ATLANTA-Georgia State head coach Bill Curry frequently calls upon words of wisdom from the great coaches and players he has been around during his long career, and one of his favorite quotes is from his quarterback with the Baltimore Colts, the great John Unitas, who told his teammates before every game, "Talk is cheap. Let's go play."
Curry called upon that sentiment as his squad prepares to host high-powered Murray State (2-3, 1-2 OVC) Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Georgia Dome in a game that will be regionally televised and will air on ESPN3.
"What we have to do is obvious and you can't do it with talk. What we have to do is perform," said Curry at his weekly press conference.
Coming off an open week, Curry's Panthers (1-3) look to snap a three-game streak, albeit a string that is comprised of losses to a nationally-ranked FCS program (Jacksonville State), another FCS program that has since entered the national rankings (Old Dominion), and an FBS team that is just outside the Top 25 (Houston).
"What we've done to ourselves three weeks in a row is not easy to recover from, but we have recovered really well," said Curry. "I'm proud of the guys for that. Having said that, it doesn't count for anything unless it happens on the field Saturday.
"The way we've prepared is good, but we've said that before. We need to go out there and play a football game the way we are capable of playing."
Specifically, Curry said his squad must play with more discipline and must continue to improve at the fundamentals he has stressed all along - running the football and stopping the run.
"We've been working at that every day around the clock, learning what it takes to be a disciplined football team at all times," said Curry.
"We must take the next big step in our program and, as I said before, we aren't going to do that by talking about it," he continued. "We've got to play a balanced football game, offensively and defensively, mount long drives to keep our defense off the field as possible. We know that that is part of our issue, part of our challenge all of the time. We want to get back to loving to play football, but with a lot more execution."
Georgia State's rushing attack has shown improvement this season. Although they are still not where Curry would like them to the be, the Panthers are averaging 113.8 yards per game, a number that could be higher if the team had not been forced to pass after falling behind in the last three games. Sophomore Travis Evans rushed for a career-high 70 yards at Houston.
The Panthers' quarterback position appears to have stabilized, with Drew Little returning to the starting role and building toward the form he displayed in 2010, when he passed for better than 2,100 yards and 18 touchdowns.
In order to get back in the win column, Georgia State will have to slow down a prolific Murray State team, coached by former Georgia Southern and Valdosta State head man Chris Hatcher. The Racers score 32.4 points per game and rank among the Top 10 FCS teams in the nation in passing (340.8) and total offense (458.0).
Directing the Racers' attack is quarterback Casey Brockman, a 6-2, 215-pound junior from Murray, Ky., and a candidate for the Walter Payton Award as the nation's top FCS player. Brockman has passed for 1,647 yards and 11 touchdowns with five interceptions. Earlier this season, he set school and conference records when he threw for 600 yards and seven touchdowns on 45-of-67 completions in a win over Tennessee State.
"Murray State is yet another pass oriented offense that moves like lightening," said Curry. "They snap the ball repeatedly within seconds and force you to deploy in a hurry. The last time we faced that in Houston, we became disoriented and didn't handle ourselves well. We did not maintain the speed of the game and we will have to do that this time."
Although the Racers feature a wide-open offense, senior running back Mike Harris has rushed for over 100 yards in three of MSU's five games this season. The preseason second-team All-American is the team's leading rusher with 359 yards and four touchdowns.
Georgia State and Murray State have played one common opponent this season in Jacksonville State, which defeated GSU 37-21 on Sept. 17 and then downed the Racers, 38-30, last Saturday in an Ohio Valley Conference game.
The off week has enabled some injuries to heal, and Curry said that he expects center Ben Jacoby, safety Brandon Jones, and running back Donald Russell to return to action.
"The off-week came at a very fortuitous time for us and we've used it well," said Curry.
Georgia State is hosting a White Out for Saturday's game as the team will wear its white road uniforms at the Georgia Dome for the first time. Fans are encouraged to dress in white, and free white t-shirts will be distributed to the first 3,000 fans through the gates.
For tickets, call 866.GA.STATE or visit GeorgiaStateSports.com.
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