2025 Valdosta State vs West Florida

Yes, Valdosta State Is Still Alive For The D2 Playoffs. Here's How

Yes, Valdosta State Is Still Alive For The D2 Playoffs. Here's How

With the selection process shifting for D2 in 2025, teams have two ways to secure bids to the postseason. Here's how the Blazers can punch their ticket.

Nov 13, 2025 by Andy Schamma
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The D2 football postseason selection process has been different from the FCS and D3 for many years, using the Super Region system without an automatic bid given to conference champions. 

New in 2025, though, the floodgates have been opened and conference champions now get to punch their ticket during regular season conference play with a clinching win.

Few teams stand to benefit more than the 2024 runner-up Valdosta State Blazers, barely hanging on to a winning record after what looked like, at a glance, a bumpy season so far.

Although they're 5-4 heading into the final week of the season, their wins and losses in 2025 tell a story of a talented football team that has one of the toughest schedules in D2 football.

Here's how Valdosta State football got into this position and how they can secure a spot in the D2 football championship tournament by Sunday, Nov. 16.

2025 Valdosta State vs West Florida



Yes, Valdosta State Is Very Much Still Alive For The Playoffs. Here's How

Let's keep this simple. 

How does Valdosta State football make it to the 2025 D2 playoffs after losing four of their first six games? Beat West Florida on the road.

That's right, that's all it takes. "Just" beat one of the five remaining undefeated teams, currently ranked No. 3/4 in the country on the final stepping stone of their perfect regular season.

How did the Blazers get here after starting the season 2-4?

Despite taking a big loss to UNC Pembroke at home in late September, the Blazers showed signs of hope against a very good Lenoir-Rhyne team the following week.

It wouldn't be until they followed it up with three wins at home in a row that the Blazers find themselves on the cusp of redemption.

North Greenville, No. 21 West Alabama and No. 21 Delta State each took aim at VSU but each fell to the comeback kids by less than two scores. The latter two make up the remainder of the four-team Gulf South Conference—the smallest in D2.

Now, the Blazers have all of the momentum they need to go back on the road for the first time in over a month and take on one of the best teams in the country.

A win on Saturday would secure the Gulf South Conference title with a 2-1 record and send the Blazers back to the playoffs with an automatic bid over the 9-1 Argonauts.

Not Step-Blazers, But Blazers Who Stepped Up

If VSU is going to pull this off, they're going to need not only their strongest players to show up but also their mistakes to be minimal on both sides of the ball.

West Florida doesn't have many areas of weakness, though, topping the charts across all D2 teams in 3rd down defense (.22%) and 5th fewest yards allowed per game.

They do have trouble making PATs, though. Freshman kicker Matt Rolader could also play a huge part in this game should it come down to a single-point difference.

If VSU can find success in the air again like they did when they handed West Alabama their third loss in a row, they might be able to keep things close. 

Junior Quarterback Jameson Holcomb played a big part, completing two touchdown passes and tallying a career-high 225 passing yards. On the ground, Corey Reddick Jr. should be a go-to for the Blazers, averaging about 63 yards per game so far this season with 7 TDs.

On the defensive side, redshirt sophomore linebacker Julius Pascal leads the Gulf South in total tackles with 74—young talent to keep an eye on regardless of what happens in this game.

If they can put it all together, the Blazers can extend their season at least one more game.

When Is The 2025 NCAA Division 2 Football Playoff Selection Show?

The Division II Football Selection Show is Nov. 16 at 6 p.m. ET and follows the Division III playoff reveal. 

How To Watch The 2025 The NCAA Division 2 Football Playoff Selection Show

The Division II Football Selection Show will stream on NCAA.com.

How Do The NCAA Division 2 Football Playoffs Work?

The 2025 edition of the NCAA Division II Playoffs will feature 32 teams in a single-elimination tournament and shift to the automatic qualifier approach similar to other divisions.

The 16 conference champions that sponsor DII football get an automatic bid to the tournament, 16 more teams will earn at-large bids via a selection committee that will make their rankings during the final three weeks of the season. This year, the top eight seeds from each region will make the tournament.

When Do The NCAA Division 2 Football Playoffs Start?

The first round of the playoffs begin on Saturday, November 22.

When Is The NCAA Division 2 Football National Championship Game?

The NCAA Division II Football National Championship Game is on Saturday, December 20 at 4 p.m. ET.

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