GAME 4: GEORGIA STATE (0-3) vs. RICHMOND (2-1) Sept. 22 • 3:30 p.m. ET • Georgia Dome • Atlanta, Ga. GAME COVERAGE FACTS GEORGIA STATE RICHMOND GSU Radio Network, including Atlanta agship WCFO-AM Newstalk Nickname Panthers Spiders 1160 and WMLB-AM 1690 as well as WGST AM 640 and FM 92.3. Location Atlanta, Ga. Richmond, Va. Announcers are Dave Cohen (play-by-play), Harper LeBel (analyst), and Enrollment 32,500 Sam Crenshaw (sideline). Affiliation Year 1, FBS Transition Division I FCS THE KICKOFF Conference CAA Football (2012) CAA Football Sun Belt (2013) Georgia State plays the rst conference game in school history as Head Coach Bill Curry Danny Rocco the Panthers host Colonial Athletic Association foe Richmond Saturday Alma Mater Georgia Tech, 1965 Wake Forest, 1984 at 3:30 p.m. at the Georgia Dome. Record at School 9-16 (3rd year) 2-1 (1st year) With GSU’s reclassication to the Football Bowl Subdivision and Career Record 92-121-4 (20th year) 49-21 (7th year) move to the Sun Belt Conference in 2013, this fall marks the Panthers’ rst and only season of CAA Football. Series Record First Meeting Georgia State (0-3) is seeking its rst victory of the season following Saturday’s 38-14 loss to UTSA, while the Spiders stand at 2-1 aer downing VMI, 47-6. Richmond safety Cooper Taylor, a senior from Atlanta, is the son of e game features the top two all-purpose players in the CAA in former Georgia Tech quarterback Jim Bob Taylor, who played for Curry Georgia State’s Albert Wilson, who averages 158.7 yards per game of in 1981-82. Taylor spent his rst three seasons at Georgia Tech before receiving, rushing and returns, and Richmond receiver Ben Edwards transferring to Richmond for the 2011 season. with 116.3 yards per game. ose two also rank one-two in the league in Richmond head coach Danny Rocco played at Wake Forest from receiving yards with Wilson at 89.3 per game and Edwards at 84.7. 1981-83, and the Deacons fell to Bill Curry-coached Georgia Tech teams in 1982 (GT 45-7) and 1983 (GT 49-33). HUBBARD HAS NATION’S TOP PUNTING AVERAGE Georgia State punter Matt Hubbard owns the top punting average WILSON STRETCHES THE FIELD in college football, averaging 50.6 yards per kick. Nine of his 15 punts e highlight of Georgia State’s game against UTSA was the 84-yard have travelled 50 yards or more, including his amazing 80-yard boot touchdown pass from Ben McLane to Albert Wilson on the Panthers’ against South Carolina State. third snap for the longest play from scrimmage in Georgia State history. Because of Georgia State’s reclassication to the Football Bowl Wilson, the junior from Port St. Lucie, Fla., has a hand in the Subdivison, Hubbard does not qualify for NCAA rankings in FBS or three longest plays from scrimmage in GSU history with touchdown FCS, but his average would easily top either division. e top average catches covering 78 and 64 yards last season against South Alabama. in FCS belongs to Tony Epperson of Weber State at 48.0, while Sean Add his 97-yard kicko return against Alabama in 2010, and he has Sellwood of Utah leads FBS at 48.88. been involved in four of the ve longest plays in Panther annals (Darren McCray had a 96-yard kicko return vs. Campbell in 2010). CURRY’S COACHING HISTORY Wilson’s 11 career touchdowns have covered an average of 51.8 Not only does Georgia State head coach Bill Curry have two sons yards. of former players on his own team (Mark Hogan and Nick Henderson), but against Richmond, he will also be facing the son of one of his former players. 2012 SCHEDULE & RESULTS Date Opponent (*CAA Games) Time Site Series Result A. 30 (Thu.) SOUTH CAROLINA STATE (CSS) 7:30 p.m. Georgia Dome 0-2 hL 6-33 S. 8 at Tennessee (PPV/ESPN3) 4 p.m. Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tenn. 0-1 aL 13-51 S. 15 UTSA 6 p.m. Georgia Dome 0-2 hL 14-38 S. 22 RICHMOND * 3:30 p.m. Georgia Dome 0-0 S. 29 at William & Mary * (CSS) 7 p.m. Walter J. Zable Stadium, Williamsburg, Va. 0-0 O. 6 NEW HAMPSHIRE * 3:30 p.m. Georgia Dome 0-0 O. 13 at Rhode Island * 1 p.m. Meade Stadium, Kingston, R.I. 0-0 O. 20 VILLANOVA (Homecoming) * 3:30 p.m. Georgia Dome 0-0 O. 27 at James Madison * 3:30 p.m. Bridgeforth Stadium, Harrisonburg, Va. 0-0 N. 3 OLD DOMINION * 3:30 p.m. Georgia Dome 0-2 N. 10 at Maine * 2 p.m. Morse Field/Alfond Stadium, Orono, Me. 0-0 2012 GEORGIA STATE FOOTBALL NOTES, PAGE 2 GAME 4: GSU vs. RICHMOND ALBERT WILSON’S CAREER TOUCHDOWNS: GENERAL INFORMATION 97 Kicko Return vs. Alabama, 2010 Full Name Georgia State University 84 Reception (Ben McLane) vs. UTSA, 2012 Location Atlanta, Ga. 78 Reception (Kelton Hill) vs. South Alabama, 2011 64 Reception (Kelton Hill) vs. South Alabama, 2011 Founded 1913 54 Reception (Kelton Hill) vs. UTSA, 2011 Enrollment 32,500 48 Reception (Bo Schlechter) vs. Clark Atlanta, 2011 33 Reception (Kelton Hill) vs. West Alabama, 2011 Nickname Panthers 30 Reception (Bo Schlechter) vs. Clark Atlanta, 2011 Colors Blue & White 29 Reception (Drew Little) vs. Savannah State, 2010 Affiliation NCAA Division I 28 Reception (Drew Little) vs. Savannah State, 2010 25 Reception (Ronnie Bell) vs. UTSA, 2012 Conference Colonial Athletic Association President Dr. Mark P. Becker THE DONALD Director of Athletics Cheryl L. Levick Running back Donald Russell is third in the CAA with 88.0 yards rushing per Athletics Phone 404.413.4000 game. e senior from West Palm Beach, Fla., averages 7.1 yards per carry. Russell opened his senior season by rushing for 120 yards on just 12 carries against Mailing Address P.O. Box 3975 South Carolina State, his third 100-yard eort in a GSU uniform. Last season, the Atlanta, GA, 30302-3975 transfer from Kentucky became the rst 100-yard rusher in school history when he Website GeorgiaStateSports.com gained 136 yards against South Alabama. He added a career-high 146 yards in the 2011 nale against Campbell. First Season of Football 2010 Against SCSU, Russell raced 52 yards on his rst carry of the season. at is his All-Time Record 9-15 longest run for the Panthers but not the longest of his career; he had a 79-yard scamper Football Affiliation (2012) FCS/First Year of as a freshman at Kentucky in 20009. FBS Transition Russell, who led the Panthers with 665 yards and nine touchdowns in 2011, added 68 yards rushing and 33 yards receiving at Tennessee, and then 76 yards on just 10 Football Conference (2012) CAA Football carries against UTSA. (2013) Sun Belt Conference Home Field Georgia Dome HONORS & RECORDS FOR PUNTER HUBBARD Capacity (Lower Bowl) 28,155 Georgia State punter Matt Hubbard had a record-breaking night in the Panthers’ Surface Field Turf season opener against South Carolina State. Hubbard averaged an eye-catching 62.2 yards on ve punts, easily the best single-game average in GSU history, highlighted by a school-record punt of 80 yards. COACHING STAFF Hubbard’s average is better than both the NCAA FBS and FCS single-game records Head Coach Bill Curry for punting average in a game with a minimum of ve punts. However, because Georgia Alma Mater Georgia Tech, 1965 State is in the process of reclassifying from FCS to FBS, marks achieved by GSU players Hired June 12, 2008 during the 2012 and 2013 seasons do not count as NCAA records. Associate Head Coach/ George Pugh e current FCS record for punting average in a game, with a minimum of ve Recruiting Coordinator/WRs punts, is 61.5 yards, set by Eddie Johnson of Idaho State versus Cal Poly in 2002. e FBS record of 60.4 is shared by two players, Lee Johnson, BYU vs. Wyoming, 1983, and Offensive Coordinator/QBs John Bond Quinn Sharp of Oklahoma State vs. Nebraska, 2010. Defensive Coordinator/Secondary Anthony Midget e sophomore from Peachtree City, Ga., was named CAA Football Special Teams Running Backs Joe Hamilton Player of the Week -- the rst such honoree in GSU history -- and FCS National Special Tight Ends/Offensive Line Assistant Craig Harmon Teams Player of the Week by the Sports Network. He was also recognized as FCS National Punter of the Week by the College Football Performance Awards. Linebackers/Special Teams Jason French In addition to the 80-yarder, he also had boots of 58, 59, 55 and 59 yards. Offensive Line Mike Riddle Defensive Ends Ricky Thomas HEY JOE - TRUE FROSH PETERSON IS PANTHERS’ TOP TACKLER Defensive Tackles Chris Ward Georgia State’s leading tackler is true freshman linebacker Joseph Peterson. Peterson, from Dothan, Ala., earned a starting berth at middle linebacker and is Georgia State’s s leading tackler with 27 hits (nine tackles per game). In his debut against SPORTS COMMUNICATIONS South Carolina State, he was the Panthers’ second-leading tackler with eight hits, including Associate AD for Communications/Football Contact: a tackle for loss. Aer that performance, he served as a game captain for the Panthers’ game Allison George O: 404.413.4032 at Tennessee and made nine tackles against the Vols. He added 10 tackles against UTSA. email: [email protected] C: 678.595.7728 As a senior at Dothan High, Peterson was a rst-team all-state in Class 6A by the Alabama Sportswriters Association.