GEORGIA STATE (3-3, 2-3 SBC) at APPALACHIAN STATE (5-1, 3-0 SBC)
Nov. 14, 2020  |  2:30 p.m.  |  Kidd Brewer Stadium, Boone, N.C.
TV: ESPN+  |  Radio: WRAS-FM 88.5
 
THE KICKOFF: After a 52-34 victory over ULM, Georgia State hits the road for two straight games, beginning Saturday at Appalachian State at 2:30 p.m. in Boone, N.C. (ESPN+).

> GSU (3-3, 2-3 Sun Belt) scored 52 points, the program high against an FBS opponent, for the second time this season and the fourth time in the last two years.

> Appalachian State (5-1, 3-0 Sun Belt) has won four in a row and is receiving votes in the AP and coaches' polls.

> Redshirt freshman quarterback Cornelious Brown IV is the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week. In the win over ULM, he passed for 241 yards and accounted for four touchdowns, including two scoring passes to Cornelius McCoy.

> Brown is averaging 198.0 yards passing and 36.5 yards rushing per game. He has accounted for 13 touchdowns, including 12 through the air and five on the ground. He directs a GSU attack that averages 36.7 points per game (No. 2 Sun Belt/No. 27 FBS).

> Junior running back Destin Coates is the Sun Belt's leading rusher, averaging 107.2 yards per game (No. 20 in FBS). He has topped the 100-yard mark in four of five games this season, including 102 yards and two TDs vs. ULM. As a team, the Panthers are No. 20 in FBS in rushing (205.0 ypg).

> Coates now ranks fifth in GSU history with 1,219 rushing yards (No. 4 Dan Ellington, 1,293 yards) and tied for second with 13 rushing touchdowns (Record is 19 by Tra Barnett).

> The Panthers' top receiver is Sam Pinckney with 24 catches for 369 yards and five touchdowns. Over a two-game span vs. East Carolina and Arkansas State, Pinckney totaled 13 receptions, 280 yards and five TD.

> After missing three games due to injury, WR Cornelius McCoy caught a 57-yard pass on the first play vs. ULM. He finished the game with seven catches for 118 yards, including TD receptions of 5 and 18 yards.

> 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.

> Defensive end Hardrick Willis had 1.5 sacks vs. ULM to raise his career total to 9.0. The GSU career record is 10.5 by Mackendy Cheridor (2013-17).

> Outside linebacker Jordan Strachan has already tied the GSU season sack record with 5.0, which ranks second in the Sun Belt.

> Strachan was the Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Week after collecting three tackles for loss, including 2.5 sacks, and recovering two fumbles, one of which he also caused, in the win over Troy. In the third quarter, he sacked and stripped the quarterback and recovered at the Troy 8-yard line, setting up a touchdown for a 33-21 lead. Strachan's first fumble recovery came in the second quarter as he scooped up a loose ball and returned it 63 yards to the Troy 20 for the fourth-longest fumble return in GSU history.

> Strachan is one of two Panthers to earn the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week honor, along with redshirt freshman safety Antavious Lane following the East Carolina win. Lane leads the GSU defense with 41 tackles and two interceptions.

> The GSU defense held Troy to just 40 yards rushing, the second-lowest figure in school history, in the Panthers' 36-34 victory.

> The Panthers are looking for their first win against Appalachian State, which leads the series 6-0, including 3-0 in Boone. Last season in Atlanta, with star quarterback Dan Ellington playing with a torn ACL in his knee, GSU led the nationally-ranked Mountaineers 21-7 late in the first half before App State scored 28 straight points and went on to win 56-27.

> Quarterback Cornelious Brown IV and safety Antavious Lane, both redshirt freshmen, were named to the FWAA Freshman All-American Watch List. Junior center Malik Sumter has been tabbed to the Rimington Award Watch List.

> Placekicker Noel Ruiz, the grad transfer (North Carolina A&T), ranks sixth among all active FBS kickers (seventh among all players) with 296 points. He is third with 167 PAT and 14th with 43 career field goals.

ELLIOTT FACES ALMA MATER: Georgia State head coach Shawn Elliott is a 1996 graduate of Appalachian State and was a long-time assistant coach for the Mountaineers.

> Elliott spent 13 seasons on the App State staff under head coach Jerry Moore. He worked two seasons as a defensive assistant (1997-98) and two seasons as tight ends coach (1999-00) before taking over the offensive line (2001-09).

> Elliott helped lead the Mountaineers to three NCAA FCS titles (2005-07) plus two trips to the national semifinals and three appearances in the quarterfinals. App State reached
the NCAA playoffs 10 times in his 13 seasons.

> Elliott was a four-year letterman as a defensive lineman from 1992-96.

> Offensive coordinator Brad Glenn spent seven years on the App State staff, coaching tight ends (2005), slot receivers (2006-08) and quarterbacks (2009-11).

> GSU Director of Athletics Charlie Cobb served nine years in the same position at App State before coming to Atlanta in 2014.