shorter, West Florida, and West Georgia, and will travel to Florida Tech, Mississippi College, North Alabama, and West Alabama.[1]

The Blazers will host only one non-conference game against Albany State of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and travel to one neutral site game against Kentucky State from the same conference as Albany State.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	7:00 p.m	Albany State*		Bazemore–Hyder Stadium Valdosta, GA		W 16–7	5,401
September 17	7:00 p.m.	at No. 20 North Alabama	No. 22	Braly Municipal Stadium Florence, AL		L 19–44	8,216
September 24	7:00 p.m.	West Florida		Bazemore–Hyder Stadium Valdosta, GA		W 40–28	6,810
October 1	2:00 p.m.	vs. Kentucky State*		Memorial Stadium Waycross, GA		W 48–10
October 8	7:00 p.m.	No. 12 West Georgia	No. 25	Bazemore–Hyder Stadium Valdosta, GA (Rivalry)		W 38–27	4,105
October 15	4:00 p.m.	at Mississippi College	No. 17	Robinson-Hale Stadium Clinton, MS		W 42–41	5,979
October 22	3:00 p.m.	Delta State	No. 16	Bazemore–Hyder Stadium Valdosta, GA		W 56–27	5,402
October 29	7:00 p.m.	at Florida Tech	No. 14	Florida Tech Panther Stadium Melbourne, FL	ESPN3	L 20–38	3,247
November 5	3:00 p.m.	at West Alabama	No. 23	Tiger Stadium Livingston, AL	ESPN3	W 37–22	5,269
November 12	7:00 p.m.	Shorter	No. 23	Bazemore–Hyder Stadium Valdosta, GA		W 44–0	3,654
November 19	1:00 p.m.	No. 12 UNC Pembroke*	No. 19	Bazemore–Hyder Stadium Valdosta, GA (Division II Playoffs First Round)		L 21–24	20,184
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

References

1. "Football Announces 2016 Schedule; Prepares for Spring Practice" (Press release). Valdosta State University Department of Athletics. March 17, 2016. Retrieved September 24, 2016.