Carrollton, GA - As UWG head coach Will Hall has put it, this week is a conference championship game. The West Georgia Wolves come into week 10 as one of five undefeated teams in the nation, but this week brings a new test as the first true "big game" of the year. UWG comes into the week 9-0 on the year while Florida Tech is 6-3 overall.
Kickoff for the contest will be at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoon from Florida Tech Panther Stadium in Melbourne, Fla.
GSC-TV Live Game of the Week Link
* The Gulf South Conference does not break ties, and UWG is the only undefeated GSC squad with a 5-0 record thus far. Florida Tech is 4-1, an identical record to North Alabama. A win for West Georgia and the Wolves clinch a share of the conference title. A win for Florida Tech means that likely three teams head into the final week of the season tied for the conference lead.
* The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 as the Florida Space Coast GSC-TV Live Game of the Week with Don Russell and Rick Rhoades on the call. This will be West Georgia's fourth time on ESPN3 this season and will be the third televised game this season for Florida Tech. The Wolves are 3-0 in televised contests this year, while FIT is 1-1, falling to North Alabama and beating Delta State.
* West Georgia is coached by Will Hall, who is in his second season at West Georgia. He has an overall record of 46-14 in his fifth year as a head coach. In 24 games at the helm of the UWG program, Hall is 21-3. Florida Tech coach Steve Englehart, who has been the coach since the inception of the program. He is 17-15 overall and 8-10 in Gulf South Conference play.
* The Wolves have been running the ball well in the past two weeks, with three backs reaching the 100-yard mark in two games. Against North Alabama,
Devontae Jackson had 142 yards and
Dallas Dickey 123 en route to rolling up 383 rushing yards in the contest. Last week, Lamarcus Franks rushed for 109 yards in leading UWG to a 311 rushing yards game.
* This week will be a clash of the top defense in the Gulf South Conference against the No. 2 offense in the GSC in terms of yardage. The Wolves are giving up an average of 234.7 yards per contest on the year, while Florida Tech is averaging 442.8 yards per game. The Panthers are pass-heavy, with 2,310 yards through the air compared to 1,675 on the ground. UWG is among the top-10 in the nation in both categories.
* Junior running back Lamarcus Franks has worked through injuries early in the season to become a tough back to deal with in any situation. He had 17 rushes for 172 yards earlier this season, then had 20 carries for 109 yards and two touchdowns last week.
