A New Beginning

Tickets for the Panthers' new season are on sale now. | Photo from Signal Archives

On May 31, Georgia State and the Sun Belt Conference announced that the inaugural game at Georgia State Stadium, scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 31 vs. Tennessee State will kick off at 7 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN3.

The opening match against the Tigers features one of two games that the Panthers will play on Thursdays. The second Thursday night game is against Sun Belt Conference foe South Alabama Oct. 26. The matchup between the Panthers and the Jaguars will be nationally televised on ESPNU. The Panthers will look to avenge the loss they suffered to the Jaguars last season (21-31).

As for the Tigers, the team kicked off their first offensive spring scrimmage March 25. According to tsutigers.com, the Tigers’ head coach, Rod Reed, was impressed by his offense’s efficiency.

“I thought it went well,” TSU Head Coach Rod Reed said. “What I liked was our effort. I think the offense ran the ball really well today. Defensively, we didn’t tackle as well as I would like us to tackle. I think that’s something that can be corrected very easily. All in all, the effort in the game was great.”

The highlights of the scrimmage came from running back Sabree Curtis, Jr, who ran for a touchdown and also caught a pass out of the backfield for a touchdown. Tight end Mahlon Medley added a receiving touchdown of his own.

The Panthers held their annual blue-white game on April 15. Quarterback Conner Manning completed 17 of 22 passes for 182 yards, and Kyler Neal scored three touchdowns to lead the Blue Team (Offense) to a 27-19 victory over the White (defense).

Season tickets are on sale now with prices starting at $100.