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Know the Foe: Georgia State

Know the Foe: Georgia State

Football Nov 11
By ULMWarhawks.com Online Columnist Paul Letlow
Georgia State has shown a knack for turning its season around after rocky starts. Like ULM (3-6, 2-3 Sun Belt), the Panthers usually play their toughest non-conference games early. The first stretch of the 2022 campaign saw Georgia State open 0-4 with losses to South Carolina and North Carolina, then drop a disappointing shootout with Charlotte before stumbling against Coastal Carolina to begin Sun Belt Conference play. But since then, the Panthers (4-5, 3-2 Sun Belt) have won four of their last five, including a decisive 42-14 victory over Southern Miss last Saturday. "They are going to be a great challenge for us," ULM coach Terry Bowden said, "because Georgia State is doing what Georgia State does since Shawn Elliott has gotten there. They play a very difficult schedule to begin with. They're 0-4; they were 1-4 last year. And every year, the last three, they go to a bowl." Georgia State was 1-4 when it faced ULM in Monroe last year and walked away with a 55-21 win over the Warhawks. The Panthers finished 8-5 with a 51-20 romp over Ball State in the TaxAct Camellia Bowl. It's a resilient program that Bowden wants his own players to admire and emulate. "A tough preseason schedule may get you beat," Bowden said. "You may lose a game, but don't lose confidence. Believe in yourself because the conference is not done and your season is not over until November." This week it's ULM's turn to travel and face Georgia State on Saturday at Center Parc Stadium in Atlanta. Kickoff is noon CST. "Louisiana Monroe is coming in here for our last home game and it's going to be Senior Day this weekend," GSU coach Shawn Elliott said. "They are a very talented football team. I think they've gotten much better from a year ago. Credit their coaching staff and everybody down there. They're playing hard.

"If you look at their contests going back to Texas, and watching them play at Alabama and playing Army, they present some problems." Elliott, who rose up through the ranks at Appalachian State, built a program in Atlanta with similar traits. The Panthers have played in bowl games in four of Elliott's five seasons. "It's hard to watch Georgia State without thinking of Appalachian State," Bowden said. "I remember Shawn when he was at Appalachian State and I've coached against them many times. It's going to be a heck of a running attack, with the quarterback and running back, and they're going to play tenacious defense." Georgia State is coming off a record-setting performance against Southern Miss as its defense allowed just 202 yards of total offense, the lowest figure in school history. In consecutive wins over Old Dominion and Southern Miss, the Panthers allowed a total of 485 yards of offense, including just 59 yards rushing, and collected 13 sacks. Hot hands include defensive linemen Thomas Gore (4 TFL, 3.5 sacks), Javon Denis (3 TFL, 2 sacks) and Jeffery Clark (3.5 TFL, 3 sacks), who combined for 10.5 TFL including 8.5 sacks in those outings. With 20 takeaways, Georgia State ranks No. 8 in NCAA FBS. Cornerback Quavian White stands No. 8 in FBS with four interceptions while linebacker Jordan Veneziale is second in FBS with three fumble recoveries. "They've forced 20 compared to six for us," said Bowden, whose team beat Texas State last week despite committing four turnovers. "That kind of tells you how good they are. If we don't secure the football and make good decisions, they're going to eat that up.

"If we have turnovers like last week, you can forget winning a football game against Georgia State." GSU features two of the top tacklers in the Sun Belt, in safety Antavious Lane and Veneziale, who are tied for fifth in league with 8.1 tackles per game. Lane leads the league and is No. 3 in FBS with 6.1 solo tackles pg. Georgia State's offense is loaded with playmakers and seems to have limitless depth in a high-performance running game. Junior running back Marcus Carroll rushed for 163 yards with three rushing touchdowns in his first career start against Southern Miss. The Panthers, who rushed for 388 yards in the win, lead the Sun Belt and rank No. 5 in FBS in rushing with 248.1 yards per game. Carroll picked up the slack for injured super senior running back Tucker Gregg, who became Georgia State's career rushing leader in the Old Dominion win. The former walk-on now has 2,193 career yards and ranks second in school history with 25 career touchdowns. Dual-threat quarterback Darren Grainger ran for 143 yards rushing against Southern Miss for his second-straight 100-yard game. Since becoming the starter last year, Grainger has accounted for 41 touchdowns in 20 starts (34 passing, 7 rushing). Against ULM last year, Grainger threw four touchdown passes and rushed for a fifth score, tying the school record by accounting for five TDs. "We've got to continue doing the things that we've done the last few weeks ," Elliott said.  "What I mean is, we haven't let our emotions get the better of us like we did early in the season. We've stayed focused and very consistent in our thoughts and not let the highs get too high or the lows get too low.

"And it's done quite well for our football team."

Just peachy: ULM's 2022 roster features five players from the state of Georgia, including defensive tackle Tyrese Black (McDonough, Eagles Landing Christian Academy), wide receiver Jalen Jackson (Powder Springs, Hillgrove), right tackle Keydrell Lewis (Atlanta, Mallard Creek, N.C.) wide receiver Fred Lloyd Jr. (Tifton, Tift County HS) and wide receiver Dariyan Wiley (Atlanta, Douglas County). Panther pause: Georgia State leads the series with ULM 4-3, with wins in four of the last five meetings. The Panthers have averaged exactly 50 points in their four wins over ULM. … GSU has topped 200-plus rushing yards in 15 of its last 17 games. … Grainger has rushed for 339 yards over the last three games (113.0 ypg.). … Georgia State boasts a student enrollment of 52,000.
 
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