GAME INFO:
September 11, 2021
7:30 pm Kickoff
Kenan Memorial Stadium (Capacity: 50,500) GAME IS SOLD OUT
Chapel Hill, NC
TV: RSN/ESPN 3 *If you have ESPN in your TV package then just go online or the app and you can stream ESPN 3 from there
UNC 95.5% chance to win according to ESPN
UNC is a 25.5 point favorite
RECORD
UNC 0-1 (0-1 in ACC) Coming off of a 10-17 loss at Virginia Tech
Georgia State 0-1 (0-0 in the Sun belt) Coming off of a 10-43 loss against Army
QUICK HITTERS
Carolina fell to #24 in the AP poll this week
This is Georgia State’s first Power Five game since its win at Tennessee in 2019
Georgia State is coming off of back to back bowl berths and won last year’s LendingTree Bowl.
Georgia State returns 22 starters including 11 of offense and 9 on defense
Georgia State is 0-2 against the ACC
Georgia State is 0-8 all time vs ranked FBS teams
The game features placekickers who are two of the top three active scorers in FBS. Georgia State's Noel Ruiz ranks third among active FBS kickers with 326 career points, and North Carolina's Grayson Atkins is second with 332 points. Four of Atkins' points came against Georgia State when he kicked for Furman in the Panthers' 48-42 win in 2019.
Lawrence Taylor is back in Chapel Hill this weekend
CAROLINA CONNECTION
Georgia State senior outside linebacker Jhi'Shawn Taylor is the older brother of UNC defensive lineman Jahlil Taylor.
Georgia State backup inside linebacker Kyle Wright began his career with one season at North Carolina before transferring to GSU in 2019. Wright played in four games for UNC in 2018 and made two tackles.
Georgia State’s head coach Shawn Elliott is very familiar with UNC offensive line coach Stacy Searles, who was the o-line coach at Appalachian State when Elliott played defensive line for the Mountaineers. As a young coach at App State, Elliott spent two years as the tight ends coach working under Searles and then succeeded him as offensive line coach in 2001.
Georgia State Safety Chris Moore, a grad transfer from Virginia, faced the Tar Heels in 2016 (loss), 2017 (win) and 2019 (win). In the Cavaliers' 20-14 win in 2017, Moore had six tackles, a TFL and an interception. He added three tackles and a pass breakup in a 38-31 win in 2019.
Georgia State’s outside linebacker Shamar McCollum, in his first season at GSU after transferring from Wake Forest, faced the Tar Heels the last two years, including a 24-18 win in 2019. McCollum recorded a TFL against the Tar Heels in 2020, and he had a sack in Wake's 24-18 win in 2019.
The Tar Heels welcome the Panthers of Georgia State into Kenan Stadium Saturday night for our home opener. The game will take place on the 20th anniversary of 9/11 so I would like to take a moment to thank all of the first responders that were part of those rescue efforts at the twin towers and throughout NYC and at the other crash sites that day. I would also like to acknowledge the bravery of those that overthrew the hijackers on flight 93 that ended up crashing in western Pennsylvania. All of you saved countless lives that day and your courage, bravery, and selflessness will never be forgotten.
Both teams are coming off of losses and realistically this should be a game that Carolina uses to figure some things out on both sides of the ball. Georgia State was 6-4 last year and 4-4 in the Sun Belt conference. They had 3 games canceled (Murray State, Alabama, Charlotte). They return all their starters on offense and 9 starters on defense. Their season opener definitely didn’t reflect that experience in a 10-43 loss to Army. Army is a solid team though as they went 9-3 last year. Georgia State was without WRs Sam Pinckney and Ja’Cyais Credle due to Covid protocols. They were also without cornerback Quavian White and linebacker Jontrey Hunter. Sam Pinckney was Cornlious Brown’s go-to receiver last year. His absence was definitely felt. Brown went 12-20 for 129 yards and 1 INT. He got sacked 3 times. Jamari Trash stepped up in Pinckney’s absence and had 7 receptions for 87 yards. It’s hard to say whether Quavian White’s absence was felt as Army doesn’t really throw the ball. It is also hard to gauge the Panther’s pass defense as Army threw the ball a grand total of 4 times. The Panthers surrendered 258 running yards to a team that they knew were going to run the ball. The middle was fairly open most of the game and there were a ton of holes for the Army backs to run through. It looked pretty similar to our defense against Virginia Tech. Defenders weren’t filling in the gaps. The Panthers also play a 3-4. Lead tacklers for Georgia State against Army were Thomas Gore (Noseguard, Redshirt SO) and Jordan Veneziale (ILB, junior) with 8 followed by Chris Moore (safety, Redshirt SR) and Justin Abraham (ILB, redshirt FR) with 7.
This should be a game where our offense gets the running game going. There wasn’t much of an attempt to establish it against Virginia Tech. Chandler and Jones need to get more carries. Howell was forcing things against Virginia Tech because he was made to think it was all on him. Establish the run game and let these backs get some confidence. Army scored on 4 of their 5 first half drives, so this game has the potential to be out of reach by half time. POTENTIAL is the key word. The Panther’s pass defense was not tested against Army, and I highly doubt they have anyone that can run with Josh Downs. We all know Downs is legit. He is the go-to guy. Other receivers need to use this game to step up. Watson and Simmons need to work on securing the ball. If you get two hands on the ball then you should catch it. This is a chance for Green to step up and Olson could redeem himself from letting his only target last week get away from him.
Offensively the Panthers looked sloppy in their game against Army. They fumbled on their first drive of the game which led to an Army touchdown. Brown overthrew his receivers on several occasions and the running game was not able to get going. Destin Coates was the most successful runner with 13 carries for 54 yards and a touchdown. The Panther’s offense had 28 carries to 20 pass attempts. I would expect a bigger air attack as long as Pinckney is back. The Panther’s offense didn’t air it out against Army opting for short passes instead. Our linebackers will have to be better in pass coverage than they were last week. The Panthers play fast and were dominated in time possession against Army. Again this is nothing unusual as Army is known to methodically run the ball down the field. Time of possession isn’t really our thing either. I would expect a fast paced game with plenty of possessions. Their offense has ball security and turnover issues so this game would be a great opportunity for our defense to be aggressive. There is potential for the turnover belt to be broken out several times in this game. Brown is a mobile QB which we have continuously struggled with. This is a good opportunity to right the ship in that regard.
There also may be some opportunities on special teams. There was a sequence in the first quarter against Army where Georgia State committed two straight holding penalties. The first time an Army player touched the ball and Georgia State recovered only to have it called back because of a hold. The second time the Army returner let the punt go off his hands. Again Georgia State recovered and it was again called back because of a hold. Army is great at blocking punts, but this unit especially struggled for the Panthers. I wouldn’t be surprised if we were able to block a kick. Punt coverage for the Panthers was not fantastic either. Mack Brown has been wanting some plays on special teams and he just might get it this game.
A win is expected and a loss would completely derail this season. The Panthers do have a win against Tennessee in 2019, so they aren’t to be taken lightly. Just winning this game doesn’t cut it out though. We need to figure some things out before the Virginia game on Sept. 18. We lost to Virginia last year in a game that we were supposed to win. We can’t afford to lose to both Virginia teams to start the season. Here are some things to look for:
How well do we contain yet another mobile QB?
Is the defensive line able to get pressure on a smaller offensive line?
Do we look to establish the run or are we still putting everything on Howell’s shoulders?
Does another receiver step up besides Downs?
Will Watson actually catch a pass?
The turnover belt gets broken out multiple times?
(georgia state depth chart)
(unc depth chart)
Also S/O to the video coordinator over at George State (Sorry you are gonna have to watch this film Lane)
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