On the heels of a 71-14 dismantling of Concordia College last week, the University of West Alabama football team climbed one spot to No. 14 in this week’s American Football Coaches Association Top 25 Poll.

The Tigers are 3-1 overall and 1-0 in Gulf South Conference play heading into a Thursday night showdown with GSC rival Delta State. The unranked Statesmen are also 3-1 overall, but are 2-0 in conference play.

Valdosta State (3-0) held on to the top spot in the polls for the fifth consecutive week and is the only other GSC team ranked in the coaches’ top 25.

Thursday’s game against Delta State features two of the most prolific offenses in NCAA Division II football. West Alabama is fifth in the nation in both scoring (50.0 ppg) and total offense (571.8 ypg). The Statesmen are 11th in total offense (523.8 ypg) and 34th in scoring (37.5 ppg).

Tiger fans can hear head coach Will Hall’s thoughts on the rankings and Thursday’s GSC-TV matchup with Delta State by tuning in Tuesday evening to the UWA Coaches Show. The show airs live from 6-7 p.m. every Tuesday from Austin’s Steakhouse in Livingston. It can be heard locally on ESPN 104.9 and is also streamed at www.espn1049.com.

The AFCA Coaches’ Poll for Sept. 30, 2013 is as follows:

Rank    Team    Record

1. Valdosta State 3-0

2. Minnesota St.-Mankato 4-0

3. NW Missouri State 4-0

4. West Texas A&M 4-0

5. CSU-Pueblo 4-0

6. Missouri Western State 4-0

7. Indiana (Pa.) 4-0

8. Henderson State 4-0

9. Bloomsburg (Pa.) 4-0

10. Pittsburg State (Kan.) 4-0

11. Minnesota-Duluth 3-1

12. Shepherd (W. Va.) 4-0

13. NC-Pembroke 4-0

14. West Alabama 3-1

15. Washburn (Kan.) 4-0

16. Winston-Salem St (NC) 3-1

17. West Chester (Pa.) 4-0

18. St. Cloud State (Minn.) 4-0

19. Chadron State (Neb.) 3-1

20. Carson-Newman (Tenn.) 3-1

21. Indianapolis (Ind.) 3-1

22. Tarleton State (Texas) 3-0

23. Ohio Dominican 4-0

24. Emporia State (Kan.) 4-0

25. Grand Valley St. (Mich.)3-1