Panthers Hit the Road for #StateNotSouthern Rivalry Game, Saturday at 6 p.m.

GEORGIA STATE (3-4, 2-1) at GEORGIA SOUTHERN (2-5, 1-3)
Saturday, Oct. 30 | 6 p.m. | Paulson Stadium

TV: ESPN+
RADIO: WRAS-FM 88.5

THE KICKOFF: Georgia State takes a two-game winning streak into the annual rivalry game with Georgia Southern, Saturday at 6 p.m. at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro.

> The Panthers are coming off a 28-16 win over Texas State in which quarterback Darren Grainger passed for 200 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for a career-high 91 yards. Behind Grainger, Tucker Gregg (115 yards) and Jamyest Williams (career-high 77 yards and two touchdowns), the Panthers piled up 298 yards on the ground, while the GSU defense allowed just one touchdown and three field goals while collecting five sacks and two turnovers.

> In their last two games, wins over ULM and Texas State, the Panthers have averaged 41.5 points and 535 yards of offense, including 312 yards rushing and 223 yards passing.

> Georgia State ranks No. 17 in FBS in rushing, averaging 219.7 ypg.

> Georgia State begins a stretch of three straight road games, with trips to Louisiana (Nov. 4) and No. 24 Coastal Carolina (Nov. 13) to follow. The win over Texas State was the Panthers' lone home game between Oct. 2 and Nov. 20, when GSU returns home to host Troy and then Arkansas State.

THE SERIES: Georgia State holds a 4-3 lead in the series, which began in 2014.

> Last season in Atlanta, Cornelious Brown IV passed for a career-high 372 yards and scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 1-yard plunge with 2:54 to play to send Georgia State to a 30-24 victory. The Panthers trailed 24-13 in the fourth quarter before scoring 17 straight points. Sam Pinckney had a career-high 10 catches for 126 yards, Cornelius McCoy joined him in the 100-yard column with five receptions for 111 yards, including a 45-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter, and Terrance Dixon added seven catches for a career-best 77 yards.

> In 2017 in Statesboro, Penny Hart caught a 9-yard touchdown pass from Conner Manning with 2:31 to play to give the Panthers a 21-17 come-from-behind win. Hart finished with eight catches for a school-record 191 yards.

> In 2016, in its last game at the Georgia Dome, Georgia State won its second straight in the series, 30-24. Conner Manning passed for 318 yards and the Panthers scored on their first three possessions for a 20-0 lead.

> In 2015, Georgia State recorded a record-setting and bowl-clinching 34-7 victory in Statesboro. The Panthers handed Georgia Southern their worst home loss ever as the GSU defense limited the Eagles to 135 yards rushing and a school-record 203 yards of total offense. After a 7-7 first half, the Panthers scored touchdowns on their first four possessions of the second half.

RECORD-SETTING WIN AT ULM: The Panthers produced one of the top offensive outputs in program history in their 55-21 victory at ULM. GSU scored a school-record eight touchdowns while tying the program highs for points scored (55), margin of victory (34) and first downs (39). The offense piled up 572 total yards, including 326 yards on the ground, the fifth-best single-game in GSU annals.

> Quarterback Darren Grainger tied the GSU record by accounting for five touchdowns while passing for 230 yards and rushing for 84. He threw two TD passes each to TE Aubry Payne and WR Ja'Cyais Credle and also scored on a 1-yard run.

NO MATTER HOW YOU SAY IT: Although his last name is frequently mispronounced, there is no mistaking ILB Jordan Veneziale (ven-zee-AL) as Georgia State's leading tackler. The junior moved into the starting lineup in Game 2 vs. North Carolina, and for the season, he has collected 58 tackles, with 3.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. His average of 8.3 tackles per game ranks third in the Sun Belt.

TUCKER THE TRUCKER: Senior running back Tucker Gregg, known for his hard-nosed style, trucked his way over the 1,000-yard mark for career rushing against Texas State.

> Gregg recorded his third career 100-yard game with 115 yards vs. the Bobcats, including a key fourth-down run.

> Gregg rushed for a career-high 150 yards on 12 carries at No. 23 Auburn. He had a career-long 57-yard run to set up a score in the first quarter, and then a 50-yard TD run to put GSU ahead 24-10 late in the second quarter. He is the first Panther to have two runs of 50 or more yards in the same game.

> Gregg now has 1,072 career rushing yards to move into ninth place in GSU history.

IN A RUSH: The Georgia State has achieved three of the top nine rushing games in program history in the last five games, gaining 326 yards against ULM and 298 vs. Charlotte and Texas State

> The top five single-game rushing performances, and eight of the top nine, have come in the three seasons under offensive coordinator Brad Glenn (2019-present):

> In the win over ULM, the Panthers gained 326 yards on the ground, the fifth-best single-game in program history. QB Darren Grainger led the way with 84 yards, followed by Tucker Gregg (83) and Jamyest Williams (67).

> Against Texas State, it was Gregg (115), Williams (92) and Grainger (91) again.

> The Panthers also rushed for 298 yards in their win over Charlotte, with four players gaining 60 or more yards: Destin Coates (83), Gregg (76), Williams (73) and Grainger (64).

> Leading 13-9 with nine minutes to play vs. Charlotte, GSU forced a punt and took over at its own 10-yard line. The Panthers proceeded to eat up 7:20 on the clock by running 13 straight times for 90 yards, capped by Williams' 13-yard TD with 1:38 left.

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Players Mentioned

#0 Terrance Dixon: WR; 5' 7"; Redshirt Senior

#26 Tucker Gregg: RB; 5' 10"; Senior

#83 Cornelius McCoy: WR; 5' 11"; Senior

#88 Aubry Payne: TE; 6' 4"; Redshirt Senior

#15 Sam Pinckney: WR; 6' 4"; Redshirt Junior

#40 Jordan Veneziale: ILB; 6' 0"; Junior

#21 Jamyest Williams: RB; 5' 9"; Redshirt Senior

#3 Darren Grainger: QB; 6' 4"; Redshirt Junior

#8 Ja'Cyais Credle: WR; 6' 4"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#0 Terrance Dixon
: 5' 7"; Redshirt Senior
: WR

#26 Tucker Gregg
: 5' 10"; Senior
: RB

#83 Cornelius McCoy
: 5' 11"; Senior
: WR

#88 Aubry Payne
: 6' 4"; Redshirt Senior
: TE

#15 Sam Pinckney
: 6' 4"; Redshirt Junior
: WR

#40 Jordan Veneziale
: 6' 0"; Junior
: ILB

#21 Jamyest Williams
: 5' 9"; Redshirt Senior
: RB

#3 Darren Grainger
: 6' 4"; Redshirt Junior
: QB

#8 Ja'Cyais Credle
: 6' 4"; Sophomore
: WR