The Georgia State Panthers (0-10, 0-5 Sun Belt) go on the road for the last time this season to face the Arkansas State Red Wolves (6-4, 4-1 Sun Belt).
The Panthers are 0-4 on the road this season and face a Red Wolves team who is 4-1 in their home stadium, Liberty Bank Stadium in Jonesboro, Ark.
The Panthers have two weeks left to earn a victory this season under first-year head coach Trent Miles.
“We’ve got to learn and go [play] for 60 minutes,” Miles said. “We’re just worried right now about being 1-0 next week.”
The Panthers have proven they fit in their new conference not being blown out and losing by an average of 14.4 points to conference opponents.
Their latest conference defeat came from the best team in the Sun Belt, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette 35-21.
Georgia State tied the game twice after trailing, once by 14 points, but a poor defensive series ridden by turnovers put the Ragin’ Cajuns up by two possessions and little time left on the clock.
The Panthers’ senior receiver Albert Wilson continued to be a versatile component of the offense making eight catches for 57 yards and one touchdown last week. Wilson contributed to the running game as well rushing 64 yards on five carries, a career high for the senior.
“We find every which way we can to get him the ball,” Miles said after Wilson’s performance. “He is a very explosive player who will be either drafted or signed with a NFL football team, so we’re trying to do all we can to get him the football.”
The Panthers had a season-high 186 yards rushing against the Ragin’ Cajuns, an area that has struggled all season long for Georgia State.
The Panthers are last in rushing in the conference averaging 101.9 yards a game.
Senior running back Travis Evans picked up his third touchdown this season against the Ragin’ Cajuns giving him back-to-back games with rushing touchdowns. The senior, however, has rushed for 87 yards in the last three games combined.
After going up against the best team in the Sun Belt last week, the Panthers get ready to face the next best team in the conference, Arkansas State.
Like Georgia State, Arkansas State is led by first-year coach Bryan Harsin who has the team on track for a winning season. If it holds up, it will be the third consecutive winning season for the Red Wolves.
Harsin, however, is no rookie to the FBS coaching in 10 prior bowl games
as either an assistant or offensive coordinator, two of which were BCS bowls.
The bowl eligible Red Wolves have dominated in the Sun Belt only losing to Louisiana-Lafayette this season.
The Redwolves are on a three game winning streak with all three victories against Sun Belt opponents which allowed the Red Wolves to climb to second in the conference.
The team is led by by the running back duo of Michael Gordon and David Oku who have a combined 1,030 yards and 15 touchdowns this season.
The Redwolves are the second best rushing team in the Sun Belt averaging 212 yards per game on the ground.
“This is definitely one of the best teams in the Sun Belt Conference,” Miles said to Georgia State Athletics. “They are very talented, with a lot of team speed, and they run the ball really well.”
The Red Wolves passing game is nothing to ignore courtesy of receiver J.D. McKissic who leads the conference in receptions with 60, two ahead of Georgia State’s Albert Wilson.
McKissic, however, has just three touchdowns and 504 yards this season while Wilson has seven touchdowns and 927 reception yards.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Red Wolves rank second in scoring defense in the Sun Belt allowing just over 25 points per game. The Redwolves have not allowed points in the second half of their last two games.
Junior safety Sterling Young had back-to-back interceptions in recent games against South Alabama and the University of Louisiana at Monroe that both led to scoring drives to take the lead and build their current winning streak.
Linebacker Qushaun Lee leads the Redwolves’ defense in tackles with 102 total this season, five of which were for a loss of yards.
The defensive coordinator of the Red Wolves is John Thompson, former Georgia State defensive coordinator.
The conference game is set for 3 p.m. ET and will be broadcasted on ESPN3 and 1340 AM The Fan 3.
