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Know the Foe: Georgia State

Know the Foe: Georgia State

Football Oct 08
By ULMWarhawks.com Online Columnist Paul Letlow

Georgia State won't bring a gaudy win-loss record into Malone Stadium on Saturday night, but the Panthers have played a rugged schedule so far in 2021.

The Panthers (1-4, 0-1 Sun Belt) come into their sixth game with a win over Charlotte (20-9) and losses to Army (43-10), North Carolina (59-17), Auburn (34-24) and Appalachian State (45-16). That slate includes a pair of ranked Power Five teams as well as squads with a combined 18-7 record.

"Their record is very deceiving because of who they've played," ULM coach Terry Bowden said. "We'd have the same record I imagine if we played those teams."

Kickoff at ULM is 7 p.m.

"A much improved football team and somebody we've got to be playing our best to go in there and try to get our first conference win," Georgia State coach Shawn Elliott said during his weekly press conference. "I think everybody in here knows our non-conference slate, and then of course, opening up with Appalachian State was a tough five-game stretch for us. We're sitting here at 1-4 and not feeling very good about ourselves."

Georgia State has seen two games slip away with second-half meltdowns.

Notably, GSU led Auburn 24-19 late in the fourth quarter, but the Tigers scored the go-ahead touchdown on a fourth-down play with 45 seconds left and went on to win by 10 at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Auburn scored only one offensive touchdown against the Panthers and Georgia State running back Tucker Gregg rushed for a career-high 150 yards and a touchdown in defeat.

Last week, Georgia State lost to Appalachian State 45-16 at Center Parc Stadium in the Sun Belt Conference opener for both teams. The Panthers trailed 14-9 midway through the third quarter when App State connected on a deflating 79-yard touchdown pass. Down 24-9, late in the third, Georgia State saw the Mountaineers score three-straight touchdowns to pull away.

Like ULM, GSU has played multiple quarterbacks this season, although the Panthers would like to settle on one. A transfer from Furman known for his running ability, Darren Grainger made his third start against App State and threw an interception on the first drive last week before Cornelious Brown IV replaced him on the third series. Brown finished 16-of-31 for 171 yards with two interceptions.

"We've got to do some things offensively to get us going," Elliott said. "We're kind of in a rut, sitting around offensively. We've got to generate some excitement, some explosive plays. We've got to do something a little bit different."

Brown was the MVP in Georgia State's 39-21 win over Western Kentucky in the 2020 LendingTree Bowl and finished second in the Sun Belt in passing (227.8 yards per game), total offense (257.9 ypg.) and points responsible for (14.6 pg.). The dual-threat accounted for 24 total touchdowns, with 17 passing and seven rushing.

"We're going to compete a little bit, but we've got to settle in and find our guy," Elliott said when asked about his quarterback situation this week.

Jamari Thrash is the top receiver so far with 15 catches for 209 yards and two touchdowns. Receiver Sam Pinckney, a preseason All-Sun Belt selection, was sidelined the first three games, but had four catches against the Mountaineers.

At running back, senior Destin Coates is second in GSU history with 1,620 career rushing yards. Gregg has 874 career rushing yards to rank ninth in school history.

Super senior tight end Roger Carter has 83 career receptions for 974 yards and a school-record 11 touchdowns.

The GSU defense is allowing 38 points and 432 yards per game.

"I think defensively, we've played pretty well," Elliott said. "Making some plays and keeping most everyone in check for the most part. We've got to finish games. We can't play three-and-a-half quarters and not finish the contest defensively or offensively or special teams-wise. Right now, we haven't achieved all that."

Georgia State's leading tackler is inside linebacker Jordan Veneziale. A starter since the second game against North Carolina, the junior has 44 tackles, with 3.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. His average of 8.8 tackles per game ranks second in the Sun Belt.

The Panthers have seven sacks as a team, led by linebacker Blake Carroll with 2.5.

On special teams, GSU brings in the reigning All-Sun Belt kicker in Noel Ruiz, who led conference kickers with 8.0 ppg. in 2020. Ruiz is 6-for-6 on field goals this season.

"They bring a team back that has a lot of experience and has been to bowl games the last couple of years," Bowden said. "They have their quarterback back and they have to look at us as a chance to get another 'W' on their schedule."

Warhawk connections: Eman Naghavi, the former offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at ULM, joined the Georgia State staff as offensive line coach in March 2021.

Naghavi spent the last four seasons at ULM, from 2017-2020.

GSU quick hits: The series between Georgia State and ULM is tied at 3-3, but the Panthers have won three of the last four meetings. … Georgia State's starting offensive line has combined for 161 career starts, led by left guard Shamarious Gilmore with 51 starts. … In his 24 seasons as a Division I coach, GSU's Elliott has been part of 21 winning seasons and 19 postseason appearances, including three bowl games in his four years at Georgia State. … Georgia State has averaged 302.3 yards rushing for its last four games vs. ULM.
 
 
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