Opponent Preview: Georgia State
Georgia Southern fell to 2-4 (0-2 SBC) on the 2025 season after falling 38-35 against Southern Miss on Thursday night. In that game, JC French IV threw three interceptions but stayed poised and led an improbable comeback in the second half but fell just short.
The Eagles next opportunity comes on Saturday against Georgia State who enters the game 1-5 (0-2 SBC). The Panthers are led by former Georgia Southern RB Coach and Interim Head Coach, Dell McGee.
The Panthers have played two SEC opponents in Ole Miss and Vanderbilt this season. In this matchups, they’ve lost a combined 133-28. In addition, they have losses to Memphis (38-16), JMU (14-7) and App State (41-20). Their lone victory came against FCS Murray State (37-21).
Georgia State plays two quarterbacks, TJ Finley and Cameran Brown, and tends to roll with the hotter hand. Finley has played in five contests this season and has tallied 86 completions on 136 attempts for 816 yards, 4 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Brown has played in all six games and has tallied 57 completions on 90 attempts for 602 yards and 7 touchdowns. In addition to the passing yards, Brown has added 88 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground.
In the ground game, the Panthers are led by former UofSC, Miami (OH), and Ole Miss RB Rashad Amos and former Georgia RB Branson Robinson. Amos has 213 rushing yards and a touchdown while Robinson has added 103 rushing yards. The Panthers average just 92.2 rushing yards on 26.5 carries per game.
In the passing game, the leading receiver for Georgia State is WR Ted Hurst from nearby Savannah, Georgia. He has 511 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns through six games this season. Seven different Panthers have caught touchdown passes this season, so the quarterbacks do a great job of spreading the ball around and a banged up Eagles secondary will have to be ready for anything.
Defensively, the Panthers are led by LB Josiah Robinson who has 48 tackles including 5 TFL and a sack this season. The defensive unit has seven different players who have a sack through the first six games, so the offensive line for the Eagles will need to be disciplined in their assignments to keep JC French IV upright. The averages are skewed by the two SEC blowouts, but this team is better than their record indicates. They held arguably the best team in our conference to just 14 points a couple of weeks ago.
Georgia State has one of the best punters in the Sun Belt Conference in Reed Chandley who has punted the ball 29 times and averaged 47.7 yards per punt. He has 12 punts this season of over 50 yards and 10 of the 29 punts have ended up inside the opponents 20-yard line. On field goals, the Panthers have struggled mightily as they have made just one of their seven attempts this season.
The Panthers do not return many punts, but their deep man is typically WR Javon Robinson who has 3 returns for just 2 yards this season. RB TJ Peyton is much more active in the kick return game as he has 14 returns for an average of 17.86 yards per return with a long return of 31 yards this season.
With Georgia State rolling into town, expect a solid crowd for homecoming despite the disappointing 2-4 start for the Eagles. The second half of the Southern Miss game showed how good the Eagles can be but they have to figure out how to put four quarters of football together to have a chance at bowl eligibility this season.
Players to Watch
WR Ted Hurst
511 Receiving Yards and 2 TDs
2024 2nd Team All-Sun Belt
2025 G5 All-American
LB Josiah Robinson
48 Tackles, 5 TFL, 1 Sack
P Reed Chandley
Averaging 47.7 Yards Per Punt
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