GEORGIA STATE FOOTBALL Game 6: GEORGIA STATE (2-4, 1-1 SBC) at ARKANSAS STATE (4-3, 3-0 SBC) Saturday, Oct. 31 • 7 p.m. ET • Centennial Bank Stadium • Jonesboro, Ark. • ESPN3 THE KICKOFF: Coming off a road victory at Ball State, Georgia FACTS ARKANSAS STATE GEORGIA STATE State returns to Sun Belt Conference play with a trip to Arkansas 2015 Records 4-3, 3-0 SBC 2-4, 1-1 SBC State. Nickname Red Wolves Panthers The Panthers (2-4, 1-1 Sun Belt) were off Oct. 24 after downing the Location Jonesboro, Ark. Atlanta, Ga. Cardinals of the Mid-American Conference, 31-19, in their last game. Nick Arbuckle passed for 412 yards and accounted for three touch- Enrollment 13,144 32,000 downs and Robert Davis had career highs with nine catches for 125 Conference Sun Belt Sun Belt yards to back a strong performance by the Georgia State defense. Head Coach Blake Anderson Trent Miles Arkansas State (4-3, 3-0) has played back-to-back Tuesday games, Alma Mater Sam Houston State, 1992 Indiana State, 1987 including a 37-27 win over UL Lafayette on Oct. 20. Record at School 11-9 (2nd year) 3-27 (3rd year) Career Record 11-9 (2nd year) 23-63 (8th year) GAME COVERAGE: Television coverage is on ESPN3. Series Record Arkansas State leads 2-0 Announcers are Tiffany Green and Doug Graber. Every Georgia Last Meeting Arkansas State 52, GSU 10 (2014 at Georgia Dome) State game this season will be televised, including every Sun Belt Conference game on one of the ESPN platforms. at Ball State. Radio coverage is available on the Grady Health Systems Georgia Arbuckle passed for 412 yards and accounted for three State Radio Network, including Atlanta flagship 1340 The Fan 3. touchdowns. He completed 28 of 38 passes with one touchdown Dave Cohen is in his 33rd season as the play-by-play voice of Panther and no interceptions while scoring twice on 1-yard runs. athletics, while Brandon Leak and Harper LeBel join him from the With Georgia State clinging to a 24-19 lead and less than three booth, and Sam Crenshaw adds sideline coverage. minutes to play, Arbuckle connected with Donovan Harden for a 68-yard completion down to the 1-yard line. Two plays later, The Georgia State DEFENSE LEADS WIN AT BALL STATE: Arbuckle snuck over for the clinching touchdown. He also scored on defense led the Panthers’ win 31-19 at Ball State, allowing the fewest a 1-yard plunge in the second quarter. points under head coach Trent Miles. Arbuckle’s 412 yards are just two shy of his school record of 414 Ball State, which had scored 41 points the previous week at yards as he topped the 400-yard mark for the fifth time in his two Northern Illinois, managed 372 yards but had no run longer than seasons. 13 yards and no pass longer than 19 yards. Joseph Peterson had a game-high 14 tackles, Trey Payne added 12 tackles and Tarris Batiste SECOND AMONG ACTIVE PASSERS: In 18 games in a 11, and safety Bryan Williams ended the Cardinals’ final possession Georgia State uniform, quarterback Nick Arbuckle is averaging 291.3 with an interception. Batiste also made two key plays with an yards passing per game. That ranks SECOND AMONG ALL ACTIVE FBS interception on a two-point conversion attempt in the fourth quarter QUARTERBACKS, trailing only Cal’s Jared Goff. to preserve a five-point lead and then a quarterback hurry that This season, Arbuckle leads the Sun Belt and ranks eighth in forced an incompletion on third down in the final three minutes. FBS in passing yards (326.8 pg). He is also first in the league in That forced a punt, and two plays later, GSU scored the clinching completion percentage (66.2) and total offense (317.3 pg) and touchdown. second in pass efficiency (150.2) and third in touchdowns. The performance was especially gratifying to GSU defensive coor- dinator Jesse Minter, whose father, Rick Minter, served as Ball State’s FBS ACTIVE CAREER LEADERS - defensive coordinator from 1985-91. Jesse Minter spent much of his PASSING YARDS PER GAME childhood living just outside Muncie, and he attended the same high 1 Jared Goff, California .............................314.4 school, Yorktown, as Ball State starting quarterback Riley Neal. 2 Nick Arbuckle, Georgia St. ..............291.3 3 Brandon Doughty, Western Ky. ..........285,1 ARBUCKLE HONORED BY SUN BELT: Quarterback Nick 4 Vernon Adams Jr., Oregon ...................275.3 Arbuckle was named Sun Belt Conference Offensive Student-Athlete 5 Anu Solomon, Arizona ..........................254.4 of the Week on Oct. 19 after leading the Panthers to a 31-19 victory 2015 SCHEDULE & RESULTS (All times Eastern) Date Opponent Time TV Site Series Result Sept. 4 (Fri.) CHARLOTTE 3:30 p.m. ESPNU GEORGIA DOME 0-1 hL 20-23 Sept. 12 at New Mexico State 8 p.m. ESPN3 Las Cruces, N.M. 1-1 aW 34-32 Sept. 19 at Oregon (12/13) 2 p.m. Pac-12 Eugene, Ore. 0-1 aL 28-61 Oct. 3 LIBERTY (Homecoming) 3:30 p.m. ESPN3 GEORGIA DOME 0-1 hL 33-41 Oct. 10 APPALACHIAN STATE 3:30 p.m. ESPN3 GEORGIA DOME 0-2 hL 3-37 Oct. 17 at Ball State 3 p.m. ESPN3 Muncie, Ind. 1-0 aW 31-19 Oct. 31 at Arkansas State 7 p.m. ESPN3 Jonesboro, Ark. 0-2 Nov. 7 UL LAFAYETTE TBA ESPN3 GEORGIA DOME 0-2 Nov. 14 at Texas State TBA ESPN3 San Marcos, Texas 0-2 Nov. 21 SOUTH ALABAMA TBA ESPN3 GEORGIA DOME 1-3 Nov. 27 (Fri.) TROY TBA ESPN3 GEORGIA DOME 0-2 Dec. 5 at Georgia Southern 2 p.m. ESPN3 Statesboro, Ga. 0-1 2015 GEORGIA STATE FOOTBALL NOTES, PAGE 2 GAME 7: GEORGIA STATE vs. ARKANSAS STATE GENERAL INFORMATION GSU vs. ARKANSAS STATE: Arkansas averaging 55 yards. He added a career-long Full Name Georgia State University State has won both meetings with Georgia 63-yard boot at Oregon. Location Atlanta, GA State, including a 52-10 victory last season at the Georgia Dome. GOIN’ DEEP: Quarterback Nick Founded 1913 The meeting at Arkansas State in 2013 Arbuckle has completed 15 passes of longer Enrollment 32,000 was much closer as GSU fell 35-33 despite than 50 yards in his two seasons. Nickname Panthers outgaining the bowl-bound Red Wolves This season he has hooked up with four Colors Blue & White 432-290. Georgia State led 17-7 at the half different receivers for eight passes of 50-plus Affiliation NCAA Division I FBS before allowing 14 points on a fumble return yards: Conference Sun Belt Conference and a blocked punt. Kelton Hill’s 70-yard 76 Donovan Harden vs. Liberty, TD touchdown pass to Albert Wilson pulled the President Mark P. Becker 75 Robert Davis vs. Oregon, TD Panthers within two points with two minutes 68 Donovan Harden vs. Ball State Director of Athletics Charlie Cobb left, but the try for a tying two-point conver- 61 Robert Davis vs. Liberty, TD sion failed. 58 Penny Hart vs. Liberty, TD COACHING STAFF 57 Donovan Harden vs. Liberty Head Coach Trent Miles PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS: One of the nation’s top rookies, Penny Hart is third 53 Penny Hart vs. Charlotte, TD Assistant Head Coach/ Harold Etheridge 51 Nyiakki Height vs. New Mexico State Offensive Line among all freshmen receivers in the FBS in receptions (5.7) and receiving yards (85.5 Offensive Coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski pg) and fourth in touchdown receptions (4). WELCOME BACK, DONOVAN: After Defensive Coordinator Jesse Minter Among all players, he is second in the Sun missing the first three games of 2015 with Wide Receivers Tim Lappano Belt in receiving yards and receptions and a broken foot suffered in preseason camp, Quarterbacks Luke Huard third in touchdowns. All-Sun Belt receiver Donovan Harden definitely made a splash in his return. Secondary Eric Lewis The 5-8, 170-pound Hart had nine catches for 128 yards at No. 12 Oregon. On GSU’s third play vs. Liberty (Game 2), Outside Linebackers Larry Knight Harden hauled in a 76-yard touchdown pass Defensive Line Tony Samuel That followed a record-setting game of 11 receptions for 150 yards and two touch- from Nick Arbuckle for the fifth-longest pass Linebackers/Recruiting Coord. P.J. Volker downs in the Panthers’ win at New Mexico and sixth-longest play from scrimmage in Graduate Assistants Ben McLane (off.), State. Hart tied the Georgia State record for school history. Chris O’Leary (def.), Reid Sanders (off.) catches in a game, while his 150 yards are the Harden also had a 57-yard reception and Liam Smith (def.) seventh-most in school history. He hauled in finished with five catches for 179 yards, just Strength & Conditioning Scott Holsopple scoring passes of 15 and 24 yards. seven yards behind his school-record total of Athletic Trainer Bob Murphy Hart also had a 53-yard touchdown in the 186 yards last season vs. Georgia Southern. In just 15 games in a Panther uniform, the Equipment Manager Nick Vogt season opener on his first collegiate catch, and a 58-yard touchdown vs. Liberty. senior from Rialto, Calif., has 70 receptions Director of Operations Dusty Bennett for 1,174 yards and eight touchdowns. Add Director of Player Personnel Justin Pierce As a high school senior in Atlanta, Hart played quarterback, slot receiver and running his two seasons at Illinois State, and he has back at King’s Ridge Christian School in Class 122 career receptions for 1,838 yards and 15 FACILITY INFORMATION A.