Three-Game Win Streak on the Line THERSday at No. 24 Louisiana

GEORGIA STATE (4-4, 3-1) at No. 24 LOUISIANA (7-1, 5-0)
Thursday, Nov. 4 | 7:30 p.m. | Cajun Field

TV: ESPN
RADIO: WRAS-FM 88.5

THE KICKOFF: Riding a three-game winning streak, Georgia State's next challenge is an ESPN Thursday night game at No. 24 Louisiana. Kickoff for the nationally televised game is at 7:30 p.m. ET at Cajun Field.

> After consecutive wins over ULM, Texas State and Georgia Southern, the Panthers (4-4, 3-1) are tied for first in the Sun Belt East Division, while 24th-ranked Louisiana (7-1, 5-0) leads the West Division.

> Jamyest Williams' 23-yard touchdown run with 26 seconds left gave Georgia State a 21-14 win at Georgia Southern as the Panthers improved to 5-3 against their in-state rival.

> On their three-game winnings streak, the Panthers have averaged 282 yards rushing.

> Georgia State ranks No. 16 in FBS in rushing, averaging 221.9 ypg.

> The running game features the trio of running backs Tucker Gregg (552 yds, 4 TD) and Jamyest Williams (413 yds, 5 TD) and quarterback Darren Grainger (388 yds, 1 TD) while running behind a veteran offensive line with 175 career starts.

> The GSU defense allowed a total of three touchdowns in back-to-back wins over Texas State and Georgia Southern.

> Louisiana will be Georgia State's third nationally-ranked opponent of the season, all on the road, following No. 22 North Carolina and No. 23 Auburn. Next week's opponent is No. 21 Coastal Carolina.

> Georgia State is playing the second of three straight road games, with a trip to No. 24 Coastal Carolina (Nov. 13) to follow. The Oct. 23 win over Texas State was the Panthers' lone home game between Oct. 2 and Nov. 20, when GSU returns home to host Troy and then Arkansas State.

GEORGIA STATE vs. RANKED TEAMS: Although Georgia State is looking for its first win against a ranked FBS team, five of the 10 games have come against Power Five teams ranked 12th or higher in the AP poll.

> Earlier this season, Georgia State led at No. 23 Auburn until the final minute, when the Tigers scored the go-ahead touchdown on a fourth-down play with 45 seconds left.

> Last season, the Panthers lost 34-31 in overtime to No. 19/21 Louisiana in the season opener.

> GSU also had a close call at No. 9 Wisconsin in 2016, leading 17-13 with less than 10 minutes to play before the Badgers scored the go-ahead touchdown with 7:25 left and went on to win 23-17.

TUCKER THE TRUCKER: Senior running back Tucker Gregg, known for his hard-nosed style, has trucked his way to 1,159 career rushing yards to ranks No. 6 in GSU history.

> He rushed for 87 yards and two touchdowns in the Panthers' 21-14 win over Georgia Southern.

> The former walk-on recorded his third career 100-yard game with 115 yards vs. Texas State including a key fourth-down run.

> Gregg rushed for a career-high 150 yards on 12 carries at No. 23 Auburn. He had a career-long 57-yard run to set up a score in the first quarter, and then a 50-yard TD run to put GSU ahead 24-10 late in the second quarter. He is the first Panther to have two runs of 50 or more yards in the same game.

#STATENOTSOUTHERN: Georgia State scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns, including Jamyest Williams' game-winner on a 23-yard run with 26 seconds left, to earn a 21-14 victory at Georgia Southern.

> After Georgia Southern tied the game with 1:39 left, the Panthers drove 73 yards in seven plays for the winning score. Williams started the drive with a 12-yard run, and QB Darren Grainger had a 5-yard completion and five rushes for 35 yards.

> The GSU defense had to make one last stand after Georgia Southern drove to the GSU 21 with two seconds left, but Jhi'Shawn Taylor sacked QB Justin Tomlin on the final play.

> The Panthers defeated their in-state rival for the second straight year and improved to 5-3 in the series.

> In Georgia State's last three wins in the series, the Panthers have scored a late touchdown to win. In 2020's 30-24 victory, Cornelious Brown IV scored on a 1-yard run with 2:54 left, and in 2017, Penny Hart caught a 9-yard TD pass from Conner Manning with 2:31 to play for a 21-17 victory.

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Players Mentioned

#26 Tucker Gregg: RB; 5' 10"; Senior

#47 Jhi'Shawn Taylor: OLB; 6' 3"; Redshirt Senior

#21 Jamyest Williams: RB; 5' 9"; Redshirt Senior

#3 Darren Grainger: QB; 6' 4"; Redshirt Junior

Players Mentioned

#26 Tucker Gregg
: 5' 10"; Senior
: RB

#47 Jhi'Shawn Taylor
: 6' 3"; Redshirt Senior
: OLB

#21 Jamyest Williams
: 5' 9"; Redshirt Senior
: RB

#3 Darren Grainger
: 6' 4"; Redshirt Junior
: QB