GEORGIA STATE (3-3, 2-1 Sun Belt) vs. SOUTH ALABAMA (3-4, 2-1 Sun Belt)
Thursday, Oct. 26, 7:30 p.m. ET, “Pete” Petit Field at Georgia State Stadium
TV: ESPNU. Announcers are Mark Neely and Ray Bentley.
RADIO: Georgia State Radio Network, including Atlanta flagship 1340 AM/103.7 FM as well as WRAS-FM 88.5. Dave Cohen is in his 35th season as the play-by-play voice of Panther athletics. Brandon Leak and Harper LeBel join him from the booth with Sam Crenshaw on the sideline. Free audio stream on GeorgiaStateSports.com and GSU mobile app.
COACHES:
Georgia State: Shawn Elliott
Record at GSU: 3-3 (1st year) / Career Record: 4-8 (2nd year)
South Alabama: Joey Jones
Record at USA: 51-46 (9th year) / Career Record: 54-53 (10th year)
THE KICKOFF: After going 51 days between home games at Georgia State Stadium, the Panthers now host their second game in six days as South Alabama visits for a nationally-televised Thursday night game on ESPNU.
> Even though their three-game winning streak was snapped with a 34-10 loss to Troy, the Panthers sit at 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the Sun Belt Conference after winning three of their last four games.
> South Alabama (3-4, 2-1 Sun Belt) has won two in a row, including a 33-23 win over ULM last Saturday.
> Sophomore receiver Penny Hart leads the Sun Belt with 7.8 receptions per game (6th in FBS) and 97.8 receiving yards per game (15th in FBS).
> Senior quarterback Conner Manning is averaging 252.7 yards passing per game with seven touchdowns. He leads the Sun Belt and ranks 18th in FBS in completion percentage at 66.5 percent.
> Georgia State is playing its second Thursday game of the season, following its Aug. 31 season opener, and the Panthers are hosting a Thursday night Sun Belt Conference game on ESPNU for the second straight year. GSU has a 4-7 record all-time in non-Saturday games.
ROAD WARRIORS: Georgia State is the only FBS school this season to play four straight road games and the only one to win three straight road games (with no home games in between).
In the consecutive road victories at Charlotte (28-0), Coastal Carolina (27-21) and ULM (47-37):
> GSU offense averaged 34 points and 469.3 yards per game with just one turnover in three games.
> Defense allowed 19.3 points per game.
> QB Conner Manning passed for 323 yards per game and completed 69 percent of his passes with six TDs and one interception.
> WR Penny Hart averaged 10 catches and 154.3 yards with five touchdowns.
THE SERIES VS. SOUTH ALABAMA:
> South Alabama holds a 4-2 lead in the series, including a 3-1 advantage in Sun Belt Conference games.
> Last season at South Alabama, Gavin Patterson’s 30-yard field goal with two seconds left gave the Jaguars a 13-10 victory.
> Georgia State won the last meeting in Atlanta, 24-10 in 2015 at the Georgia Dome, part of the Panthers’ four-game winning streak that earned the school’s first bowl berth. The GSU defense held the Jaguars to just 282 yards.
> The two teams first met in 2010 and 2011 before either joined the Sun Belt Conference, including Georgia State’s 27-20 double-overtime victory in 2011 at the Georgia Dome.
PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS: Sophomore Penny Hart was named last week to the Watch List for the Biletnikoff Award, presented to the outstanding receiver in college football.
> The 2015 Sun Belt Freshman of the Year and Freshman All-American played sparingly in just two games before his 2016 season was ended by a broken foot. As a rookie in 2015, Hart led the Sun Belt with 5.5 receptions and 84.5 receiving yards per game, and he set the Sun Belt freshman record for receiving yards (1,099).
> Hart is again leading the Sun Belt with 7.8 receptions and 97.8 yards per game, with six touchdowns.
> He has accounted for more than 35 percent of the Panthers receptions (47) and receiving yards (587) this season.
> After just 21 career games, Hart has amassed 125 receptions for 1,747 yards and 15 touchdowns. He ranks third in school history in all three categories, and the two receivers in front of him, Albert Wilson and Robert Davis, are in the NFL.
> Hart ranks fourth among all active FBS receivers with a career average of 6.0 receptions per game (125 catches, 1747 yards, 15 TD in 21 games).
