CLEVELAND, MISS. – The 19^th ranked Delta State University Football team will hit the road for their first Gulf South Conference road game against the Argonauts from the University of West Florida this Saturday (Oct. 12) afternoon.
 
Kickoff will be at 4:00 p.m., (CDT) at PenAir Field on the campus of the University of West Florida. The Voice of the Statesmen, Michael Gross will have the call on the Statesmen Sports Network and West Florida will provide the live stream on the FloFootball
 
The Statesmen (4-1, 1-0 GSC), the No. 19 team in the week five AFCA Division II Top 25 poll, and the No. 25 team in the D2football.com top 25 poll defeated Chowan 54-9 in their conference opener last weekend at Parker Field at McCool Stadium
 
West Florida (2-2, 1-1 GSC) earned their first conference win last week, defeating Mississippi College 31-0.
 
The Coaches
Todd Cooley enters his 11th season as head coach at Delta State.

He was hired as the program's 19th all-time head coach on January 25, 2013. In his first campaign as head coach, Cooley guided the Statesmen to a 7-3 overall record and a second-place finish in the Gulf South Conference. Inheriting a team that went 3-7 the year before, the high-energy Cooley built a cohesive family atmosphere in less than nine months. That energy helped feed a program's turnaround in just one season. In 2014, Cooley led the Statesmen to a 9-2 record, along with DSU's seventh Gulf South Conference title and a berth in the NCAA Division II Playoffs, the school's first since 2011.

For his efforts, Cooley was named Gulf South Conference Coach of the Year by his peers in the league. In all, 11 Statesmen were named to the All-GSC squad, including GSC Freshman of the Year Tyler Sullivan, who quarterbacked DSU to a 4-1 mark as a starter.

DSU averaged 40.0 points per game offensively, while averaging 472.2 yards per game. The Statesmen pulled off three victories over nationally ranked opponents after defeating No. 21 North Alabama 37-34, No. 14 Tarleton State 38-36 and No. 24 Valdosta State 63-55.  

In 2014, Cooley earned his second consecutive GSC Coach of the Year accolade, sharing the honor with Florida Tech's Steve Englehart. Twelve Statesmen were selected to the All-GSC squads, while Trey Shaw captured the league's Defensive Freshman of the Year honor. DSU put up an impressive 5,395 yards of total offense, outscoring opponents 491-215.
With expectations riding high entering the 2015 season, the Statesmen raced out of the gate to a 4-0 record and No. 5 national ranking. Unfortunately, the ride would be short-lived, as injuries began to mount and derailed a title run for DSU. The Statesmen finished the year 6-5 overall and 2-5 in GSC play.

The Statesmen finished the year leading the GSC in passing (312.4), while ranking second in scoring (36.4) and third in total offense (426.7).

In 2016, DSU finished its season ranked No. 3 in the GSC in scoring offense (36.9), total offense (446.8) and passing offense (287.7).

After an injury filled 2018 season that saw the Statesmen post a 2-8 mark, Cooley's Statesmen rebounded to finish 6-4 overall and 5-3 in the GSC in 2019. Overall, nine Statesmen earned All-GSC laurels and two were selected to the D2Football.com All-Americans.  Additionally, 13 Statesmen made the GSC Academic honor roll for a GPA of 3.0 or higher while four were selected to the GSC All-Academic football team.

Kaleb Nobles enters his second season as the UWF head coach in 2024.

In 2023, the former UWF quarterback and offensive coordinator led the Argonauts to an 8-4 record and spent the entire season ranked in the top 25. UWF ranked in the top 40 nationally in every offensive category while averaging 32.1 points per game with seven contests of at least 35 points.

Wide receiver John Jiles and defensive end John McMullen each were named First Team All-Americans, with McMullen and freshman Ralph Ortiz grabbing Gulf South Conference Defensive Player of the Year and Defensive Freshman of the Year, respectively.

The team was 4-1 at home and averaged 4,375 fans with four sellouts at Pen Air Field to rank 24th nationally.

Nobles was named the second coach in program history by University President Dr. Martha Saunders and Athletics Director Dave Scott on December 13, 2022. Nobles spent the two previous seasons at Clemson University where he had the role of Offensive Player Development under head coach Dabo Swinney. He assisted with the quarterbacks and wide receivers, all game preparation and planning, along with various game day duties. In 2021, Clemson went 10-3 with a Cheez-It Bowl victory and compiled an 11-2 record in 2022, winning the ACC Championship while earning a berth in the Orange Bowl against Tennessee.

Nobles spent three seasons on Pete Shinnick's staff from 2017-20 as the quarterbacks coach for the Argonauts and was named the Co-Offensive Coordinator in May of 2020. He also served as the Director of Football Operations for two-plus years.
Nobles mentored some of the best signal callers in UWF history. In 2019, Austin Reed was named the National Freshman of the Year after he threw for 4,089 yards and 272.6 yards per game to rank 13th nationally. He also completed 57 percent of his passes and tossed 40 touchdowns while rushing for six more

STATESMEN on the Road
Delta State holds a 31-22 (.584) record in 53 games on the road under Head Coach Todd Cooley. Delta State currently holds a 1-1 record at home in 2024 as they defeated Mars Hill 47-16, and fell to Wingate 21-7.

West Florida holds a 28-12 (.700) record in 40 games at home since they started their program in 2016. The Argonauts currently hold a 15-5 (.750) record at PenAir Field since 2021. 

The DELTA STATE-WEST FLORIDA SERIES
This will mark the 10th matchup in the history of both programs. The Argonauts hold a tight 5-4 lead in the series against Delta State. The first meeting between both teams was in October of 2016 when the Statesmen defeated West Florida 55-51, marking the highest scoring game in the series.

The history of both programs
 The Statesmen, who are embarking upon their 94th season of intercollegiate competition, have compiled a 503-412-23 overall record, winning 53.5 percent of their 937 all-time games.
Delta State is one of just 38 NCAA Division II institutions to have recorded 500 all-time victories. The Statesmen have the second most program victories out of any Gulf-South Schools

West Florida has a 64-25 (.719) record in seven seasons of intercollegiate play.

Scouting the Statesmen
 The Statesmen enter this weekend with a 4-1 record and a 1-0 GSC mark after a dominant 54-9 conference opener at McCool Stadium. All three phases shined for the Statesmen. On the offensive side, junior quarterback Cole Kirk completed 10 passes for 163 yards and three touchdowns in three quarters of play. The depth in the Statesmen skill positions showed again as freshman running back Nick Clark earned GSC Freshman of the Week scoring his first collegiate touchdown from three yards out with nine minutes to go in the final frame. Kelvin Smith had 10 carries for 80 yards and two TDs early on in the contest. The Statesmen offense was balanced as they threw for 215 yards and ran for 248. Junior Neno Lemay had his first receiving touchdown of the season as he pulled in three catches for 69 yards. Every time Jalen Green touched the ball he scored against the Hawks as he pulled in two receptions for 50 yards and two TDs.

The Statesmen Defense forced four turnovers as Mario Martin forced the first fumble early on the Hawks' second possession of the game. Senior defensive end Ahmir Taylor had a team high six tackles, 1.5 TFLs and a strip sack that led to one of many Statesmen scores, earning him Co-GSC Defensive Player of the Week. Sophomore Omarion Foster snagged his first career interception in the third quarter off of a deflected pass over the middle. Junior transfer Isaiah Kelsey got his first interception as a Statesmen late in the fourth over a Hawk receiver and his own teammate. Senior linebacker Carter Norrie made his presence known to the Hawk offense as he had six tackles. Senior defensive back Marlon Windham leads the Statesmen with 31 tackles going into this weekend's contest.  

Nick Herber connected a 25-yard field goal late in the third quarter while be a perfect 6-6 on PATs. Parker Burleson continued to show the power behind his leg. Burleson had five of his six kickoffs go through the endzone for touchbacks. Jonathan James was a big factor for the Statesmen Special Teams blocking a field goal and an extra point to keep the hawks in single digits. James earned the third weekly honor from the GSC as the Special Teams Player of the Week.
 
Scouting the Argonauts
The Argonauts hold a 2-2 overall record and a 1-1 GSC mark with both of the two losses coming against No. 2 Ranked Grand Valley State and No. 11 Ranked West Alabama. Last weekend against the Choctaws, the UWF defense had a dominating performance that allowed just seven total yards to the Choctaws which included 11 punts in the game. In 46 total offensive plays, Mississippi converted two first downs, had negative 27 yards rushing and 34 total yards passing.
 
After a slow start for the Argos offense that saw three missed field goals following drives that stalled inside the redzone, it was the defense that made a big play to spark the team. Redshirt junior, Kyriee Lewis intercepted a short pass by Choctaw quarterback Jackson Allen and took it 52-yards for the pick-six to get UWF on the board with 3:42 remaining in the first half.
 
The Argos were able to get the ball back in good field position with a minute left in the half and move into field goal range. Tyler Patterson connected on a 36-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to give UWF a 10-0 lead.
 
The UWF offense had trips to the MC's six-, seven-, and nine-yard lines that ended up empty in the first half.
 
In the second half, Virgil Lemons made a splash in the return game like he has done multiple times this season. The senior returned a punt 58-yards for a touchdown midway through the third quarter to give UWF a 17-0 lead. The senior had another punt return in the third quarter that he returned for a touchdown but was called back for an illegal block. Lemons also had one of the team's three interceptions on the day.
 
TJ Lane and Jay Sharp closed out the scoring for the Argos with the two running backs each finding the endzone in the fourth quarter. UWF combined for 266 rushing yards between six different rushers. Sharp led the team with 133 yards. Lane finished with 45 yards. Keeshaun Glanton picked up reps in the fourth quarter and ran for 63 yards on six carries.