Their campuses are only a few miles apart, but Atlanta-based Georgia Tech will host Georgia State on Saturday for the first time on the gridiron.
Georgia Tech (1-0) is coming off a dramatic 24-21 win over No. 10 Florida State in the Aer Lingus Classic in Dublin, Ireland.
Georgia State is opening its season under new coach Dell McGee, a former Georgia assistant who was hired in the spring when Shawn Elliott resigned to become an assistant coach at South Carolina.
Georgia Tech features an excellent quarterback in Haynes King, who completed 11 of 16 passes for 146 yards and rushed for 54 yards, and running back Jamal Haynes, who ran 11 times for 75 yards and two touchdowns against the Seminoles.
The Yellow Jackets had not beaten a top 10 team since 2015 — also Florida State — and coach Brent Key wants to make sure they take the victory in stride and don’t leave themselves susceptible to an upset.
“As a coach, you always have concerns,” Key said. “Anybody that knows me, I have 10,000 things all in my head spinning right now that we have to get to — the mindset and how we’re going to talk to them and what we’re going to do.”
Georgia State brought in 48 new players via the transfer portal or from the high school ranks. The Panthers finished 7-6 and beat Utah State in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in 2023.
“Our kids are very enthused, showing a lot of passion,” McGee said. “Excited about our opener. I think this is a great opportunity for our kids to play in an environment that’s pretty electric. I’m eager to see where our guys stand and how we’ve improved.”
The Panthers have not named a quarterback, although the leading candidates are a pair of transfers — Zach Gibson, who came over from Georgia Tech, and Christian Veilleux, a former starter at Pitt.
“There’s always potential for a rotation,” McGee said. “It could be four guys, it could be one guy. Not sure yet.”
