GEORGIA STATE (2-0) at CHARLOTTE (1-1)
Saturday, Sept. 16 | 6 p.m. | Jerry Richardson Stadium, Charlotte, N.C.

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

THE KICKOFF: Off to a 2-0 start after wins over Rhode Island and UConn, Georgia State faces its first road test at Charlotte Saturday at 6 p.m.

> In Saturday's 35-14 win over UConn, Georgia State got 100-yard rushing efforts by QB Darren Grainger (142) and RB Marcus Carroll (107) and an outstanding performance by the GSU defense, which allowed zero points and 132 yards of offense through three quarters before the Huskies managed two late scores.

> After back-to-back 100-yard games, senior running back Marcus Carroll is No. 2 in FBS with 145.5 rushing yards per game. His six touchdowns are tied for the FBS lead.

> Carroll rushed for a career-high 184 yards and three touchdowns in the opener vs. Rhode Island and then followed with 107 yards and three more scores vs. UConn.

> Super senior quarterback Darren Grainger is the top rushing quarterback in the nation, averaging 96.5 yards per game (No. 16 overall). He has completed 67 percent of his passes for 337 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.

> Grainger's top target is junior Robert Lewis with 11 catches for 127 yards and two touchdowns. Lewis has caught nine touchdowns in his last 11 games.

> GSU's top offensive lineman is super senior left tackle Travis Glover, a Preseason First-Team All-Sun Belt selection who has 47 career starts.

> Linebacker Jontrey Hunter is the Panthers' top tackler with 14 stops, two forced fumbles and two pass breakups.

> Georgia State leads the Sun Belt in rushing defense at 81.0 yards per game. The Panthers held UConn to 50 yards rushing on 31 attempts.

TURN, TURN, TURN: The Georgia State defense has forced five turnovers in the first two games to rank No. 14 in FBS. 

> That gives the Panthers 30 turnovers in the last 14 games.

> Georgia State ranked No. 11 in FBS in 2022 with a school-record 25 turnovers gained (13 interceptions, 12 fumble recoveries). 

> Senior linebacker Jontrey Hunter has forced a fumble in each of the first two games to give him six in his career, tying the GSU record.

> The Panthers grabbed a school-record four fumble recoveries last season at James Madison and returned two of them for touchdowns, also a first.

> Senior ILB Jordan Veneziale ranked third in FBS with three fumble recoveries in 2022. His five career fumble recoveries are tied for the GSU career lead.

> Senior DE Javon Denis returned a fumble 21 yards for a touchdown vs. James Madison, the second scoop-and-score of his career. He is the only player in GSU history with two fumble returns for scores, and just the third player in school history with two defensive touchdowns.

MORE ON MARCUS: Marcus Carroll showed that he is ready to carry the load for the Georgia State rushing attack with 291 yards and six touchdowns in the first two games.

> His career-high 184 yards vs. Rhode Island is the fourth-best single-game in GSU history.

> In two games, Carroll has rushed for 144 yards on 12 carries in the fourth quarter. 

> Against URI, he rushed for 94 yards on just eight carries in the fourth quarter. After rallying to take a 35-28 lead, Georgia State faced 3rd-and-2 at their own 25 when Carroll broke through the line and raced 63 yards to down the 12, then finished the job on the next play with a 12-yard TD run for a 42-28 advantage with eight minutes left. 

> Beginning with his 163-yard effort last season at Southern Miss, he has achieved two of the Panthers' top five totals over his last six games. Over those six contests, he has averaged 103 yards per game while scoring 11 touchdowns. 

> After topping the 1,000-yard mark against UConn, Carroll ranks 11th in GSU history with 1,077 yards.

SERIES VS. CHARLOTTE: Georgia State and Charlotte are meeting for the third straight year and the fifth time overall. The series is tied at 2-2.

> Charlotte won last year's game, 42-41, despite a big game by GSU QB Darren Grainger, who passed for 343 yards and four touchdowns and directed a GSU offense that piled up 602 yards. He threw the go-ahead TD pass with 1:39 to play, but Charlotte scored with just 17 seconds left.

> Grainger made his first start for Georgia State against Charlotte in 2021 and led the Panthers to a 20-9 win. He threw for 139 yards and two touchdowns on just six completions while rushing for 64 yards.

> Georgia State also won the last meeting at Charlotte with a 17-0 win in 2017, the first shutout in school history and GSU's first season under head coach Shawn Elliott.

> Georgia State has two players who joined the program this year after transferring from Charlotte: starting right guard Trevor Timmons and kickoff specialist Braeden McAllister. 

> Mark Hogan, currently an analyst on the Charlotte staff, has the distinction of playing on the inaugural teams for both programs. He was Georgia State's first scholarship player when he enrolled in 2009, and he played in the Panthers' first three seasons (2010-12) before finishing his career at Charlotte.

MAKING A SPLASH: In his Georgia State debut, cornerback Gavin Pringle delivered the key defensive play of the Panthers' season-opening win over Rhode Island with his pick-six, a 21-yard interception return for a touchdown.

> After Georgia State tied the game at 28-all, Pringle's big play came with 1:50 left in the third quarter and gave the Panthers a 35-28 lead they would not relinquish. Georgia State won 42-35 over the Rams, a nationally-ranked FCS program.

> Pringle also contributed four tackles and a pass breakup in the victory.

> 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.