GEORGIA STATE (0-0, 0-0 Sun Belt)
vs. No. 19/21 LOUISIANA (1-0, 0-0 Sun Belt)
Sept. 19, 2020  |  12 p.m.  |  Center Parc Stadium  |  Atlanta, Ga.
TV: ESPN2  |  Radio: WRAS-FM 88.5
 
THE KICKOFF: Georgia State hosts the first college football game in the city of Atlanta as the Panthers open the 2020 season against 19th-ranked Louisiana in a nationally-televised game at Center Parc Stadium.

QUOTING HEAD COACH SHAWN ELLIOTT: "For myself and our staff and players, it's going to be such a great feeling to walk on that field and actually have a game of football to play and go out there and compete. That's ultimately what we want to do. Our players are thrilled to be playing a great opponent. After beating Iowa State, Louisiana comes in here ranked No. 19 in one poll and No. 21 in the other and it's on ESPN2 - that's a big-time feeling. We're ready to go play."

> Playing just its 11th season of football and seventh at the FBS level, Georgia State looks to build on a successful 2019 season, when the Panthers earned their third bowl berth in five seasons and second in three years under head coach Shawn Elliott. GSU finished 7-6 last season.
> The Panthers return eight starters from an offense that was the most prolific unit in program history, and eight starters on defense.
> Louisiana is ranked No. 19/21 (AP/Coaches) after opening its season with a 31-14 victory at No. 23 Iowa State, The Ragin' Cajuns won the Sun Belt West in 2019 and are the preseason favorite to repeat.
> Georgia State is hosting a nationally-ranked team for the second time in the last three games at Center Parc Stadium. Last November, Appalachian State (RV/24) was the first ranked team to play on the Panthers' home field.
> In 23 seasons as a Division I coach, Shawn Elliott has been part of 21 winning seasons and 18 teams that reached a bowl game or the NCAA playoffs.
 
2019 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS: Georgia State (7-6, 4-4 Sun Belt) tied its school record with seven victories and earned its second bowl berth in three seasons under head coach Shawn Elliott, with a trip to the NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl.
> The Panthers posted their best home record at 5-1 while setting a program-record for home attendance.
> Earned the signature win in program history with the season-opening 38-30 victory at Tennessee, Georgia State's first-ever win over a Power 5 opponent.
> Twenty-five season records, 17 single-game records and seven career marks were set or broken in 2019.
> GSU produced the most prolific offensive season in program history, setting school records for points (406), scoring average (31.2), total offense (5,718), total offense per game (439.8), rushing yards (3,141), rushing yards per game (241.6), rushing yards per attempt ((5.3) and first downs (305).
> Georgia State ranked No. 13 in FBS in rushing with 241.6 yards per game.
> The Panthers accomplished all this despite starting quarterback Dan Ellington playing the final four games with a torn ACL.
   
NEW NAME, SAME GREAT PLACE: Georgia State's home facility is now known as Center Parc Credit Union Stadium, or Center Parc Stadium. The 15-year, $21 million agreement between Center Parc Credit Union, a division of Atlanta Postal Credit Union (APCU), and Georgia State Athletics, was announced Aug. 11, 2020.
 
GEORGIA STATE vs. RANKED TEAMS: Georgia State is 0-6 all-time vs. ranked FBS teams, but the Panthers' first five games against ranked foes came at Power 5 teams ranked 12th or higher in the AP poll.
   
GSU had a close call at No. 9 Wisconsin in 2016, leading 17-13 with less than 10 minutes to play before the Badgers scored the go-ahead touchdown with 7:25 left and went on to win 23-17.
Alabama, 2010 (10/12)........ aL 63-7
Alabama, 2013 (1/1)............ aL 56-3
Oregon, 2015 (12/13)........ aL 61-28
Wisconsin, 2016 (9/12)...... aL 23-17
Penn State, 2017 (5/5)........ aL 56-0
Appalachian State, 2019 (RV/24) hL 45-17
* Rankings are AP/Coaches' Poll
 
SERIES vs. LOUISIANA: Georgia State and Louisiana are meeting for just the second time since 2015, and the Ragin' Cajuns are making their first appearance in Center Parc Stadium, the Panthers' home since 2017.
> Louisiana leads the series 4-0.
> In the last meeting, Louisiana won 36-22 on Nov. 10, 2018 at Cajun Field in a GSU played without injured starting quarterback Dan Ellington. The Panthers trailed just 16-14 entering the fourth quarter before Louisiana scored 20 straight points.
 
SEASON OPENERS: Georgia State is 5-5 in season openers, including last year's 38-30 victory at Tennessee, which was the Panthers' first win over a Power 5 program.
> The Panthers are opening the season on a Saturday for the second year in row after playing their first nine opening games on a weeknight. GSU has played four Thursday openers, four Friday openers and one Wednesday opener.
> Georgia State is opening the season at home for the 10th time in its 11 seasons of football.
> Georgia State is opening the season with a conference game for the first time.
 
QUAD TAKES OVER UNDER CENTER: Redshirt freshman Cornelious Brown IV has been named Georgia State's starting quarterback, taking over for two-year starter Dan Ellington.
   
Brown, known as Quad, played in four games as a true freshman, preserving his redshirt. He saw his most significant action against ULM, when he played the entire second half after starter Dan Ellington was injured. For the season, Brown was 11-for-28 for 130 yards.
   
All four quarterbacks on the GSU roster are freshmen and none has started a game. Besides Brown, only Kierston Harvey has played at all, taking a handful of snaps in mop-up situations.
   
Backup quarterback Jamil Muhammad sat out last season after transferring from Vanderbilt, and Mikele Colasurdo, the Gatorade Player of the Year in South Carolina, is a true freshman.