GEORGIA STATE (2-5, 0-4 SBC) at UCONN (5-3, 0-0 Independent)
Friday, Nov. 1 | 7:00 p.m. ET | Pratt and Whitney field at Rentschler Field
TV: CBS Sports
RADIO: Georgia State Radio Network on WRAS-FM 88.5, WGTJ-FM 97.5, GSU Athletics mobile app
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ATLANTA-- Georgia State looks to secure its first road win of the season under the new leadership of head coach Dell McGee at the University of Connecticut on Friday, Nov. 1 at 7:00 p.m. at Pratt and Whitney field at Rentschler Field.
SERIES NOTES: Georgia State and UConn are meeting for the second time in program history. This is game two of a home-and-home against the Huskies.
> The Panthers won game one of the home-and-home in 2023, defeating the Huskies 35-14 on Sept. 9, 2023 at Center Parc credit Union Stadium.
PANTHERS VS. THE SUN BELT: Despite a slow start to conference play, the Panthers continue to stand in Sun Belt rankings on both sides of the ball.
> The Panthers lead the Sun Belt and rank 14th in the nation for fewest penalties (37).
> Offensively, the Panthers rank top 10 in the Sun Belt in completion percentage (7th with 0.607) team passing efficiency (9th with 128.84) and passing offense (6th with 247.7).
> Defensively, GSU ranks fourth in the conference and 33rd in the nation for fumbles recovered with five. Senior Kevin Swint leads the Panthers with two forced fumbles, while D-Icey Hopkins, Josiah Robinson and Henry Bryant have one.
> KD McDaniel, Izaiah Guy, Henry Bryant, Anthony Blume and Rykem Laney have all recorded one fumble recovery, all tying for fifth in the conference and 37th in FBS for fumble recoveries.
TRACKING THE RECORD:
> Senior linebacker Kevin Swint currently has four sacks on the season, which is two away from tying the second place spot for single-season sacks (6) and seven away from breaking the record (10.5).
> Ted Hurst's six touchdowns put him three scores away from breaking the single-season touchdown record (8).
> Liam Rickman stands with nine field goals made, which is on track to break the single-season FG-made record of 15.
NEW STARTING QB: After a GSU-record 36 consecutive games with Darren Grainger as the starting quarterback, Christian Veilleux and Zach Gibson continue the battle for the starting quarterback position.
> After starting Christian Veilleux at quarterback for the first six games, Zach Gibson earned the starting position for game seven at App State (Oct. 26). In his first start at GSU, he went 16-for-22 for a career-high 192 yards and one touchdown against the Mountaineers.
> Gibson stepped in as the Panthers' quarterback early in the first half of play at Marshall (Oct. 17), and finished the contest going 19-of-32 for 192 yards and two touchdowns.
> Gibson saw his season debut in the final minutes against Old Dominion (Oct. 12), when he went 6-for-6 for 49 yards with one touchdown against the Monarchs.
> The redshirt senior joined the Panthers for the 2024 season as a transfer from Georgia Tech.
> Quarterback Christian Veilluex has started in all six games for the Panthers, leading the team with nine touchdowns and 1301 yards on 118 completions.
Following the road contest at UConn, the Panthers conclude a four-game road series at James Madison (Nov. 9) before returning to Center Parc Credit Union Stadium on Nov. 11 to host Arkansas State for Homecoming.
