UWF Football: No. 7 Argos cruise into playoffs with blowout road win over Mississippi College
PeeWee Jarrett and the West Florida offense overwhelmed Mississippi College, again.
After a 45-17 homecoming clubbing of the Choctaws on Oct. 22, the Argos won by a larger margin the second time around. UWF captured a 56-21 victory on Saturday during a Gulf South Regional game from Robinson-Hale Stadium.
Jarrett followed his stellar play from last week with an even better game this week. He had 246 yards passing on just 11 attempts and with six total touchdowns (four passing, two rushing).
The game didn't count in the GSC standings, but it did give the Argos a chance to pick up a quality win and secure a NCAA Division II playoff berth.
"We challenged our guys to show up to play a good football game and they answered," UWF head coach Pete Shinnick said. "Now, we go into the playoffs feeling pretty good about ourselves and will try to keep this thing rolling."
Improving its overall record to 9-1, West Florida finished the regular season on a seven-game winning streak. Now, the team waits to see who it will play next week at Pen Air Field.
The NCAA Division II Football Selection show is schedule for 4:30 p.m. CST Sunday. It will be streamed on NCAA.com.
Last week's win: UWF wins share of Gulf South Conference title in thrilling overtime win
UWF Women's Soccer: Argos use valiant effort to beat Nova Southeastern, advance to NCAA Sweet 16
David Durden had another big game as well, finishing with six catches for 173 yards and two touchdowns.
The Argos' offense set a school record averaging 12.4 yards per play in a single game. The team also scored on eight straight drives and didn't punt the ball until the fourth quarter.
UWF scored in every quarter, including a 21-point second to head into halftime with a 35-14 lead. While Mississippi College (4-7) did rack up 283 yards on the ground, the host were held to just 75 through the air.
The Argos were without their third running back C.J. Wilson today due to a death in his family, but the visitors still had a productive rushing attack. They only had 23 attempts for 163 rushing yards.
Reserves got some playing time in the game's late stages. Michael Rich Jr. replaced Jarrett at quarterback, completing 4 of 5 passes for 80 yards and a touchdown. Redshirt sophomore Seth Johnson capped UWF's scoring with a 6-yard run in the fourth.
Here's are a few takeaways from Saturday's win.
Passing offense is on fire
The Argos' passing game has ramped it up.
That is in large part due to Jarrett's elevated play. He has accounted for 10 total touchdowns over the last two games and has thrown for at least 200 yards in back-to-back games. His play is just what the Argos' needed as their rushing attack cooled down the last two games of the season.
"Everything clicked for us and they tried to do some things different than last time, which we predicted would happen. PeeWee picked up where he left off last week and our offense looked great today," Shinnick said.
Shinnick's success
West Florida's early-season triumph over Mississippi College was Shinnick's 50th victory with the Argos.
The team's latest win over the Choctaws sealed the program's fourth NCAA Tournament berth in six years. That stretch includes two National Championship game trips, winning it once in 2019.
This is the fourth time Shinnick has guided UWF to a nine-win season.
"We had a vision of wanting to be competitive and wanted to get in the playoffs. We talked about all those things in year two (2017)," he said. "But what we really wanted to do was become one of the best teams in this area. Super Region II is very competitive and someone has gone to the National Championship the last five years, including us twice."
He has also surpassed 150 wins in his head coaching career. His success in such a short time has been remarkable to watch. University of West Florida football program right up there with the top college programs in the state of Florida and the country.
Durden's dominance
David Durden was First Team All-GSC and a Don Hansen All-America Honorable Mention in 2021, but somehow has flown under the radar in 2022.
It took some time for him and Jarrett to develop their chemistry. Now, their connection is stronger than ever. Durden leads the team with 861 receiving yards with nine touchdowns. He now has back-to-back seasons with at least 750 yards receiving and nine receiving touchdowns.
He also has 264 punt return yards and a touchdown. Durden leads the GSC in receiving yards, yards per game, receiving touchdowns, and is second in yards per catch.
He is a lock for another All-GSC First Team selection and should be a heavy favorite for GSC Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year.
Greg Hollis is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached at ghollis@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: UWF Football: No. 7 Argos dominate the Choctaws with 35-point road win
