8th Annual TaxAct Camellia Bowl
GEORGIA STATE (7-5, 6-2 SBC) vs. BALL STATE (6-6, 4-4 MAC)
Saturday, Dec. 25 | 2:30 p.m. ET | ESPN
Cramton Bowl | Montgomery, Ala
Georgia State Panthers Notes
THE KICKOFF: Georgia State’s third straight bowl game is a matchup with Ball State in the TaxAct Camellia Bowl, Dec. 25 in Montgomery, Ala.
The Panthers have won six of their last seven games, with the only loss in that stretch a 21-17 defeat at No. 24 Louisiana in which GSU led until the final three minutes. Three of those wins have been on the road.
Georgia State is the ONLY FBS team in the nation to play four road games against ranked opponents this season.
Georgia State’s six Sun Belt wins are the program record, and the Panthers’ seven overall victories are tied for the school record.
The Panthers rank No. 8 in FBS in rushing, averaging 224.5 ypg, the second highest figure in program history.
The running back tandem of Tucker Gregg (899 yds, 9 TD) and Jamyest Williams (810 yds, 9 TD) has the topped the 1,000-yard mark for the season, combing for 1,709 yards and 18 TDs. Darren Grainger leads all Sun Belt quarterbacks with 501 yards rushing.
The GSU defense held five opponents (Charlotte, Auburn, Texas State, Arkansas State, Troy) to one offensive touchdown and set a school-record with 84 tackles for loss.
Ball State is 6-6 overall, 4-4 in the MAC. Georgia State is 1-1 against the Cardinals, including a 31-19 victory at Ball State in 2015. Ball State won 31-21 in 2016 in Atlanta.
BOWLING ‘EM OVER: Georgia State is playing in a third straight bowl game for the first time in program history.
The Panthers have earned bowl berths four times in five seasons under head coach Shawn Elliott.
Playing just its 12th season of football, Georgia State is going bowling for the fifth time in the last seven years.
Georgia State earned its first bowl victory in the 2017 AutoNation Cure Bowl and is 2-2 in bowl games.
ON GUARD: Super senior left guard Shamarious Gilmore is a FIVE-TIME All-Sun Belt Conference selection, including first-team honors the last two years.
Gilmore, the Panthers’ career-leader in games played and starts, played in his 59th straight game against Troy, including 58 starts.
He had his streak of 51 consecutive starts snapped against Appalachian State due to an injury.
Gilmore and Coastal Carolina offensive lineman Trey Carter are the first two five-time all-conference players in Sun Belt history.
DOMINATING DEFENSIVE EFFORTS:
Georgia State finished the regular season with two strong defensive efforts in wins over Arkansas State and Troy, with each team scoring only one offensive touchdown.
The Panthers held Arkansas State to just 270 total yards, the sixth-lowest figure in program history and the fourth game in the last two seasons in which GSU has held a team under 300 yards.
Georgia State allowed a total of just 54 yards rushing in the two games.
GSU set a school record by holding the Red Wolves to minus-3 yards rushing. The previous record was minus-2 yards by WKU in
the 2017 Cure Bowl.
The Panthers forced six turnovers and collected 11 sacks and 23 tackles for loss in the two games, including a school-record 15 TFL vs. Arkansas State.
RANK THAT: After coming oh-so-close in games at No. 23 Auburn and No. 24 Louisiana, Georgia State broke through to earn the program’s first-ever win over a ranked opponent, 42-40 at No. 22/21 Coastal Carolina.
Playing in his hometown, quarterback Darren Grainger, the Conway, S.C., native, passed for 198 yards and two touchdowns, including the go-ahead 2-yard TD pass to Terrance Dixon with five minutes left. He was named Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Week.
Jamyest Williams (83 yards, 1 TD) and Tucker Gregg (67 yards, 3 TD) combined for 150 yards rushing and four touchdowns.
The Georgia State defense stopped Coastal’s attempt at the game-tying 2-point conversion with 1:09 left as NG Thomas Gore tackled RB Shermari Jones shy of the goal line. The Panthers recovered the ensuing onside kick to preserve the win.
Facing its fourth ranked opponent of the season GSU snapped Coastal Carolina’s 12-game home winning streak and knocked the Chanticleers out of the polls after 22 straight weeks.
THROWN FOR A LOSS: The Georgia State defense ranks No. 18 in FBS with a school-record 84 tackles for loss.
The total includes 34 sacks, the program’s second-best season total. The 2020 Panthers set the school record with 35 sacks.
The Panthers have made 34 tackles behind the line of scrimmage over the last three games.
WILLIS & WILSON: Senior DE Hardrick Willis is Georgia State’s career leader in sacks with 12.5, while super senior NG Dontae Wilson owns the career record for tackles for loss with 27.5.
Wilson is right behind Willis in the sack race with 11.0.
Wilson also tied Michael Shaw for the GSU career record with 26.5 tackles for loss.
TUCKER THE TRUCKER: Senior running back Tucker Gregg, known for his hard-nosed style, has trucked his way to 1,506 career rushing yards to rank No. 3 in GSU history.
The former walk-on and Burlsworth Trophy nominee is third in the Sun Belt with 899 yards this season and fourth with nine rushing touchdowns. His 899 yards represent the No. 2 season total in GSU history.
Gregg has seven fourth-down conversion runs on the season.
He tied the GSU record with three rushing touchdowns, along with 67 yards, in the win at No. 22/21 Coastal Carolina.
Gregg rushed for 99 yards at No. 24 Louisiana, including a 1-yard touchdown that gave GSU a 17-14 lead with five minutes left. He gained 48 yards on that drive alone.
He rushed for 87 yards and two TDs in the Panthers’ 21-14 win over Georgia Southern, and 98 yards and one score in win over Arkansas State.
Gregg rushed for a career-high 150 yards on 12 carries at No. 23 Auburn. He had a career-long 57-yard run to set up a score in the first quarter, and then a 50-yard TD run to put GSU ahead 24-10 late in the second quarter. He is the first Panther to have two runs of 50 or more yards in the same game.
JAM-MING: Jamyest Williams is the Panthers’ second-leading rusher with 810 yards and nine touchdowns.
Williams is No. 1 in the Sun Belt and No. 4 in FBS with 6.75 yards per carry.
Over the last five games, Williams is averaging 98.8 yards per game and 7.2 yards per carry with five touchdowns. He finished the
regular season with back-to-back 100-yard games.
The former cornerback has rushed for 1,063 yards and nine touchdowns in 20 games since moving to offense midway through the 2020 season.
ISN’T THAT SPECIAL: Long-snapper Seth Glausier was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District team for the second straight year
and is now eligible for the 2021 Academic All-America team. The junior from Jefferson, Ga., maintains a 3.99 GPA while majoring in
managerial sciences.
PICK ‘EM: With interceptions in each of the last two games, sophomore safety Antavious Lane has become Georgia State’s career leader with eight picks. He broke the mark originally set by current Green Bay Packer CB Chandon Sullivan.
Lane, a first-team All-Sun Belt selection, also shares the GSU season record with four interceptions in each of his two seasons.
Teammate Quavian White briefly shared the GSU career record when he got his No. 7 in the Panthers’ win at No. 22/21 Coastal Carolina. He returned his interception 36 yards to the 1-yard line to set up a touchdown that gave the Panthers their first lead in the game. He also had two pass breakups in the win.
White is also GSU’s career leader with 32 passes defended (interceptions plus pass breakups and 120 interception return yards.
ROGER THAT: Super senior tight end Roger Carter is Georgia State’s career leader in receptions (96), receiving yards (1,224) and touchdown receptions (12) by a tight end.
Among all players, the three-time All-Sun Belt tight end is eighth in receiving yards, ninth in receptions and tied for fourth in touchdown receptions.
Carter and fellow tight end Aubry Payne, a two-time All-Sun Belt selection with 11 touchdowns, have combined for 22 career touchdowns.
DOWN TO THE WIRE: Before breaking through against No. 21/22 Coastal Carolina, Georgia State held late leads at No. 23 Auburn and at No. 24 Louisiana.
The Panthers led 24-19 at No. 23 Auburn until the Tigers scored the go-ahead touchdown on a fourth-down play with 45 seconds left.
The Panthers rushed for 267 yards in the game, including a career-high 150 by Tucker Gregg.
The GSU defense held Auburn to 167 yards rushing and did not allow an offensive touchdown until the game-winning drive.
Georgia State took a 17-14 lead at No. 24 Louisiana on Tucker Gregg’s 1-yard TD run with 5:25 left, but the Ragin’ Cajuns won 21-17 on a touchdown with 2:32 to play.
TACKLE BOX: ILB Jordan Veneziale (venzee-AL) as Georgia State’s leading tackler. The junior moved into the starting lineup in Game 2 vs. North Carolina, and for the season, he has collected 88 tackles, with 7.5 tackles for loss, four sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. His average of 7.3 tackles per game sixth third in the Sun Belt.
#STATENOTSOUTHERN: Georgia State scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns, including Jamyest Williams’ game-winner on a 23-yard run with 26 seconds left, to earn a 21-14 victory at Georgia Southern.
The Panthers averaged a school-record 33.3 points per game in 2020
Two of GSU’s four losses in 2020 came to nationally-ranked opponents, and the Panthers suffered three losses by a total of 14 points, each coming down to the final possession.
Georgia State ranked No. 7 in FBS with a school-record 35 sacks in 2020, including 21 over the last five games.
GSU was No. 8 in FBS with 21 turnovers caused (12 interceptions, nine fumble recoveries), including two touchdowns.
GSU placed a school-record 14 individuals on the All-Sun Belt Conference team, led by first-team selection Shamarious Gilmore,
who became the first GSU player to earn four straight all-conference honors.
Ball State Cardinals Notes
Notes not provided
