GEORGIA STATE (6-3, 3-3) vs. APP STATE (5-4, 3-2)
Saturday, Nov. 11 | 2 p.m. | Center Parc Stadium

TV: ESPN+
RADIO: Georgia State Radio Network on WRAS-FM 88.5, GSU Athletics mobile app

THE KICKOFF: Georgia State plays its final home game of the season as the Panthers host Appalachian State for Senior Day, Saturday at 2 p.m. at Center Parc Stadium.

> Playing just its 14th season of football and 10th at the FBS level, Georgia State (6-3, 3-3 Sun Belt) is eligible for its sixth bowl game and fifth in seven seasons under head coach Shawn Elliott. The Panthers earned their sixth win vs. Louisiana on Oct. 21, the earliest they have ever achieved bowl eligibility.

> Named to the Midseason All-America team by College Football Network (CFN), Marcus Carroll is No. 3 in FBS in rushing with 1,093 yards (121.4 ypg). He is No. 6 in all-purpose with 141.0 ypg, and his 12 touchdowns make him No. 5 in rushing touchdowns.

> Carroll rushed for a career-high 208 yards vs. Georgia Southern, the second-best single-game total in school history. That performance put him over 1,000 yards for the season, just the second 1,000-yard rusher in program history.

> QB Darren Grainger averages 269.1 yards of total offense per game. He is completing 66 percent of his passes for 1,871 yards while rushing for 551 yards. He has 12 touchdowns passing and seven rushing.

> Grainger was named last week to the Davey O'Brien QB Class of 2023, on of 35 quarterbacks in the nation selected.

> Grainger's top targets are Robert Lewis, who leads the Panthers with 48 receptions for 677 yards and six touchdowns, and Tailique Williams with 32 catches for 507 yards and three scores.

> Lewis broke the GSU single-game record with 12 receptions vs. Georgia Southern. Earlier this season he set the single-game yardage record with 220 yards vs. Charlotte. 

> GSU's top offensive lineman is super senior left tackle Travis Glover, a Preseason First-Team All-Sun Belt selection who has 53 career starts.

> Linebacker Jontrey Hunter is the Panthers' leading tackler with 72 stops, 5.5 TFL, two forced fumbles and three pass breakups. CB Gavin Pringle leads GSU with three interceptions, and OLB Kevin Swint tops the team with four sacks and seven TFL.

> Senior ILB Jordan Veneziale has moved into second place in GSU history with 265 career tackles. But the GSU record is 381 by Joseph Peterson (2012-15). Veneziale also ranks sixth with 56 career games played.

> Georgia State played on national television in five of its first eight games, including once on ESPN, three times on ESPN2 and once on ESPNU. Next week's game at LSU will also air on ESPN2.

> After starting 4-0 for the first time, Georgia State achieved another milestone on Sept. 24 by receiving a vote in the US LBM Coaches' Poll, the Panthers' first-ever in either national poll.

GRAINGER RECORD WATCH: Quarterback Darren Grainger is Georgia State's career leader in total offense with 7,974 yards as he passed Nick Arbuckle (7,566) vs. Georgia Southern.

> Grainger has accounted for 65 touchdowns rushing and passing in a GSU uniform, breaking Arbuckle's record of 59.

> With 6,029 yards passing and 49 TD passes, Grainger ranks second to Arbuckle (7,651 yards, 51 TD passes) in both categories. 

PRINGLE'S BIG PLAYS: In his first season at GSU, cornerback Gavin Pringle has made two pivotal plays to help win games.

> Pringle made the play of the season thus far with his game-saving interception in the end zone to preserve the Panthers' 20-17 win at Louisiana. With Georgia State holding a three-point lead, Louisiana faced 3rd-and-4 at the GSU 7-yard line with 30 seconds left when Pringle grabbed the interception in the end zone to seal the win.

>  In his Georgia State debut, Pringle delivered a 21-yard interception return for a touchdown in the season-opening win over Rhode Island. GSU had just tied the game at 28-all late in the third quarter, and Pringle's big play gave the Panthers a 35-28 lead they would not relinquish.

> Pringle, who also had an interception at the 3-yard line at Charlotte, leads Georgia State with three picks.

> The Baltimore, Md., native joined the GSU program in June as a graduate transfer from Bucknell, where he was a three-time all-conference selection in the Patriot League.

MORE ON MARCUS: Marcus Carroll has five of the Top 10 single-game performances in program history, all in his last 13 games (208 vs. Georgia Southern/2023; 184 vs. URI/2023; 164 vs. USM/2022; 159 vs. Marshall/2023; 150 vs. CCU/2023).

> His career-high 208 yards vs. Georgia Southern is the second-best single-game in GSU history, while his 184 yards vs. Rhode Island now ranks fifth.

> Over his last 13 games, Carroll has rushed for 1,222 yards and 17 touchdowns.

> With 1,093 yards in 2023, Carroll has the second-best season in school history (record is 1,453 yards by Tra Barnett in 2019). His 12 touchdowns are tied for the GSU season record.

> Carroll is now the No. 4 rusher in GSU history with 1,879 career yards, trailing only Tucker Gregg (2,265), Tra Barnett (2,156) and Darren Grainger (1,945). His 21 career rushing touchdowns rank second.

ELLIOTT FACES ALMA MATER: Georgia State head coach Shawn Elliott is a 1996 graduate of Appalachian State and was a long-time assistant coach for the Mountaineers.

> Elliott spent 13 seasons on the App State staff under head coach Jerry Moore. He worked two seasons as a defensive assistant (1997-98) and two seasons as tight ends coach (1999-00) before taking over the offensive line (2001-09).

> Elliott helped lead the Mountaineers to three NCAA FCS titles (2005-07) plus two trips to the national semifinals and three appearances in the quarterfinals. App State reached the NCAA playoffs 10 times in his 13 seasons.

> Elliott was a four-year letterman as a defensive lineman from 1992-96. App State head coach Shawn Clark was his teammate.

> Offensive line coach John Holt played and then coached under Elliott at App State. Holt was a player on App's three straight NCAA titles from 2005-07.

> Head strength coach Mike Sirignano spent five years (2014-18) on the staff at Appalachian State.

> GSU Director of Athletics Charlie Cobb served nine years in the same position at App State before coming to Atlanta in 2014.

> Football staffer Ginny Thompson (Director of Player Personnel and On-Campus Recruiting) is an App State alum and golf letterwinner.

> Georgia State is looking for its first win over App State since the two schools began playing in 2014.