Herd prepares to host Georgia State

Published 7:14 pm Tuesday, October 15, 2024

By GRANT TRAYLOR

Associate Athletic Director of Strategic Communications

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Marshall Football returns home for a nationally-televised prime-time game on Thursday when the Thundering Herd hosts Georgia State at 7 p.m. in a game that will be shown nationally on ESPN2.

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ame notes: Marshall | Georgia State

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PRE-GAME NOTES

Both teams come into the game on a short week after each fell on Saturday in SBC action. Marshall dropped a 24-23 heartbreaker at Georgia Southern while Georgia State fell in a 21-14 loss to Old Dominion at home.

Marshall is currently 3-0 at home this season and is averaging 41.3 points per game in their contests at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.

Georgia State comes into the contest at only 2-3 on the season and has yet to win a Sun Belt Conference game, but one of those two wins was a massive 36-32 win over SEC foe Vanderbilt, who later knocked off top-10 foe and perennial power Alabama.

Both Marshall and Georgia State incorporated two quarterbacks in their last contest with the Herd featuring Stone Earle and Braylon Braxton and the Panthers utilizing Christian Veilleux and Zach Gibson.

As a reminder, Marshall has implemented its Safe To Stay With The Herd initiative for the 2024-25 sports season across all its venues. For a list of FAQs, click HERE. Also, to review Marshall’s Clear Bag policy, click HERE.

 ABOUT MARSHALL

Marshall comes into the contest at 3-3 overall and 1-1 in Sun Belt Conference action under head coach Charles Huff, who is 25-20 in four years with the Herd.

The Herd offense has utilized a dual-quarterback attack with Stone Earle and Braylon Braxton each seeing extensive time and leading Marshall to success.

Running back A.J. Turner continues to lead the Sun Belt in rushing yards with 540 yards on 56 carries this season. He is averaging 9.6 yards per carry.

For the season, Marshall’s offensive line has allowed just six sacks while gaining 201.7 yards per game on the ground.

On the defensive side, Marshall linebacker Jaden Yates continues to lead the Sun Belt with 56 tackles. Yates also has 2.5 tackles for loss and a fumble recovery to his credit.

Defensive end Mike Green has continued to cement himself among the top defensive linemen in FBS. Green currently is third in the nation in sacks (8.0) and sacks per game (1.33) while also being 5th in tackles for loss (10.5).

Defensive back Jacobie Henderson has also had an interception in each of the last two games. 

For a more in-depth look at Marshall football, visit HERE.
 ABOUT GEORGIA STATE
Georgia State is in its first season under head coach Dell McGee, who took over the Panthers after winning a national championship at Georgia last season.

The Panthers are third in the SBC in passing offense, throwing for 267 yards per game. However, Georgia State is ranked 114th out of 134 teams in rushing offense, gaining only 109.2 yards on the ground each outing.

Defensively, Georgia State is led by linebackers Xavier Robinson and Justin Abraham, who have 34 and 32 tackles respectively. Kevin Swint is also a force, ranking behind Marshall’s Mike Green for No. 2 in the SBC in sacks with 4.0.

For more information surrounding the Georgia State football program, visit HERE.
 SERIES HISTORY 

The series between the teams is a new one with each splitting the two games in which they have met. The home team has won each with Marshall winning 28-23 in Huntington in 2022 and the Panthers earning a 41-24 win in Atlanta last season.