ATLANTA -- Earning a bowl bid for the fourth time in six years, Georgia State has accepted an invitation to the LendingTree Bowl, scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 26 in Mobile, Ala., where the Panthers will face Conference USA foe Western Kentucky.
 
The LendingTree Bowl will kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET at Ladd-Peebles Stadium and be nationally televised on ESPN, along with coverage on the Georgia State Radio Network.
 
Ticket information can be found at GeorgiaStateSports.com/bowls when it becomes available.
 
Georgia State won three of its last four games to finish the regular season at 5-4 overall, 4-4 in the Sun Belt Conference and achieve a bowl game for the second straight year and third time in four seasons under head coach Shawn Elliott.
 
The Panthers are seeking their second bowl victory against the same WKU team that they defeated for their first bowl win, a 27-17 victory over the Hilltoppers in the 2017 AutoNation Cure Bowl in Elliott's first season. WKU is 5-6, 4-3 C-USA.
 
"I'm so proud of our players for their commitment and hard work to persevere through this season and earn our fourth bowl berth," Elliott said. "We talk about doing things for the first time, and back-to-back bowl games is another first for our program.
 
"We are excited to go the LendingTree Bowl for the first time and return to Mobile, where we had a great win over South Alabama a few weeks ago," he continued. "We look forward to an exciting matchup with Western Kentucky."
 
In 24 seasons as a Division I coach, Elliott has been part of 19 teams that reached a bowl game or the NCAA playoffs.
 
GSU quarterback Cornelious Brown IV, the redshirt freshman from Birmingham, Ala., is second in the Sun Belt passing (227.3 yards per game) and total offense (256.3 ypg) while accounting for 21 TDs (14 passing, 7 rushing). He directs a GSU offense that averages nearly 33 points per game.
 
The Panther attack also features skill players like top receiver Sam Pinckney, a member of the Biletnikoff Award Watch List with 44 receptions for 753 yards and six touchdowns, running back Destin Coates, the No. 2 rusher in the Sun Belt with 81.5 yards per game and six touchdowns, and All-Sun Belt tight end Roger Carter (21 catches for 256 yards and four touchdowns), as well as a veteran offensive line led by three-time All-Sun Belt left guard Shamarious Gilmore.
 
Georgia State's defense leads the Sun Belt and ranks No. 7 FBS with a school-record 32 sacks, led by outside linebacker Jordan Strachan, who is No. 2 in the nation with 9.0 sacks.
 
Over the last three games, the GSU defense held opponents to 18.3 points and 334.7 yards in wins over South Alabama (14 points, 324 yards) and Georgia Southern (24 points, 370 yards) and a three-point loss at App State (17 points, 310 yards).