GEORGIA STATE (0-0, 0-0 SBC) at OLE MISS (0-0, 0-0 SEC)
Saturday, Aug. 29 | 7:45 p.m. ET | Vaught Hemingway Stadium
TV: SEC Network
RADIO: Georgia State Radio Network in Atlanta on WRAS-FM 88.5, in Gainesville on WGTJ-FM 97.5, GSU Athletics mobile app


ATLANTA-- Georgia State opens the 2025 season on the road at Ole Miss on Saturday, Aug. 31 at 7:45 p.m. at Vaught Hemingway Stadium, the first meeting for the two programs. 

PRESEASON HONORS 
Senior Wide receiver Ted Hurst earned 2025 SBC Preseason First-Team Offense, 2025 Phil Steele Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team, 2025 Freaks List by The Atlantic, 2025 HERO Sports G5 Preseason All-American and Preseason Biletnikoff Award Watch List honors following a standout 2024 season. Hurst was a 2024 All-Sun Belt Second-Team Offense and 2024 College Football Network All-Sun Belt Offense honoree. 

Senior defensive tackle Henry Bryant earned SBC preseason Second Team Defense and 2025 Phil Steele Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team honors. Bryant was a 2024 All-Sun Belt Honorable Mention selection, and was named to the 2024 Athlon Sports Preseason All-Sun Belt Second Team Defense.

2024 RECAP
Georgia State saw its first season under head coach Dell McGee  during the 2024 season. The Panthers finished 3-9 (1-7 SBC) on the season, with wins over Chattanooga, Vanderbilt and Texas State. 

The Panthers lead the Sun Belt and finished top 50 in the nation for fewest penalties per game (5.27).   

Defensively, GSU finished the 2024 season ranking second in the conference and top 20 in the nation for fumbles recovered with eight. Henry Bryant led the Panthers and the Sun Belt with two fumble recoveries, finishing eighth in the nation. 

SEASON OPENERS

The 2025 season marks the fourth consecutive season opening on the road, including 2024 (35-12 loss at Georgia Tech), 2023 (42-35 win vs. Rhode Island) and 2022 (35-14 loss at South Carolina). 

Georgia State is 6-9 in season openers after falling in last years' opener at Georgia Tech. 

The Panthers are opening on the road for just the fifth time in 15 seasons of existence, including four road openers in the last four years.

The only other time that GSU has opened the season on the road was the 2019 upset against Tennessee (38-30). 

 Georgia State is opening on a Saturday for the sixth time in the last seven years. The team opened on a weeknight for its first nine years of existence and then again during the 2023 season, including five Thursday games, four Fridays and one Wednesday.

THE McGEE ERA 

Head Coach Dell McGee enters his second season at the helm of the Georgia State Panthers football program. 

Dell McGee, a Columbus, Ga., native with 22 years of coaching experience, including back-to-back national titles as the run game coordinator and running backs coach for the Georgia Bulldogs, was named the fourth head football coach in Georgia State history on Feb. 23, 2024.

Although this is McGee's first full-time head coaching position, he was already 1-0 coming in to his head coaching position at Georgia State. He led Georgia Southern to a 58-27 win over Bowling Green in the 2015 GoDaddy Bowl while serving as interim head coach.

Playing just its 15th season of football and 11th at the FBS level, Georgia State has already played in six bowl games (4-2 record) and five in the last seven years, including last year's 45-22 win over Utah State in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. The Panthers have won three straight bowls over the last four years.

PANTHERS VS POWER 4

The Panthers are slated to face two Power 4 opponents this season, starting with a season-opener at Ole Miss. Georgia state will also travel to Vanderbilt in game two of the home-and-home series on Sept. 20. 

Georgia State has faced 18 power four schools since its establishment in 2010. Most recently, the Panthers faced two Power four opponents during the 2024 season, including a win over SEC opponent Vanderbilt. 

Georgia State has seen action against five Power 4 opponents in the last three years, including home games against North Carolina (2022), UConn (2023) and Vanderbilt (2024). 

Most notably, the Panthers' 38-30 victory at Tennessee in the 2019 season opener is the program's only win over a Power Five team. In that game, Georgia State trailed 17-14 at the half but outscored the Vols  

Most recently, The Panthers upset Vanderbilt 36-32 on Sept. 14, 2024 at home. 


After traveling to Ole Miss, the Panthers return to Atlanta to host the home-opener against Memphis on Saturday, Sept. 6 at 7:00 p.m. ET.