GEORGIA STATE (4-4, 3-4 SBC) vs. GEORGIA SOUTHERN (6-3, 4-2 SBC)
Nov. 28, 2020  |  12 p.m.  | Center Parc Stadium  |  Atlanta, Ga.
TV: ESPN3  |  Radio: WRAS-FM 88.5
 
It's #StateNotSouthern week as Georgia State hosts rival Georgia Southern in the Panthers' regular-season finale Saturday at 12 noon at Center Parc Stadium.  Thirteen GSU seniors will be recognized pregame.
 
GAME NOTES:      
> Cornelious Brown IV passed for a career-high 334 yards and Tucker Gregg scored three touchdowns to back a strong performance by the defense as Georgia State won 34-14 South Alabama.

> Brown overcame a slow start to direct four straight scoring drives for 24 straight points in the second half. He completed his last 10 passes for 207 yards.

> Top receiver Sam Pinckney had five catches for 176 yards vs. South Alabama, the sixth-highest single-game total in program history. His 65-yard reception that set up the tying touchdown in the third quarter is the Panthers' longest pass play since 2017.

> Pinckney leads GSU with 34 catches for 637 yards and six touchdowns. Over a two-game span vs. East Carolina and Arkansas State, he totaled 13 receptions, 280 yards and five TD.

> The Panthers average 33.0 points per game (No. 2 in the Sun Belt) and have scored 52 points, the program high against an FBS opponent, twice this season and four times in the last two years.

> Over the last two games, the GSU defense has allowed an average of 15.5 points and 317 yards to App State (17 points, 310 yards) and South Alabama (14 points, 324 yards).

> The Panthers have collected 17 sacks over the last three games, including a school-record tying seven vs. South Alabama.

> Georgia State leads the Sun Belt with 31 sacks, shattering the GSU season record of 24, set in 2017.

> Junior outside linebacker Jordan Strachan is enjoying one of the top seasons in the Sun Belt. He leads the league with 8.0 sacks, a new GSU season record, and is third with 10.5 tackles for loss.  He also has two fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles.

> With four sacks in the last three games, including 1.5 at South Alabama, defensive end Hardrick Willis has become Georgia State's career leader in sacks. Willis now has 11.5 career sacks, surpassing Mackendy Cheridor (10.5, 2013-17).

> Redshirt freshman quarterback Cornelious Brown IV was the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week Nov. 9 after his performance vs. ULM. He passed for 241 yards and accounted for four touchdowns, including two scoring passes to Cornelius McCoy.

> Brown is averaging 242.0 yards of total offense per game (209.2 passing/32.8 rushing) while accounting for 19 touchdowns. (13 pass/6 rush). He is third in the Sun Belt in total offense and second in points responsible for.

> Junior running back Destin Coates is the Sun Belt's No. 3 rusher, averaging 86.4 yards per game. He has topped the 100-yard mark in four games this season. As a team, the Panthers are No. 28 in FBS in rushing (207.2 ypg).

> Coates ranks fifth in GSU history with 1,288 rushing yards (No. 4 Dan Ellington, 1,293 yards) and tied for second with 13 rushing touchdowns (Record is 19 by Tra Barnett).

> Along with Coates, Tucker Gregg (426 yards, 6 TD) and Jamyest Williams (208 yards) see plenty of action in the backfield. Against South Alabama, Gregg rushed for 79 yards and tied the GSU record with three rushing touchdowns. Williams added 116 all-purpose yards (68 rushing, 48 receiving).

> Tight end Roger Carter (13-164-4) caught his 10th career touchdown pass against ULM, tying Keith Rucker for the most by a GSU TE.

> Two Panthers have earned the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week honor: OLB Jordan Strachan (Oct. 26 vs. Troy) and redshirt freshman safety Antavious Lane (Oct. 5 vs. East Carolina).

> Lane leads GSU with three interceptions­--the most ever by a Panther freshman--including a pick-six, and he is third with 50 tackles. He also has six pass breakups, two tackles for loss and a fumble recovery.

> The inside linebacker tandem of junior Blake Carroll (58 tackles, 5.5 TFL) and senior Trajan Stephens-McQueen (52, 7.0 TFL) are the team's leading tacklers. Stephens-McQueen ranks fourth in GSU history with 250 career tackles.
 
THE SERIES: The series, which began in 2014, is tied at 3-3. Georgia Southern has won two in a row, including last year's 38-10 win in Statesboro following a three-game winning streak by the Panthers:

> In 2017 in Statesboro, Penny Hart caught a 9-yard touchdown pass from Conner Manning with 2:31 to play to give the Panthers a 21-17 come-from-behind win. Hart finished with eight catches for a school-record 191 yards.

> In 2016, in its last game at the Georgia Dome, Georgia State won its second straight in the series, 30-24. Conner Manning passed for 318 yards and the Panthers scored on their first three possessions for a 20-0 lead.

> In 2015, Georgia State recorded a record-setting and bowl-clinching 34-7 victory in Statesboro. The Panthers handed Georgia Southern their worst home loss ever as the GSU defense limited the Eagles to 135 yards rushing and a school-record 203 yards of total offense. After a 7-7 first half, the Panthers scored touchdowns on their first four possessions of the second half.

> GSU head coach Shawn Elliott is very familiar with Georgia Southern head coach Chad Lunsford. Lunsford spent two seasons (2001-02) as the tight ends coach at Appalachian State while Elliott was the offensive line coach. Cornerbacks coach Cory Peoples held the same position at Georgia Southern in 2018.