GEORGIA STATE (3-8, 1-6 SBC) vs COASTAL CAROLINA (5-6, 2-5 Sun Belt)
Saturday, Nov. 30 | 2:00 p.m. | Center Parc Credit Union Stadium
TV: ESPN+
RADIO: Georgia State Radio Network on WRAS-FM 88.5, WGTJ-FM 97.5, GSU Athletics mobile app
--
ATLANTA-- After defeating Texas State in the final road contest of the season, the Panthers return to Coastal Carolina for the Season Finale on Saturday, Nov. 30 at 2:00 p.m.
Georgia State and Coastal Carolina are meeting for the eighth time in program history. The Panthers are 4-3 in the series against the Chanticleers. In the last contest between the Panthers and Chanticleers, Georgia State defeated Coastal Carolina 30-17 on the road on Sept. 21, 2023.
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 top 50 in the nation for fewest penalties per game (5.27).
> Defensively, GSU is second in the conference and top 20 in the nation for fumbles recovered with eight. Henry Bryant leads the Panthers and the Sun Belt with two fumble recoveries, ranking eighth in the nation. KD McDaniel, Izaiah Guy, Anthony Blume, Rykem Laney, Christian Lorenzo and Josiah Robinson all have one to tie for 10th in the conference for fumbles recovered.
> Senior Kevin Swint leads the Panthers with three forced fumbles to rank fourth in the conference and 17-th in the nation. D-Icey Hopkins, Josiah Robinson and Henry Bryant have one forced fumble.
TRACKING THE RECORD:
> Ted Hurst broke the program record for single-season touchdowns after snagging his ninth receiving touchdown in the Panthers' home contest against Arkansas State (Nov. 16).
> Senior linebacker Kevin Swint currently has 4.5 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). He currently stands at sixth overall in the program.
> Swint is also on track to beat the career record for forced fumbles. Standing at four in his career, he is four forced fumbles away from breaking the record of seven.
> Swint currently stands at seventh in program history for single-season tackles for loss with 9.0. The current record is 14.0.
> Henry Bryant stands at three career fumble recoveries, which is tied for fifth in program history. He needs two more to tie the career record for fumbles recovered.
> Gavin Pringle has seven pass breakups, and Jeremiah Johnson has six, which is on track to break the program record for single-season pass breakups (11).
> Liam Rickman stands with 12 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 Panthers' starting quarterback position.
> Quarterback Christian Veilluex has started in seven games for the Panthers, leading the team with 13 touchdowns and 1842 yards on 151 completions.
> Veilleux sat out in three mid-season games before taking over at Texas State and leading the Panthers to a 52-44 win (Nov. 23).
> Only three games into the season, Veilleux matched his single-season record for touchdowns with seven (six passing, one rushing), which he previously set at Pitt during the 2023 season.
> In his first season with the Panthers, Veilleux quickly made a name for himself in the Sun Belt, ranking eighth in the conference for completions per game (19.78). The starting quarterback is eighth in the conference for passing yards per game with 204.7.
> The senior transfer also ranks top 10 in the Sun Belt for passing touchdowns (8th with 13) and passing yards per completion (8th with 12.02 per completion).
> 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), and has started in three games before sitting out due to injury.
> Gibson is 102-for-151 with 1004 passing yards and seven touchdowns this season.
>In his first start at GSU, at App State, Gibson went 16-for-22 for a career-high 192 yards and one touchdown against the Mountaineers.
MORE ON THE QB ROOM: While Christian Veilleux and Zach Gibson have both seen starts this season, the Panthers have seen three quarterbacks in action so far, including Kyle Lowe.
> Gibson, Veilleux and Lowe have all recorded rushing touchdowns this season. Veilluex's came in the Vanderbilt game (Sept. 14), while Lowe's came on a quarterback rush against App State (Oct. 26). Gibson ran in his first-ever rushing touchdown at UConn (Nov. 1).
KEY RETURNERS: Despite the large influx of newcomers to the 2024 squad, head coach McGee retained multiple key returners to the 2024 squad.
> Veterans Gavin Pringle and Kevin Swint were named to the 2024 Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team after leading the Panthers on defense through the 2023 season. Senior linebacker Justin Abraham was named to the 2024 Athlon Sports Pre-Season All-Sun Belt Second-Team Defense.
> Running back Freddie Brock is the Panthers' leading running back, totaling 748 rushing yards on 137 attempts. He also leads the Panthers in total all-purpose yards with 893. Brock's 5.46 rushing yards-per-carry ranks top 10 in the Sun Belt.
> The junior running back is one of two running backs to record a rushing touchdown this season. He has six touchdowns on the season.
> Brock had a career-highlight game in the Panthers' win over Texas State (Nov. 23), setting a new career-high three touchdowns. He also beat his season-high rushing yards at Texas State, totaling 133 yards on 18 carries. He also beat his season-long rush after running in a 57-yard touchdown. He previously set a season-high 124 yards at Marshall (Oct. 17).
> Sophomore Dorian Fleming is second on the Panthers' receiving leaderboard with 540 yards on 47 receptions and five touchdowns.
> Fleming caught a career-high three touchdowns at Texas State (Nov. 23).
> Fleming marked a career-long 58 yard reception against Georgia Southern (Sept. 28).
> Fleming set a new career-high seven receptions at Marshall (Oct. 17), which he previously set against Vanderbilt (Sept. 14).
> Senior linebacker Kevin Swint has become a key defender for Panthers, leading the defense with 4.5 sacks, nine tackles for loss of 39 yards, four pass breakups and three forced fumbles on the season.
> Swint is fourth in the Sun Belt and ranks 17th in the nation for forced fumbles after recording three so far this season, including one in games against Vanderbilt (Sept. 14), Georgia Southern (Sept. 28) and UConn (Nov. 1).
> His four sacks rank top 10 in the Sun Belt.
> After an impact performance against SEC competitors Vanderbilt, Swint earned Sun Belt Player of the Week honors after leading the Panthers with eight tackles. Swint opened the contest with a forced fumble in the first drive of the game to set the pace for the Panthers upset over Vanderbilt. His forced fumble for 7 yards set Georgia State up on the Vanderbilt 20-yard line and allow the Panthers to put the first points on the board. He recorded his second sack of the game (8 yards) in the first drive of the fourth quarter to set the defensive momentum for the final minutes of the game. In addition to his two sacks and forced fumble, Swint recorded eight tackles (five solo) and two pass breakups. One of his pass breakups happened on a 4th-and-3 in the forth quarter to ultimately set the Panthers to up for a 29-17 advantage over Vanderbilt.
> Redshirt senior Gavin Pringle leads the Panthers' defense with the most pass breakups on the team with seven.
> Pringle is one of four Panthers to record an interception this season, after snagging his first of the season (fourth at GSU) in the home opener against Chattanooga (Sept. 7).
> Senior Jeremiah Johnson leads the Panthers on defense with 63 tackles (35 solo), and is second on the team with six pass breakups.
> The veteran safety recorded a season-high 10 tackles against James Madison (Nov. 9).
> Junior tackle Henry Bryant has the second-most sacks on the team (4 for 20 yards), and is third on the team for tackles for loss (4.5 for 21 yards).
> Bryant leads the team with two fumble recoveries, which leads the conference and ranks eighth in the nation. He snagged his first recovery of the season against Georgia Southern (Spet. 28) and his second came at UConn (Nov. 1).
> Henry recorded a season-high four tackles in the Panthers' season-opener at Georgia Tech (Aug. 31).
NEWCOMERS LEADING THE PACK: With the leadership change for the Panthers during the off season, Georgia State retained 65 returners and added 54 newcomers to the 2024 roster.
> Georgia State saw its largest influx of transfers in the offseason, with 48 transfer additions to the roster.
> Junior wide receiver Ted Hurst is the Panthers' leading receiver with 830 total receiving yards on the season, which ranks fifth in the conference and 35th in the nation.
> Hurst ranks sixth in the Sun Belt for total touchdowns after scoring nine this season. He recorded a career-high two receiving touchdowns in the Panthers' upset over Vanderbilt (Sept. 14).
> The Valdosta State transfer holds the team season-long reception for 76 yards, which he caught against rivals Georgia Southern (Sept. 28).
> Hurst caught his eighth touchdown of the season at JMU (Nov. 9) to tie the program record for single-season touchdowns, which was set in 2013.
> Graduate transfer Michael Dukes has become an impact running back for the Panthers' offense, standing second on the leaderboard for rushing yards with 354 on 61 carries.
> Dukes has recorded five touchdowns this season.
> Dukes recorded his first GSU career touchdown with a 9-yarder at App State (Oct. 26). He also recorded a career-long 35-yard rush against the Mountaineers.
> Senior transfer Xavier Robinson is third on the Panthers' defense, totaling 51 tackles (27 solo) over 10 games.
> Robinson put up a season-high nine tackles against Georgia Southern, beating out his previous season-high eight tackles against Chattanooga (Sept. 7). He also recorded one sack against the Mocs.
> Redshirt senior Kenyatta Watson leads the Panthers with three interceptions.
> Watson caught an interception for a career-high 30-yard return in the Panthers win over Texas State (Nov. 23).
> Watson has 37 tackles (18 solo) on the season. He recorded a season-high seven tackles against Georgia Southern (Sept. 28).
