By: Kenneth Harrison

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Georgia State started their football program in 2010. They have not been around long so they have a built-in excuse to not be successful.

That is until we compare them to another local program like Kennesaw State that just started playing football in 2015. The Owls are one of the best teams in the country at the FCS level.

The Panthers had an awful 2018 season, finishing 2-10. One of the wins was against KSU, 24-20. When an FBS team barely beats an FCS opponent, you know it’s going to be a long season.

Head coach Shawn Elliott is entering his third season in Atlanta. He did well in his first season and led GSU to their first bowl win in school history.

The offense is led by senior quarterback Dan Ellington. Last season he passed for 2,119, 12 touchdowns and 5 picks. He completed 60% of his passes. He was also the leading rusher with 625 yards and 5 TD’s on the ground.

I think he can have a good 2019 season and the offense should be the strength of the team. They return their top three rushers, all but one receiver and five offensive linemen with starting experience.

The defense was awful last season and injuries played a factor. Three returning players in the secondary missed a combined 13 games. That led to freshmen having to play and they were torched.

The Panthers finished 126^th in total defense, out of 130 FBS teams. They gave up 490 yards per game and 37 points per game.

Georgia State signed the No. 3 recruiting class in the Sun Belt in 2018 and the fifth in 2019. There should be players on the roster ready to step up this season.

8/31 at Tennessee: This will be a blowout loss. The Vols are an SEC team with superior talent at every position so this is expected.

9/7 Furman: This is an FCS team so GA State is favored. The Paladins are a good team, finishing 6-2 in conference play in 2018. I expect this to be a close game but the Panthers win.

9/14 at Western Michigan: The Broncos won the 2018 game 34-15. I expect a similar result and WMU wins by 20 points.

9/21 at Texas State: The Bobcats also finished Sun Belt conference play 1-7, last place in their division. This will be an easy win for the Panthers.

10/5 Arkansas State: After a bye week GSU returns home. The Red Wolves are a good team. They will win this game by double digits.

10/12 at Coastal Carolina: Coastal Carolina just moved up to the FBS level in 2017. They won last season’s game 37-34. Georgia State should get revenge this season.

10/19 Army: The Black Knights run the triple option and are hard to stop. They should rush for 400 yards and a win.

10/26 Troy: Troy was 7-1 in conference play last year and they are one of the best teams in the division. I expect them to win big.

9/9 at ULM: The Panthers thrashed Louisiana-Monroe 46-14 in 2018. They finished 6-6 so this was a big upset. GA State should beat them again.

9/16 Appalachian State: App State is the class of the conference. They will win big.

9/23 South Alabama: The Jaguars only won two conference games a season ago. They will lose this game also.

9/30 at Georgia Southern: The season ends with a rivalry game. The Eagles are very good so they will win.

I expect Georgia State to improve and win 5 games in 2019.