Football 10/10/2017 12:13:00 PM

West Alabama (5-1, 4-0) vs West Georgia (5-1, 3-1)

Football Game Preview

23/15 WEST ALABAMA (5-1, 4-0) vs 22/17 WEST GEORGIA (5-1, 3-1)
Oct. 14, 2017 l Tiger Stadium | Livingston, Ala. | 4 p.m. | ESPN 104.9

THE SERIES
This is the 35th meeting between the Tigers and the Wolves. UWG holds a 20-14 lead in the series. West Alabama has won eight of the last 11 meetings.

WEST ALABAMA
West Alabama is 5-1, 4-0 in GSC play, after a 29-26 victory at Delta State last week.

WEST GEORGIA
West Georgia is 5-1, 3-1 in GSC play, after winning at home over Valdosta State last weekend.

THE COACHES
Brett Gilliland is 24-15 in his fourth season at UWA, his fourth as a head coach. David Dean is 5-1 in his first year as head coach at UWG, 84-28 his 10th year as a college head coach.

COVERAGE
Video | UWAathletics.com
Radio: | ESPN1049 App
ESPN 104.9, Kyle Beede & Robert Upchurch on the call.
Twitter: @UWAAthletics

TOP O vs TOP D
Saturday's game features the top scoring offense in the GSC against the league's top scoring defense. West Alabama averages 43.0 points per game, while West Georgia is allowing just 14.2.

SO…IT'S OFFENSE YOU WANT
West Georgia and West Alabama are the top two total yard gainers in the GSC. The Wolves average 466.2 and the Tigers 450.2 per game.

SACK 'EM UP
West Alabama is tied for the GSC lead in sacks with 19 after getting seven at Delta State last week.

LAST MEETING
Austin Grammer completed 31-of-40 passes for 338 yards and two TDs as the Tigers pounded West Georgia, 31-7, Oct. 15, 2016 at University Stadium. The Tiger defense did not allow an offensive TD for the Wolves.

POLL WATCHING
UWA moved into the AFCA poll at No. 23 this week. UWG is 22nd. The Tigers are 15th in the d2football.com poll, where the Wolves are 17th.

UWA VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS
West Alabama will face its second nationally-ranked opponent in as many weeks when West Georgia visits Tiger Stadium. The Tigers are 2-0 against ranked teams this year, winning at then N0. 10 North Alabama and at then No. 9 Delta State.

ONLY TWO AFCA TOP 25 MATCHUPS
There are only two Top 25 matchups this coming weekend, the one between the Tigers and Wolves in Livingston, as well as No. 3 Indiana (Pa.) at No. 9 Slippery Rock (Pa.) to see who will stay in the top spot of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division.

LET THE BIRDMAN FLY
UWA linebacker Terry Samuel, AKA Birdman, is tied for the conference lead with 54 total tackles with JohnQ McBride of Delta State. Their 9.0 tackles per game is tied for second in the GSC.

CORNER WORK
UWA cornerbacks Tevin Madison and Se'Quan Steele are first and second in the GSC in broken up passes. Madison has 10 and Steele nine.

TIED FOR TOP PICKER
Tevin Madison is tied for first in the league with three interceptions. UNA defensive backs Maurice Carnell and Chris Johnson also have three.

DONTA PUNT RETURN CAREER NUMBERS
Donta Armstrong is currently second in the nation in career punt return yardage at 15.3 yards per return. Armstrong has returned 27 punts for 413 yards and three touchdowns in a 17-game career.

COACH G TIED FOR 5TH
With the win over Shorter last week, Tiger head coach Brett Gilliland moved into a tie for sixth place on the UWA all-time coaching wins list with 23. He is tied with Micky Andrews, who went 23-7-2 from 1970-72, winning UWA's only national title in 1971.

EIGHT MORE FOR BRETT
Coach Brett Gilliland is 24-15 since taking over the Tiger program in 2014. Gilliland needs just eight wins to become the all-time winningest coach in UWA football history. Frank North won 31 games from 1979-84 to hold that record.

COACHES RECOGNITION vs DSU
The following players were chosen by the UWA coaching staff as players of the game at Delta State. Call Dyer was the offensive player of the game, grading out 88% from the center position. Defensively, Ashton Derico graded out 100% with one tackle, two assists, and two sacks. On special teams, Terry Samuel was chosen after playing 101 defensive snaps, while also playing on three special team units and registering four tackles on them, 13 stops in all.

TWEETMASTER P AS A WOLF
Tiger defensive line coach Roberto Pinilla was team captain as a player for West Georgia, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics in 1997. Pinilla lettered four seasons and was a three-year starter for West Georgia, helping lead UWG to its first-ever NCAA Division II Playoffs appearance. He finished his playing career as the West Georgia career leader in games started (35) and tackles by a defensive lineman (167).

UWA Record Breakdown
Overall: 5-1
GSC: 4-0
Home: 2-0
Road: 3-1
Day: 0-0
Night: 5-1
Sept: 4-1
Oct: 1-0
Nov: 0-0
Score First: 4-0
Lead After 1st Quarter: 4-0
Trail After 1st Quarter:   0-1
Tied After 1st Quarter: 1-0
Lead At Half: 5-0
Trail At Half: 0-1
Tied At Half: 0-0
Lead After 3rd Quarter: 5-0
Trail After 3rd Quarter: 0-1
Tied After 3rd Quarter: 0-0
Lead After 4th Quarter: 5-0
Trail After 4th Quarter: 0-1
1-5 Points: 1-0
6-10 Points: 0-1
11-19 Points: 0-0
20-29 Points: 2-0
30 or More Points: 2-0
Overtime: 0-0
GSC Home: 2-0
GSC Road: 2-0
ESPN3: 0-1

UNIFORM COMBINATIONS RECORDS
Red Jersey, Red Pants: 0-0
White Jersey, Red Pants: 0-1
White Jersey, White Pants: 0-0
Red Jersey, Black Pants: 0-0
Red Jersey, White Pants: 2-0
White Jersey, Black Pants: 3-0

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Players Mentioned

#1 Austin Grammer: QB; 6' 2"; Senior

#17 Donta Armstrong: WR; 5' 10"; Senior

#91 Ashton Derico: DT; 6' 4"; Senior

#55 Call Dyer: OL; 6' 4"; Sophomore

#14 Terry Samuel: LB; 6' 2"; Junior

#7 Tevin Madison: CB; 5' 10"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#1 Austin Grammer
: 6' 2"; Senior
: QB

#17 Donta Armstrong
: 5' 10"; Senior
: WR

#91 Ashton Derico
: 6' 4"; Senior
: DT

#55 Call Dyer
: 6' 4"; Sophomore
: OL

#14 Terry Samuel
: 6' 2"; Junior
: LB

#7 Tevin Madison
: 5' 10"; Senior
: CB