ATLANTA--After facing prolific passing attacks the last two games, Georgia State now turns its attention to the strong rushing attack of South Carolina State as the Panthers (1-4) travel to Orangeburg, S.C., to take on the Bulldogs (3-3, 3-1 MEAC) Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium.
"South Carolina State is an excellent team," said GSU head coach Bill Curry at his weekly press conference. "The thing that impresses me about this team on offense is their balance. They run for almost 200 yards a game and throw for 165 yards per game. They have a tremendous running back, Asheton Jordan, who rushed for over 200 yards against North Carolina Central."
Jordan, a 6-0, 205-pound junior from Summerville, S.C., rushed 22 times for 226 yards with two touchdowns in the Bulldogs' 49-38 win over NCCU. On the season, he has 367 yards with an average of 6.6 yards per rush.
"Their backup quarterback is now playing, his name is Richard Cue, and we think he's just as good as the starter," said Curry. "He executes the offense smoothly."
Cue made his first start against North Carolina Central and completed 15 of 22 passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 92 yards and another score.
As a team, the Bulldogs rank 20th in FCS with 199.2 rushing yards per game. They also rank in the Top 20 nationally in both kickoff and punt returns.
South Carolina State, coached by Buddy Pough, reached the FCS playoffs in 2010, and two of their losses this season have come to FBS opponents Central Michigan and Indiana.
Curry says that practices have been positive as Georgia State looks to snap its four-game losing streak.
"Coming out of a situation like this demands that we come out swinging every day with a positive plan for our players and a plan for the game," said Curry. "We have to correct things that have to be corrected and get back on the winning track. Practices have been good, the players are giving good effort, and they're spirited, but we have been saying that. You don't get style points for practice in football. We know that."
Georgia State's struggles with penalties, particularly at the most inopportune moments, have been well documented. In addition to working on correcting those foolish mistakes, Curry also pointed to improved tackling as a major focus for his squad.
"When the defense is getting stops, you can see it flow through the offense," he said. "We feed off each other. We promote it within the team to not get down on each other and that everybody has a responsibility with what's going on. We don't point fingers at each other, we pull for each other, but when a defense gets a three-and-out, the offense gets fired up - it's a fact of life."
Sophomore Drew Little remains the starter at quarterback, but Curry said the staff will continue to look for opportunities to utilize the talents of Kelton Hill, who tossed a 43-yard touchdown pass to Danny Williams last Saturday against Murray State.
"You have to remember in the spring he dominated," Curry said of Hill. "He and Bo Schlechter were competing for the job and he took over. For the first time since he's been here, he grasped the offense and the leadership and became the excellent quarterback we thought he could be. He had a lot of yards in the spring game running and passing. He's got enormous gifts. We'd be foolish not to create more opportunities for him."
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