CLEVELAND, Miss. - Delta State is back on the road this Saturday, September 30 as they continue GSC play. The Statesmen will travel to Livingston, Alabama to take on fellow GSC founding member West Alabama. Michael Gross will have the call on the Statesmen Sports Network. All remaining Statesmen Football games will be broadcast exclusively through FloFootball.

Delta State had a successful Pig Pickin' weekend last Saturday with a 56-20 win over Shorter. The Statesmen racked up 572 yards of total offense against the Hawks as quarterback Patrick Shegog was named GSC Offensive Player of the Week with seven total touchdowns.

Kickoff between the Delta State Statesmen and the West Alabama Tigers is scheduled for Saturday, September 30 at 4:00 pm.



SERIES NOTEBOOK: WEST ALABAMA
• This is the 70th meeting all-time between Delta State and West Alabama, the largest number of games DSU has played against any school in football. Delta State owns a 38-28-3 record in the series and has won the last four games in the series. Delta State won both meetings at Parker-McCool in 2022 with scores of 20-7 and 17-7 in those games, respectively.

• The Tigers opened their season at home by hosting #5 Angelo State. ASU racked up 482 yards of offense and held UWA to 196 as they kept the Tigers off the scoreboard in the second half of their 38-14 win. The Tiger defense snagged three interceptions in the win as well.

• UWA traveled to Gaffney, SC in week two and picked up a 27-13 win at Limestone. The Tigers had 285 yards of total offense in the win as quarterback Spencer Areneaux completed seven passes for 168 yards and two scores.

• West Alabama traveled to North Greenville in week three to open GSC play. The Tigers out-gained the Crusaders 390-388, but ultimately fell 23-16 after the two teams could only score a field goal a piece in the second half.

• The Tigers resumed GSC play last week as they hosted the Mississippi College Choctaws. MC led the majority of the game until a UWA touchdown with 10 minutes left in the game gave the Tigers a 10-7 win. UWA out-gained MC 312-243 in total offense. Tiger rusher Bry Webb was responsible for the majority of their offense with 169 yards on 29 carries.


LEADING THE WAY: Delta State is at or near the top of several statistical categories at the Division II level. Quarterback Patrick Shegog lead the country in points responsible for, having scored 114 points through four games. He is also ranked second in the nation in passing efficiency with a rating of 197.7. The Statesmen offense is tied for 8th in the nation in scoring with an average of 45.2 points per game. They also rank 5th in DII with an average of 503 yards per game. Alfonso Franklin is ranked 15th in the nation in kickoff return average at 31.3 yards per attempt, and 26th in all-purpose yards with 519.

FLIPPING THE FIELD: Delta State Special Teams continue to make a difference as they played another clean game on Saturday against Shorter. The kickoff return team has kept all returns this season inside the 30 yard line and the punt team is averaging less than three yards per return. Kickoff returner Alfonso Franklin set up two DSU scores on Saturday with returns of 74 and 56 yards.

TICKETS:  Visit https://uwa.hometownticketing.com/embed/event/186 to purchase in advance.

STAY IN THE KNOW: You can listen or watch along! Visit www.GoStatesmen.com > Sports > Football > Schedule and click the speaker (Magic 107.5) in the game information and follow the prompts. Download the Statesmen Nation app where you can listen to or stream the event, see rosters and stats, receive notifications about promotions and partnerships, and much more!