REMINDER:
Weekly Football Press Conference
Tuesday, 1 p.m.
University Center VIP Room (Room 235)
ATLANTA–Looking to rebound from Saturday’s loss at Old Dominion, Georgia State hits the road for the second straight week to face South Alabama Saturday at 5 p.m. ET at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala.
The game can be heard on the GSU radio network, including Atlanta flagship station Newstalk 1160 AM (WCFO) as well as Georgia State University station WRAS-FM 88.5.
The Panthers had their four-game winning streak snapped with the 34-20 loss at Old Dominion, despite 414 yards passing by quarterback Drew Little. Georgia State outgained the Monarchs, 477 yards to 381, but the Panthers were undone by four fumbles and several costly penalties.
After playing six of their first seven games at home, the Panthers are now facing three of their final four games on the road.
Playing its first full season, South Alabama is undefeated at 7-0, including a 3-0 mark against Division I programs with wins over Nicholls State, Lamar and UC Davis. The Jaguars, coached by former Alabama receiver Joey Jones, began their program with a limited schedule in 2009, when they went 7-0, but only one of those games was against a four-year college.
“We are going back on the road to face another very good football team, one that hasn’t lost a single game since they started playing last year,” said GSU head coach Bill Curry.
This year’s South Alabama squad has put up some impressive numbers, averaging 43.7 points per game while allowing just 7.3 ppg. Playing three different quarterbacks, the Jaguars combine to average 230 yards rushing with 196 yards passing per game.
The South Alabama game is the second of three straight for GSU against fellow football newcomers. The Panthers faced second-year program Old Dominion last week, and next week they host Lamar, playing its first season since 1989.
LITTLE’S HOT HAND
Quarterback Drew Little has thrown 187 consecutive passes without an interception, covering the Panthers’ last 22 quarters of play. His last pick came at the end of the first half of game three against Jacksonville State. Since then, he has completed 109 of 184 passes for 1,383 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Against Old Dominion, the redshirt freshman from McDonough, Ga., passed for a season-high 414 yards. He completed 32 of 53 passes with one touchdown passing and one rushing touchdown. For the second time this season, he was earned honorable mention recognition for the national Quarterback Performer of the Week award from the College Football Performance Awards.
On the season, Little has completed 64 percent of his passes for 1,630 yards with 14 touchdowns and four interceptions. His pass efficiency rating of 141.20 would rank in the top 15 in the nation if Georgia State were eligible for the FCS statistical rankings.
WILLIAMS HITS CENTURY MARK . . . AGAIN
Leading receiver Danny Williams has recorded three 100-yard games, including last Saturday’s game at Old Dominion, when he caught a season-high 11 balls for 102 yards. Over the last two games, he has combined for 16 catches and 205 yards.
The redshirt freshman from Orlando, Fla., became Georgia State’s first-ever 100-yard receiver with eight catches for 101 yards in the Panthers’ victory over Morehead State on Oct. 2.
Two games later, he broke his own school record with five receptions for 103 yards in the Oct. 16 win over North Carolina Central. With GSU trailing 14-10 in the fourth quarter, he caught a 24-yard touchdown pass from Drew Little to put the Panthers ahead with 5:36 to play. He also had a key third-down conversion on the drive with a 19-yard reception down to the NCCU 33-yard line.
Williams leads the Panthers with 42 receptions for 497 yards and four touchdowns.
SPECIAL SPECIAL TEAMS
Special teams are a strong emphasis for Georgia State, and the result is productive units in virtually every area:
Georgia State’s net punting average of 40.07 yards per kick would rank as the third best mark among NCAA FCS teams, trailing only Eastern Kentucky (40.70) and Georgia Southern (40.12) Punter Bo Schlechter averages 44.3 yards per punt, including eight kicks of 50 yards or more and eight of 27 punts downed inside the opponents’ 20-yard line. Placekicker Iain Vance has been near perfect, connecting on 12-of-14 field
goals, including two game-winners, and 28-of-29 extra points. His team-leading 64 points would rank among the nation’s top 20. Darren McCray has a 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
PANTHERS AMONG FCS ATTENDANCE LEADERS
Through eight weeks of the 2010 season, Georgia State ranks 10th among all FCS programs in attendance, averaging 17,094 fans at the Georgia Dome.
1. Appalachian State 29,744
2. Montana 25,630
3. Jackson State 24,249
4. Delaware 20,059
5. Georgia Southern 20,045
6. Old Dominion 19,782
7. South Alabama 19,522
8. Jacksonville State 17,984
9. North Dakota State 17,384
10. Georgia State 17,094
