"It's a great day to be a Georgia State Panther," head coach Shawn Elliott exclaimed as he opened his remarks about the Panthers' berth in the 2020 LendingTree Bowl in Mobile, Ala.
 
"We got the invitation to the 2020 LendingTree Bowl against Western Kentucky, and what news it was. It's an exciting time for everyone associated with our program to have this opportunity. With such an unusual season, to have the opportunity to finish it up with a bowl game is great thing. We're looking forward to the trip, and we're excited to start preparing."
 
The LendingTree Bowl will kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET at Ladd-Peebles Stadium and be nationally televised on ESPN.
 
Ticket information can be found at www.GeorgiaStateSports.com/bowls.
 
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 Elliott.
 
Western Kentucky, coached by Tyson Helton, won its last three games for a record of 5-6 overall, 4-3 in Conference USA.
 
Interestingly, the Panthers and Hilltoppers met in the 2017 AutoNation Cure Bowl in Orlando in Elliott's first season at the helm, and Georgia State came away with a 27-17 victory for the program's first bowl victory.
 
"When the name Western Kentucky came up, I thought, 'That's kind of cool'," Elliott said. "We got our first bowl win against them in 2017, and here we are in our fourth season, with an opportunity to do it all over again. We're hoping for the same result, of course."
 
Georgia State is playing just its 11th season of football and seventh at the FBS level, but the Panthers have earned their fourth bowl berth in the last six years.
 
"The growth of this football program is really remarkable," Elliott said. "We owe it all to the players who have really been committed to building this thing the right way and the hard work and effort they have put in.
 
"It says a lot about where we are headed as a football program and as a university, to know that you are going to wake up on Dec. 26 and at 3:30 have the opportunity to see the Georgia State Panthers go for another bowl win. It's an exciting time."