Elliott
Rich von Biberstein Photography

Football

Bowl-Eligible Panthers Host Troy for Senior Day Saturday at 2 p.m.

GEORGIA STATE (6-5, 5-2) vs. TROY  (5-6, 3-4)
Saturday, Nov. 27  |  2 p.m.  Center Parc Stadium


TV: ESPN+
RADIO: WRAS-FM 88.5

Bowl eligible for the third straight year, Georgia State concludes the regular season Saturday at Center Parc Stadium, hosting Troy in a 2 p.m. kickoff on Senior Day.

Fueled by a dominating defensive effort, Georgia State downed Arkansas State 28-20 to improve to 6-5 overall and 5-2 in the Sun Belt. Georgia State's five Sun Belt wins equal the program record, also achieved in 2015 and 2017.

The Panthers have won five of their last six games, with the only loss in that stretch a 21-17 defeat at No. 24 Louisiana in which GSU led until the final three minutes. Three of those five wins have been on the road.

GSU is bowl eligible for the third straight year for the first time in program history. The Panthers have earned bowl eligibility four times in five seasons under head coach Shawn Elliott and five times in seven years since earning full FBS status in 2014.

Georgia State is the ONLY FBS team in the nation to play four road games against ranked opponents this season.

The Panthers rank No. 13 in FBS in rushing, averaging 222.5 ypg. The running back tandem of Tucker Gregg (816 yds, 10 TD) and Jamyest Williams (702 yds, 7 TD) has the topped the 1,000-yard mark for the season, combing for 1,518 yards and 17 TDs. Quarterback Darren Grainger adds 501 yards rushing--first among all Sun Belt quarterbacks--and two touchdowns.

Georgia State rushed for 282 yards, including a career-high 125 yards and two touchdowns by Williams, but dominating defense was story of the Panthers' 28-20 win over Arkansas State. The Panthers held A-State to just 270 total yards, the sixth-lowest figure in program history and the fourth game in the last two seasons in which GSU has held a team under 300 yards. Georgia State set school records by holding the Red Wolves to minus-3 yards rushing and by making 15 tackles for loss.

The Georgia State defense ranks No. 14 in FBS with a school-record 76 tackles for loss. The total includes 29 sacks, the program's second-best season total. The Panthers have made 26 tackles behind the line of scrimmage over the last games.

Troy enters the game at 5-6, 3-4 Sun Belt as interim head coach Brandon Hall makes his debut. The Trojans leads the series 5-3, but Georgia State has won the last two meetings. The Panthers first defeated Troy in 2015.

In last year's 36-34 win at Troy, tight end Roger Carter caught two touchdown passes and the GSU defense held Troy to just 40 yards rushing, now the third-lowest figure in school history. In 2019 in Atlanta, the Panthers rushed for a then-school record 390 yards, including 242 yards by Tra Barnett, in their 52-33 win.

WILLIS & WILSON: Senior DE Hardrick Willis is Georgia State's career leader in sacks with 12.5, but super senior NG Dontae Wilson is gaining on him.

> With a sack in the win over Arkansas State, Wilson now ranks second with 11.0 career sacks.

> Wilson also tied Michael Shaw for the GSU career record with 26.5 tackles for loss.

TUCKER THE TRUCKER: Senior running back Tucker Gregg, known for his hard-nosed style, has trucked his way to 1,423 career rushing yards to rank No. 4 in GSU history. 

> The former walk-on and Burlsworth Trophy nominee is second in the Sun Belt with 816 yards this season and fourth with nine rushing touchdowns. His 816 represent the No. 2 season total in GSU history.

> Gregg is coming off a 98-yard effort vs. Arkansas State, including two crucial third-down conversions to allow the Panthers to run out the clock.

> He tied the GSU record with three rushing touchdowns, along with 67 yards, in the win at No. 22/21 Coastal Carolina.

> Gregg rushed for 99 yards at No. 24 Louisiana, including a 1-yard touchdown that gave GSU a 17-14 lead with five minutes left. He gained 48 yards on that drive alone. 

> He rushed for 87 yards and two TDs in the Panthers' 21-14 win over Georgia Southern, and 98 yards and one score in win over Arkansas State.

> 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.

JAM-MING: Jamyest Williams is the Panthers' second-leading rusher with 702 yards and eight touchdowns.

> He leads the Panthers with 6.7 yards per carry, which would rank No. 6 in FBS, but he is just under the minimum number of attempts to be ranked.

> Over the last five games, Williams is averaging 92.6 yards per game and 7.5 yards per carry with six touchdowns.

> He has rushed for 955 yards and eight touchdowns in 19 games on offense.

ISN'T THAT SPECIAL: Long-snapper Seth Glausier was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District team for the second straight year and is now eligible for the 2021 Academic All-America team. The junior from Jefferson, Ga., maintains a 3.99 GPA while majoring in managerial sciences.


 
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Players Mentioned

Tra Barnett

#5 Tra Barnett

RB
5' 10"
Senior
Roger Carter

#45 Roger Carter

TE
6' 2"
Junior
Seth Glausier

#66 Seth Glausier

LS
6' 1"
Freshman
Tucker Gregg

#26 Tucker Gregg

RB
5' 10"
Sophomore
Hardrick Willis

#90 Hardrick Willis

DE
6' 3"
Junior
Dontae Wilson

#52 Dontae Wilson

NG
6' 0"
Junior
Jamyest Williams

#21 Jamyest Williams

RB
5' 9"
Redshirt Senior
Darren Grainger

#3 Darren Grainger

QB
6' 4"
Redshirt Junior

Players Mentioned

Tra Barnett

#5 Tra Barnett

5' 10"
Senior
RB
Roger Carter

#45 Roger Carter

6' 2"
Junior
TE
Seth Glausier

#66 Seth Glausier

6' 1"
Freshman
LS
Tucker Gregg

#26 Tucker Gregg

5' 10"
Sophomore
RB
Hardrick Willis

#90 Hardrick Willis

6' 3"
Junior
DE
Dontae Wilson

#52 Dontae Wilson

6' 0"
Junior
NG
Jamyest Williams

#21 Jamyest Williams

5' 9"
Redshirt Senior
RB
Darren Grainger

#3 Darren Grainger

6' 4"
Redshirt Junior
QB