WKU Football: Georgia State Q&A with THERSday Night
By: Ross Shircliffe
Tags: College Football, Georgia State University, Football, Wku Hilltoppers, Wku Football

Georgia State finished the regular season at 5–4. How did the season play out and how are Panthers fans feeling about the overall season?

There is some frustration among fans at some very winnable games turning into losses. Georgia State had a chance to beat #19 Louisiana at home in their opening game but dropped it in OT, 34–31. They got into a slugfest with Arkansas State on the road and ultimately lost 59–52. And they led most of the way against Appalachian State in Boone before losing late 17–13. What was a 5–4 season could have pretty easily been an 8–1 on those results alone, so, in that sense, fans wanted more.

Still, the Panthers were replacing arguably their best QB in their short history in Dan Ellington — and doing so with a freshman signal-caller — and they managed to secure a winning regular season in back-to-back seasons for the first time ever. Holding a 3–4 record with two games to go, they dominated most of the second half to beat South Alabama on the road and then came back from a 24–13 4th-quarter deficit to beat rival Georgia Southern. The way the season ended, especially with a win over a hated rival, has encouraged fans about what 2021 can bring.

Head coach Shawn Elliott has now taken the Panthers to three bowl games in the last four seasons. How has the program’s following in Atlanta grown over the course of his tenure?

Getting a large, rabid fan base that’s filling out Center Parc Stadium every gameday is something Georgia State is still chasing, particularly when it comes to keeping the students coming to the games. Covid-19 obviously didn’t help matters this year. There’s a belief that having something like a 10-win season or continuing to pick up wins against teams like Tennessee that the casual fan knows would get people through the door, so the best way to test that is for the team to keep putting together winning seasons like they have done three of Coach Elliott’s four seasons. There’s still a lot of untapped potential and the school should start tapping into it if football and men’s basketball stay on the trajectories they’re on.

Georgia State defeated WKU in the 2017 Cure Bowl. What was the impact of that game on the program today?

I actually think that game meant a good deal. Georgia State had just made one bowl game before 2017, the 2015 Cure Bowl. The team came out flat in that game and ended up losing to a sub-.500 San Jose State 27–16. The next year, the team went a disappointing 3–9 and head coach Trent Miles was fired. Coach Elliott came in and the team got right back to bowl eligibility and then went down to Orlando and really controlled the better part of that game in 2017. Watching that game, it felt like a different team and a team that belonged, and that wasn’t something you said too often about Georgia State football circa 2010–2016. It was a kind of statement of intent.

Onto the game…

Quarterback Cornelious Brown IV had a solid season (2046 yards passing and 21 combined TD’s), what kind of players is he, and what are his strengths & weaknesses?

Cornelious Brown IV, or Quad as he is more commonly known, exceeded a lot of people’s expectations given the unknowns around a freshman quarterback. He’s listed at 6’5”, 200lbs, and he’s got a cannon for an arm to match that size. And he has that gunslinger mentality. If he sees a matchup on the outside he likes, he’s going to take the shot. The problem comes when he just doesn’t want to give up on a play. Most of his nine interceptions came from him just making a throw he shouldn’t have when he needed to tuck and run or throw away and live to play another down.

The other thing is that offensive coordinator Brad Glenn’s offense hums at its best when the QB is an active part of the run game — something last year’s QB Dan Ellington excelled at. Quad was a pro-style recruit out of HS and isn’t as used to running that side of the offense. But that’s all a part of him growing as a young QB, and when he is in the open field, his athleticism is easy to see. And when the Panthers get deep inside the red zone, Quad’s size makes him an ideal choice for a QB sneak — hence his team-leading 7 rushing touchdowns.

Who are some other offensive skill players that WKU fans should worry about on Saturday?

RB Destin Coates had some fumble issues in the middle of the year but he’s been a steady option the last two seasons for the Panthers, tallying over 500 rushing yards both seasons. He’s a between-the-tackles type guy, as is the number 2 RB, former walk-on Tucker Gregg. South Carolina transfer Jamyest Williams offers more in the way of top-line speed. He’s expected to return from injury after missing the finale against Georgia Southern.

The Yang to Quad Brown’s Yin in the deep passing game has largely been sophomore WR Sam Pinckney. If he’s in single coverage, Quad is going to throw it his way and trust big #15 in 50–50 situations. It’s been a pretty good bet — Sam has 753 yards in 9 games and was named to the All-Sun Belt Second Team. On the other side is junior Cornelius McCoy, who has earned all-conference honors all three seasons he’s been in Atlanta. #83 is Mr. Reliable — if the defense focuses too much on Pinckney, McCoy is perfectly capable of making the big play himself. The last name is one Hilltopper fans might be vaguely familiar with — TE Roger Carter. He blocks well in the run game but he also does an excellent job of leaking out into the passing game and getting wide open down the field. He scored in this way on a trick play in the 2017 Cure Bowl against WKU.

Defensively the Panthers finished the season ranked 100th in SP+ giving up 32.88 points per game. What do the Panthers do well defensively & who are some playmakers that Hilltopper fans should worry about?

The strengths of the defense this year have been an effective pass rush and forcing turnovers. Jordan Strachan was a terror off the edge, leading the Sun Belt and setting a new GSU single-season record with 9 sacks. The entire front seven has been very stout against the run and used a lot of stunts to get to the quarterback. The unit finished the season with 32 sacks as a whole. As a result of this and better instinctive play on the back end, the Georgia State defense created 18 turnovers in 9 games. Freshman safety Antavious Lane has three interceptions and is just one of those players who finds himself near the ball a lot, so he’s one to watch out for in the secondary.

Probably the biggest question mark for Georgia State fans coming into this bowl is which defense shows up after a month off. The defense earlier in the year struggled a lot, giving up 59 to Arkansas State and 51 to Coastal Carolina. But in the last four games, what had been a bottom-tier Sun Belt defense turned things around. In those four games, the defense allowed 22.25 points per game and 357 yards per game. If that’s the defense that gets off the bus in Mobile, we’re talking about a very different team than if it’s something like the defense of October.

What is your prediction for the game? Who wins?

Western Kentucky has scored 30 or more points just twice in their 11 games while Georgia State scored 30 or more points in all but two of their games. That’s been against bad defenses but also against good Sun Belt defenses like Georgia Southern’s and Troy’s. For that reason and because of the growth that came in November from the Panther's defense, I just think GSU will put up more points than the Hilltoppers can keep up with. If they can hold the Georgia State offense under 30, Western Kentucky has a chance. In the interest of an actual prediction, I’ll say 31–21 Georgia State.