ATLANTA — South Alabama and Georgia State will meet Thursday night at Georgia State Stadium on a short week, with both Sun Belt Conference teams at 2-1 in league play.
The Jaguars (3-4, 2-1 Sun Belt) have won two straight games and can even their overall record with a victory. Georgia State (3-3, 2-1) saw a three-game winning streak end Saturday in a 34-10 home loss to Troy.
Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. Central, and the game will be televised nationally on ESPNU. Mobile-area radio coverage begins at 4:30 p.m. on 99.5 FM The Jag and 95.1 FM.
Jaguars Coming Off Big Offensive Day
South Alabama posted its best offensive output of the season in its win over Louisiana-Monroe, finishing with 549 total yards and averaging 8.1 yards per play. The Jaguars rushed for 242 yards and converted 7 of 12 third-down attempts.
Xavier Johnson ran for 99 yards in the game and broke South Alabama’s career rushing record.
Safety Jeremy Reaves tied for first on the program’s career interceptions list, returned a fumble 92 yards to set up a touchdown and made eight tackles. He was named Sun Belt Co-Defensive Player of the Week.
South Alabama’s defense allowed 307 rushing yards to Louisiana-Monroe but held the Warhawks to 23 points.
Georgia State’s Season
Georgia State has defeated Louisiana-Monroe, Coastal Carolina and Charlotte. Its losses have come against FCS Tennessee State, Penn State and Troy.
The Panthers are in their first season under head coach Shawn Elliott, who spent the previous seven seasons at South Carolina as co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach under Steve Spurrier and Will Muschamp. Elliott served as South Carolina’s interim head coach after Spurrier retired midway through the 2015 season. Before that, he spent 13 seasons as an assistant at Appalachian State, a stretch that included three consecutive national championships from 2005 to 2007 and the Mountaineers’ 2007 win at Michigan.
Panthers’ Staff
- Offensive coordinator Travis Trickett previously held the same role at Florida Atlantic and Samford. FAU set school records for rushing yards and rushing touchdowns in 2016.
- Defensive coordinator Nate Fuqua came from FCS Wofford, where he spent 12 seasons, the last three as defensive coordinator. His final Wofford defense helped the team to a 10-4 record and ranked fifth nationally in total defense, sixth in scoring defense and 12th in rushing defense.
- Cornerbacks coach Sam Shade, a member of Alabama’s 1992 national championship team, played eight NFL seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals and Washington Redskins. He coached cornerbacks at Samford for eight years and also served as passing game coordinator. Samford led the nation in passing yards allowed in 2014 at 139.1 per game.
Georgia State’s Offense
Georgia State attempts the run frequently but has relied on its passing game for production. The Panthers carried 33 times for 52 yards against Troy after rushing at least 40 times in each of the previous four games. They ran for 124 yards against Charlotte, 91 against Coastal Carolina and 224 at Louisiana-Monroe.
Through the air, Georgia State threw for 335 yards against Troy and at least 250 yards in each of its three wins, including 446 passing yards in a 670-yard performance against Louisiana-Monroe. The Panthers average 269.7 passing yards per game.
Senior quarterback Conner Manning is averaging 252.7 passing yards per game with seven touchdowns and a 66.5 percent completion rate. Sophomore receiver Penny Hart leads the Sun Belt with 7.8 receptions per game, sixth in FBS, and averages 97.8 receiving yards per game, 15th nationally.
Georgia State has thrown six interceptions and lost five of eight fumbles. The Panthers convert 57 percent of third-down attempts and score on 61 percent of red-zone trips, with 44 percent ending in touchdowns.
Series History
South Alabama won last season’s meeting 13-10 at homecoming in Mobile. Georgia State won 24-10 in Atlanta in 2015.
Venue
Georgia State Stadium sits on the site of Turner Field, the former home of the Atlanta Braves. The Panthers announced a sellout crowd of 24,333 for their game against Tennessee State.
South Alabama is coached by Joey Jones, with Richard Owens serving as offensive coordinator.
