Game Week 1

Football

Season Opener Saturday Night at South Carolina

GAME 1: GEORGIA STATE (0-0) at SOUTH CAROLINA (0-0)
Saturday, Sept. 3, 7:30 p.m., Williams-Brice Stadium

TV: ESPN+/SECN+

RADIO: Georgia State Radio Network on WRAS-FM 88.5, GeorgiaStateSports.com and the GSU Athletics mobile app.

THE KICKOFF: Coming off back-to-back bowl victories and a school-record eight wins in 2021, Georgia State opens its 13th season of football at South Carolina as head coach Shawn Elliott plays in his hometown and against the program where he spent seven seasons before taking over the Panthers.

> The Panthers have won four straight games and seven of their last eight, with the only loss in that stretch a 21-17 defeat at No. 24 Louisiana on Nov. 4, 2021 in which GSU led until the final three minutes. Four of the seven wins were away from home.

> Elliott's squad has played in three straight bowl games, including back-to-back wins in the 2020 LendingTree Bowl and 2021 TaxAct Camellia Bowl. The Panthers have played in bowl games in four of Elliott's five seasons.

> Georgia State returns 18 starters, including eight Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference selections.

> The Panthers return their top three rushers in All-Sun Belt Conference running backs Tucker Gregg (953 yds, 9 TD) and Jamyest Williams (859 yds, 9 TD), who combined for 1,812 yards and 18 touchdowns, and quarterback Darren Grainger, who led all Sun Belt signal callers with 660 yards.

> Grainger passed for 1,715 yards and 19 touchdowns with four interceptions to complement a rushing attack that ranked No. 8 in FBS in rushing, averaging 226.4 ypg, the second highest figure in program history.

> The Georgia State defense, which returns eight starters, set school records with 38 sacks and 92 tackles for loss while forcing 21 turnovers.

> Top defensive returnee Antavious Lane is a first-team Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference selection and a member of the preseason watch lists for the Paycom Jim Thorpe Award and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy. He is Georgia State's career leader with nine interceptions.

> Super senior center Malik Sumter, senior quarterback Darren Grainger, super senior inside linebacker Blake Carroll and junior outside linebacker Jamil Muhammad were elected 2022 team captains.

COLUMBIA CONNECTIONS ON COACHING STAFF: Georgia State head coach Shawn Elliott is from Camden, S.C., just outside Columbia.

> Before becoming the GSU head coach in 2017, Elliott spent seven seasons on the South Carolina staff as the offensive line coach. He also served as the Gamecocks' interim head coach for the final six games of 2015 following Steve Spurrier's retirement.

> Assistant coach Cory Peoples, the Panthers' secondary coach/defensive passing game coordinator, is from Bishopville, S.C., and lettered two years for the Gamecocks, graduating in 2005.

> First-year receivers coach Quinshad Davis is from Gaffney, S.C. As a South Carolina assistant coach, Elliott recruited Davis, who ultimately went to North Carolina (GSU's opponent in Game 2).

PALMETTO STATE PLAYERS: Georgia State has 20 players on the its roster from South Carolina, more than any state except Georgia.

> Starting center Malik Sumter, a sixth-year senior and two-time all-conference selection, won a state title at nearby Dutch Fork High School in Irmo, S.C. His home is approximately 20 minutes from Williams-Brice Stadium.

> Other prominent Palmetto Panthers include QB Darren Grainger (Conway), CB Quavian White (Greer) and P-PK Michael Hayes (Florence).  

> RB Jamyest Williams started his career at South Carolina, where he played in the secondary. He had three career interceptions and 70 tackles in 19 games and was named to the 2017 SEC All-Freshman Team. He enrolled at GSU in 2020 and has rushed for 1,112 yards and nine TD in 21 games since moving to offense midway through 2020 season.

> Offensive lineman Bryson Broadway, a transfer in his first season at GSU, started at right tackle last season when his Eastern Illinois team played at South Carolina. 

PANTHERS VS. POWER 5: Georgia State is facing South Carolina for the first time but this is GSU's 14th game against an opponent from the Power Five and sixth vs. the SEC. The Panthers have also faced foes from the ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac 12.

> One of the biggest moments in GSU athletics history was the Panthers' 38-30 victory at Tennessee in the 2019 season opener, the program's first win over a Power Five team.

> 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 tight ends coach, Ellington also threw two TD passes in the game, and the GSU defense held Tennessee to 98 yards rushing.

> Last season, the Panthers had a close call at Auburn. Georgia State led until the final minute but the Tigers scored the go-ahead touchdown on a fourth-down pass with 45 seconds left and went on to win 34-24.

SACK THAT: Georgia State has broken its season sack record each of the last two years with 35 in 2020 and then 38 in 2021.

> With 73 sacks over the last two seasons combined, Georgia State leads the Group of 5 and ranks sixth overall in FBS.

COMBINED SACKS, 2020-21 SEASONS
Pittsburgh, 100
Alabama, 92
Oklahoma State, 90
Clemson, 88
Georgia, 81
Georgia State, 73

NO ROOM TO RUN: Over the last two seasons, Georgia State has held opponents to an average of 139.3 rushing yards per game.

> The Panthers allowed 136.7 yards per game in 2020, followed by 141.4 ypg in 2021, the second and third-best season averages in program history.

> Over the last three games of 2021, the Panthers allowed a total of 129 yards rushing. The Panthers set a school record by holding Arkansas State to minus-3 yards rushing, and then held Troy to 57 yards and Ball State to 74 yards.

SEASON OPENERS: Georgia State is 5-7 in season openers.

> The Panthers are opening the season on a Saturday for the fourth 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 on the road for just the second time in its 13 seasons of football. The Panthers' only other season opener away from home was their 2019 victory at Tennessee.

SUPER-DUPER SENIOR: The Georgia State roster includes 10  "super" seniors who are utilizing the extra season of eligibility granted after the pandemic. Of those 10, five also redshirted and are in their sixth year of college and four are in their fifth year.

But tight end Aubry Payne is actually a seventh-year senior who started his college career in 2016 at Western Carolina.

Payne, who is married and will turn 25 in October, is just five days younger than his position coach, Dan Ellington.

HIT STICK: Junior safety Antavious Lane is a two-time All-Sun Belt Conference selection and Georgia State's career leader with nine interceptions. 

> Entering the 2022 season, only two active FBS players (Purdue's Chris Jefferson and Iowa's Riley Moss) have more career interceptions than Lane's nine. 

> Lane also owns the GSU season record with picks in 2021. He finished the season with picks in the each of the final three games, including a pick six in the bowl game victory over Ball State.

> Nicknamed Hit Stick, Lane is first-team Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference selection and a member of the preseason watch lists for the Paycom Jim Thorpe Award and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy.

EXPERIENCED O-LINE: Georgia State returns four of its five starters on the offensive line, led by sixth-year seniors Malik Sumter at center and Pat Bartlett at right guard.

> Sumter (41 starts), Bartlett (42), left tackle Travis Glover (36) and right tackle Johnathan Bass (22) have combined for 141 career starts.

> The trio of Sumter, Bartlett and Glover have started every game since the start of the 2019 season (36 straight), helping the Panthers average 223 yards rushing per game over that stretch.




 
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Players Mentioned

Tra Barnett

#5 Tra Barnett

RB
5' 10"
Senior
Pat Bartlett

#64 Pat Bartlett

G
6' 4"
Redshirt Sophomore
Johnathan Bass

#77 Johnathan Bass

T
6' 4"
Redshirt Freshman
Blake Carroll

#42 Blake Carroll

ILB
6' 1"
Sophomore
Dan Ellington

#13 Dan Ellington

QB
6' 3"
Senior
Travis Glover

#73 Travis Glover

T
6' 6"
Redshirt Freshman
Tucker Gregg

#26 Tucker Gregg

RB
5' 10"
Sophomore
Michael Hayes

#39 Michael Hayes

PK-P
5' 9"
Freshman
Antavious Lane

#34 Antavious Lane

S
5' 9"
Freshman
Jamil Muhammad

#7 Jamil Muhammad

QB
6' 1"
Freshman
Aubry Payne

#88 Aubry Payne

TE
6' 4"
Redshirt Junior
Malik Sumter

#62 Malik Sumter

C
6' 1"
Redshirt Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Tra Barnett

#5 Tra Barnett

5' 10"
Senior
RB
Pat Bartlett

#64 Pat Bartlett

6' 4"
Redshirt Sophomore
G
Johnathan Bass

#77 Johnathan Bass

6' 4"
Redshirt Freshman
T
Blake Carroll

#42 Blake Carroll

6' 1"
Sophomore
ILB
Dan Ellington

#13 Dan Ellington

6' 3"
Senior
QB
Travis Glover

#73 Travis Glover

6' 6"
Redshirt Freshman
T
Tucker Gregg

#26 Tucker Gregg

5' 10"
Sophomore
RB
Michael Hayes

#39 Michael Hayes

5' 9"
Freshman
PK-P
Antavious Lane

#34 Antavious Lane

5' 9"
Freshman
S
Jamil Muhammad

#7 Jamil Muhammad

6' 1"
Freshman
QB
Aubry Payne

#88 Aubry Payne

6' 4"
Redshirt Junior
TE
Malik Sumter

#62 Malik Sumter

6' 1"
Redshirt Sophomore
C