UNC visit highlights tougher Panthers schedule

Georgia State’s football schedule looks even more daunting with the muscular expansion of the Sun Belt Conference.

The Panthers will play the four new teams that are joining the league this fall — Southern Miss, Old Dominion, Marshall and James Madison — as well as traditional powers Appalachian State and Coastal Carolina and in-state rival Georgia Southern.

Already announced nonconference games with SEC opponent South Carolina, ACC foe North Carolina, Army and Charlotte add up to another challenging season for the Panthers, who are aiming to play in a bowl game for the fourth straight season.

The season opener is Sept. 3 at South Carolina, a game that is particularly personal for Georgia State coach Shawn Elliott, who is starting his sixth season. Elliott grew up in Columbia, spent seven seasons on Steve Spurrier’s staff as an assistant and was interim head coach for the final six games after Spurrier walked away in the middle of the 2015 season.

The home opener is Sept. 10 against North Carolina, which will become the first Power Five team to play at Georgia State. The Tar Heels defeated the Panthers 59-17 last season in Chapel Hill.

The Panthers follow with back-to-back home games against Charlotte on Sept. 17 and Coastal Carolina on Sept. 22 — a nationally televised Thursday night game that opens the Sun Belt schedule. Georgia State defeated Coastal 42-40 last season for the program’s first win over a ranked opponent.

Georgia State plays its final nonconference game Oct. 1, traveling to Army. The Cadets beat the Panthers 43-10 in the 2021 opener.

The rest of the season features home games Oct. 8 against Georgia Southern, Oct. 29 against Old Dominion and Nov. 12 against Louisiana-monroe.

The remaining road games begin Oct. 19 with an unusual Wednesday night game at Appalachian State, followed by Nov. 5 at Southern Miss, Nov. 19 at James Madison and Nov. 26 at Marshall.

Three of the four new teams in the conference jumped from Conference USA. Marshall was 7-6 and beat Sun Belt champion Louisiana 36-21 in the New Orleans Bowl. Old Dominion went 6-7 and lost to Tulsa in the Myrtle Beach Bowl. Southern Miss went 3-9 under firstyear coach Will Hall.

James Madison, the other newcomer, is moving up from the FCS level. The Dukes, a two-time national champion, went 12-2 last season and reached the semifinals before losing to No. 1 North Dakota State.

Georgia State is 0-3 alltime against Old Dominion and 0-1 against James Madison when all competed in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Panthers have never played Southern Miss or Marshall.