The ultimate trap game
Despite being right down the road (in fact the closest DI stadium to any other in the country), I venture a guess that most Georgia Tech fans don’t think much about Georgia State. Georgia State had a different journey from Tech last year, but ended the season with a 7-6 record much like Georgia Tech by the end of the season. Georgia State has faced plenty of changes following the season, and going into 2024 the Panthers will be looking to make a statement. 2024 will feature the first matchup between the Yellow Jackets and the Panthers, and it will be an important one for both teams. Let’s take a look at the Panthers coming into this season.
2023 Season Review
Georgia State had a hot start to last season. The Panthers won six of their first seven games on the season, the one loss being to Troy who eventually won the Sun Belt Conference. Things quickly turned downhill for the Panthers as they dropped their last 5 games of the regular season. The Panthers did finish the season on a high note with a win against Utah State in their bowl game.
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Georgia State seemed to have a balanced offense with a focus on using their strong running game to dictate the tempo of the game. While Georgia State also had some talented and successful receivers last year, the general rule for the team was that if they successfully ran the ball, they were going to win.
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It was hard to get a read on the defense. While the defense had plenty of success getting turnovers on the year they seemed to follow a “bend, don’t break” mentality. The defense gave up a lot of yards and points, especially against tougher opponents, but they obviously found a way to win in some clutch situations to get the team to six wins.
Personnel Changes
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The most notable loss for the Panthers was an unexpected one. Following the season, head coach Shawn Elliot made a tough choice to leave Georgia State to be closer to home and took a coaching position at South Carolina. In place of Elliot, Georgia State hired uga Running Back Coach Dell McGee to be their new head coach. Dell seems to match the run based mentality the team followed last year.
The Panthers team also lost their best running back and receiver from last year. Marcus Carrol took his running talent to Mizzou and Robert Lewis has taken his receiving talents to Auburn university. Starting QB Darren Grainger also graduated, leaving quite a few gaps on offense.
Georgia State also lost some strong talent on the O-line and defense from last year. In response to all the talent losses Georgia State was able to acquire quite a few transfers, including a familiar name to Georgia Tech fans in Zach Gibson at QB. CJ Beasley from Coastal Carolina is currently listed in the top spot at running back, but other top transfers to the position include Domonique Thomas from Clemson and Sy’veon Wilkerson from Colorado.
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While there were plenty of gaps to fill, Georgia State has managed to find some neglected talent from other schools to hopefully restock the program. Will the transfers be able to adapt to a new coach who is simultaneously trying to determine his own path for the program? Time will tell.
The Game
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Georgia State’s first game of the season will be against Georgia Tech. They won’t have to travel to far as the Georgia State campus is about an eight minute drive from Bobby Dodd stadium (depending on Atlanta traffic). Fair to say the Panthers will be well rested and ready.
In some ways Georgia Tech has to travel farther for this matchup. The Jackets start the season in Dublin against a difficult opponent in Florida State. They then have to fly back to Atlanta and have a week to prep before playing their first home game. Despite the game being played at Bobby Dodd, this may not be as much of a home field advantage as what Jackets fans are expecting.
Due to having a new coach and a bunch of new transfers it is hard to get an exact grasp on how Georgia State will be operating. Based on last years tape from both teams I would think the focus for the Panthers will be on running the ball to put pressure on the Georgia Tech defense and attempt to grind down a Georgia Tech defense that struggled greatly last year.
I want Tech’s offense take its time and not get too hung up on making big plays. I think about Tech’s matchups like those against Bowling Green or Boston College where we had some big plays that, while successful, led to us getting pass happy and eventually led to us stalling on drives without running any clock. Georgia Tech should work on honing the option run game in this matchup and use it to both move the ball, and rest their defense.
In my mind this Georgia State game is the biggest trap game on the schedule. Despite being in the Sun Belt, Georgia State has accumulated quite a bit of talent. The fact that they have a new coach, who has experience playing against Tech and is looking to make a name for himself, is a scary prospect. Tech will also need to be mentally tough coming off a long trip to Ireland as the Jackets schedule doesn’t afford much space for losing easy games. If Tech plans to make a bowl game then Georgia State cannot be another Bowling Green game.
I do expect Georgia Tech to come out on top, but in true Georgia Tech fashion I expect this game to be scarier than it needs to be. I think Georgia Tech wins, probably in the range of 34-28. Hopefully if Tech proves me wrong it’s because they win by a much bigger margin. I do want Georgia State to have a successful season, I just want it to happen after they play us.