GEORGIA STATE (6-3, 3-2) vs. No. 24 APPALACHIAN ST. (8-1, 5-1)
Saturday, Nov. 16 | 7:30 p.m.  | Georgia State Stadium
 
TV: ESPNU. Announcers are Clay Matvick and Ryan Leaf.
 
RADIO: Georgia State Radio Network coverage will air on WAOK 1380 AM and WRAS 88.5 FM. Dave Cohen is in his 37th season as the play-by-play voice of Panther athletics. Harper LeBel joins him from the booth with Sam Crenshaw on the sideline.
 
2019 RECORDS:
Georgia State: 6-3, 3-2 Sun Belt
App State: 8-1, 5-1 Sun Belt (Ranked No. 24 in Amway Coaches Poll; RV in AP poll)
 
SERIES: App State leads 5-0
 
LAST MEETING: App State 45, GSU 17, Nov. 17, 2018 at Boone, NC.
 
GSU HEAD COACH SHAWN ELLIOTT
Record at GSU: 15-18 (3rd year) / Career Record: 16-23 (4th year)
 
THE KICKOFF:
Hosting a nationally-ranked team for the first time, Georgia State faces No. 24 Appalachian State Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Georgia State Stadium in a nationally-televised game on ESPNU.

Georgia State sits one game behind App State in the East Division standings with three games to play.

"We are playing a significant ball game in the month of November, going up against one of the best teams in the country. It's certainly exciting for our football program," head coach Shawn Elliott said.

"It's always fun to play meaningful games in the month of November with a chance to win a conference championship."

> Georgia State had its four-game winning streak snapped in a 45-31 loss at ULM. The game was tied at 24-24 at the half, but QB Dan Ellington missed the second half due to injury. The Panthers still rushed for a school-record 414 yards, including 190 by Tra Barnett and 119 by Destin Coates.
> Appalachian State returned to the national rankings at No. 24 (Amway Coaches' Poll) after a 20-15 victory at South Carolina. The Mountaineers will be the first ranked team to play at Georgia State Stadium and the Panthers' first ranked opponent since their 2017 game at No. 5 Penn State.
> Both teams have knocked off SEC foes this season as Georgia State opened 2019 with a 38-30 victory at Tennessee for its first ever win over a Power 5 opponent.
> Georgia State's offense ranks among the FBS leaders:
No. 6 Rushing (274.7 ypg)
No. 14 Total Offense (485.0 ypg)
No. 23 Scoring (36.0 ppg)
No. 5 3rd Down Conversions (51.8 percent)
No. 9 First Downs (234)
> Senior Tra Barnett leads the Sun Belt and ranks No. 6 in FBS with 124.2 yards rushing per game. His 1,118 yards and 10 touchdowns are GSU records, and he is the Panthers' first 1,000-yard rusher.
> With a school-record 242 yards rushing and two touchdowns vs. Troy, Barnett broke the Georgia State records for rushing yards in a game, season and career in the same game.
> Barnett is Georgia State's career leader in rushing yards (1,821) and rushing touchdowns (17).
> A two-time Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week and a member of the Watch List for the Manning Award, Ellington averages 268.4 yards of total offense per game, including 1,813 yards and 18 touchdowns passing and 603 yards and five touchdowns rushing.
> The Panthers' top receivers are sophomore Cornelius McCoy (48 receptions, 515 yards, 4 TD; No. 4 Sun Belt in receptions and yards per game) and redshirt freshman Sam Pinckney (36 receptions, 460 yards, 5 TD).
> Tight end Aubry Payne has caught six touchdowns in eight games.
> The Panthers have rushed for 1,641 yards over the last five games (328.2 ypg), including 340 yards vs. Arkansas State, 350 vs. Coastal Carolina, 390 yards vs. Troy and a school-record 414 yards at ULM.
> Georgia State, which began playing football in 2010 and moved to FBS in 2014, is bowl eligible for the third time in five seasons. The Panthers played in their first bowl game in 2015 in the AutoNation Cure Bowl and then made a return trip to the Orlando, Fla., bowl in 2017, when GSU knocked off Western Kentucky for the first bowl win in school history.
> Georgia State has already broken its season record for rushing yards with 2,472 yards.
> Four different Panthers have recorded 100-yard games: RB Tra Barnett (6), RB Seth Paige (2), RB Destin Coates (1) and QB Dan Ellington (1).
> GSU set school records with 722 yards of total offense, 340 yards rushing (since broken twice), 39 first downs and 39:19 time of possession in its Oct. 5 win 52-38 win over Arkansas State.
 
ELLIOTT FACES ALMA MATER: Georgia State head coach Shawn Elliott is a 1996 graduate of Appalachian State and was a long-time assistant coach for the Mountaineers.
> Elliott spent 13 seasons on the App State staff under head coach Jerry Moore. He worked two seasons as a defensive assistant (1997-98) and two seasons as tight ends coach (1999-00) before taking over the offensive line (2001-09).
> Elliott helped lead the Mountaineers to three NCAA FCS titles (2005-07) plus two trips to the national semifinals and three appearances in the quarterfinals. App State reached the NCAA playoffs 10 times in his 13 seasons.
> Elliott was a four-year letterman as a defensive lineman from 1992-96.
> Offensive coordinator Brad Glenn spent seven years on the App State staff, coaching tight ends (2005), slot receivers (2006-08)  and quarterbacks (2009-11).
> GSU Director of Athletics Charlie Cobb served nine years in the same position at App State before coming to Atlanta in 2014.
 
THE BOOK ON BARNETT: Senior running back Tra Barnett is literally re-writing the Georgia State record book for rushing.
> Set the Georgia State records for rushing yards in a game, season and career, all in the same game, Oct. 26 vs. Troy.
> Rushed for a school-record 242 yards on 34 carries, also a GSU record, vs. Troy. Broke Donald Russell's record of 201 yards vs. Rhode Island in 2012.
> Followed with 190 yards vs. ULM, giving him a two-game total of 432 yards.
> Georgia State's first 1,000-yard rusher, he broke the previous season record in Game 8 vs. Troy and now has 1,118 yards (124.2 ypg).
> Became GSU's career rushing leader vs. Troy as he passed inaugural team member Travis Evans (1,500, 2010-13) and now has 1,821 yards.
> First Georgia State player to top 100 yards rushing in five straight games:
169 - Arkansas State
110 - Coastal Carolina
109 - Army
242 - Troy
190 - ULM
> Also owns the GSU records for rushing touchdowns in a career and touchdowns scored (rushing and total) in a season.
> Has six 100-yard rushing games this season and seven in his career, both school records.