Another Tough Test as Panthers Travel to Nationally-Ranked UNC

First Power Five Game Since the Memorable Tennessee Win in 2019

GEORGIA STATE (0-1) at No. 10/9 NORTH CAROLINA (0-1)
Saturday, Sept. 11 | 7:30 p.m. | Kenan Stadium
TV: ESPN3/Bally Sports South | Radio: WRAS-FM 88.5

Facing its first Power Five game since the historic 2019 win at Tennessee, Georgia State travels to nationally-ranked North Carolina for the first time for a 7:30 p.m. game Saturday at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C. The game will be televised on ESPN3 and ACC RSN, including Bally Sports South in Atlanta.

THE KICKOFF:
> The Panthers (0-1) look to regroup after opening the season with a disappointing 43-10 loss to Army.

> North Carolina (0-1), ranked No. 10/9 (AP/Coaches) in the opening week, is also coming off an opening game loss, 17-10 at Virginia Tech.

> Coming off back-to-back bowl berths, Georgia State returns 22 starters from last year's LendingTree Bowl champions, including all 11 starters on offense and nine starters on defense as well as the punter and placekicker.

PANTHERS vs. POWER FIVE: Georgia State is playing its first contest against a Power Five program since the Panthers' 38-30 victory at Tennessee in the 2019 season opener, the program's first win over a Power Five team. (The scheduled 2020 game at Alabama was canceled.)

> In that Tennessee win, Georgia State trailed 17-14 at the half but outscored the Vols 24-13 in the second half. Tra Barnett's 19-yard run gave GSU a 28-23 lead, and then quarterback Dan Ellington sealed the win with a 22-yard touchdown run with five minutes left. Now Georgia State's running backs coach, Ellington also threw two TD passes in the game, and the GSU defense held Tennessee to 98 yards rushing.

> This is the first of two Power Five games this season for the Panthers, who will travel to Auburn on Sept. 25.

> The UNC game will be Georgia State's 12th game against an opponent from the Power Five, including games against ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac 12 foes. GSU is 0-2 vs. the ACC.
> In the program's first 10 years of existence, the Panthers played at Alabama twice and at Tennessee twice, along with trips to West Virginia, Clemson, Washington, Oregon, Wisconsin, Penn State and NC State.
> Georgia State also has future games scheduled at South Carolina (2022), at LSU (2023), vs. Vanderbilt (home-and-home, 2024-2025), vs. Georgia Tech (home-and-home, 2024-2026), at Ole Miss (2026) and vs. Wake Forest (home-and-home, 2029-2030).

GEORGIA STATE vs. NORTH CAROLINA:
> Georgia State senior outside linebacker Jhi'Shawn Taylor is the older brother of UNC defensive lineman Jahlil Taylor. The brothers played at Crisp County High School in south Georgia.

> Georgia State backup inside linebacker Kyle Wright began his career with one season at North Carolina before transferring to GSU in 2019. Wright played in four games for UNC in 2018 and made two tackles.

> Three Panthers are from North Carolina, most notably super senior placekicker Noel Ruiz, a native of Wilson, N.C. (Fike H.S.) who began his career at North Carolina A&T. The roster also includes junior T.J. Smith (Laurinburg) and freshman Tylon Dunlap (Charlotte).

> The game features placekickers who are two of the top three active scorers in FBS. Georgia State's Noel Ruiz ranks third among active FBS kickers with 326 career points, and North Carolina's Grayson Atkins is second with 332 points. Four of Atkins' points came against Georgia State when he kicked for Furman in the Panthers' 48-42 win in 2019.

> Head coach Shawn Elliott is very familiar with UNC offensive line coach Stacy Searles, who was the o-line coach at Appalachian State when Elliott played defensive line for the Mountaineers. As a young coach at App State, Elliott spent two years as the tight ends coach working under Searles and then succeeded him as offensive line coach in 2001.

Two Georgia State transfers have previously played against, and defeated, North Carolina:
> Safety Chris Moore, a grad transfer from Virginia, faced the Tar Heels in 2016 (loss), 2017 (win) and 2019 (win). In the Cavaliers' 20-14 win in 2017, Moore had six tackles, a TFL and an interception. He added three tackles and a pass breakup in a 38-31 win in 2019.

> Outside linebacker Shamar McCollum, in his first season at GSU after transferring from Wake Forest, faced the Tar Heels the last two years, including a 24-18 win in 2019. McCollum recorded a TFL against the Tar Heels in 2020, and he had a sack in Wake's 24-18 win in 2019.

GEORGIA STATE vs. RANKED TEAMS: Georgia State is 0-8 all-time vs. ranked FBS teams, but five of the eight games have come against Power Five teams ranked 12th or higher in the AP poll.

Last season, the Panthers lost 34-31 in overtime to No. 19/21 Louisiana in the season opener. GSU also 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.

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Players Mentioned

#28 Chris Moore: S; 6' 0"; Redshirt Senior

#92 Noel Ruiz: PK; 5' 11"; Senior

#33 T.J. Smith: DE; 6' 3"; Redshirt Junior

#47 Jhi'Shawn Taylor: OLB; 6' 3"; Redshirt Senior

#38 Kyle Wright: ILB; 6' 0"; Redshirt Junior

#50 Tylon Dunlap: DL; 6' 1"; Freshman

#17 Shamar McCollum: OLB; 6' 4"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#28 Chris Moore
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Senior
: S

#92 Noel Ruiz
: 5' 11"; Senior
: PK

#33 T.J. Smith
: 6' 3"; Redshirt Junior
: DE

#47 Jhi'Shawn Taylor
: 6' 3"; Redshirt Senior
: OLB

#38 Kyle Wright
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Junior
: ILB

#50 Tylon Dunlap
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: DL

#17 Shamar McCollum
: 6' 4"; Junior
: OLB