P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> 2 0 1 7 S E A S O N P R E V I E W
2016 RECORD
3-9, 2-6 Sun Belt Con-
ference
COACH Shawn Elliott (First season; ca-
reer record: 1-5)
SERIES RECORD First meeting
EXPECTED STRENGTHS The Panthers
return nine starters on o=ense, including
quarterback Conner Manning, the Sun
Belt's top passer last season. Manning, a
transfer from Utah, averaged a league-
best 268.4 passing yards per game. On
defense, Georgia State has a standout in
cornerback Chandon Sullivan. He has a
school-record six career interceptions
and last year anchored a secondary that
helped Georgia State rank sixth in the
FBS in pass e>ciency defense and eighth
in passing yards allowed (173.9).
POTENTIAL CONCERNS Georgia State
had two big problems last year: It could-
n't run the ball and it had trouble stop-
ping opponents from doing likewise.
The Panthers averaged 87.7 rushing
yards per game while surrendering
206.8. It's unclear whether those prob-
lems have been adequately addressed.
SCHEDULE It's not hard to imagine
Georgia State scraping together six wins
in a conference that's devoid of power-
house programs. But to do that, it will
probably need to split its four noncon-
ference games.
GAME
OF THE YEAR
The season opener
against Tennessee State will be the Pan-
thers' ;rst game in their new stadium.
Georgia State bought Turner Field when
the Atlanta Braves culties
associated with the arrival of a new
coach. But they have displayed giant-
killing potential. A year ago, they threw
a scare into Wisconsin at Camp Randall
Stadium, forcing the ninth-ranked
Badgers to rally in the fourth quarter for
a 23-17 win. Penn State players would do
well to heed James Franklin's inevitable
"Georgia State, Georgia State, Georgia
State" tweet. The Panthers have been in
this kind of environment before, and
they weren't rattled. –M.H.
GEORGIA STATE PANTHERS
TOP
RETURNEES
PASSING
Conner Manning 207 of 373 | 2,684 yds. | 16 TD | 13 int.
RUSHING
Kyler
Neal
75
att. | 314 yds. | 2 TD
RECEIVING
Robert Davis 67 rec. | 968 yds. | 5 TD
TACKLING
Alonzo McGee 63 solo | 34 asst. | 97 total
INTERCEPTIONS
Chandon
Sullivan, Jerome Smith, B.J. Clay
3
int.
W E E K 3 | S E P T E M B E R 1 6 | B E A V E R S T A D I U M
2016 RECORD 8-5, 6-3 Big Ten
COACH Kirk Ferentz (135-92 in 18 sea-
sons; career record: 147-113)
SERIES RECORD Penn State leads the
all-time series, 14-12.
MOST RECENT MEETING Saquon
Barkley ran for 167 yards, and Penn State
thrashed the visiting Hawkeyes, 41-14,
on Nov. 5, 2016.
EXPECTED STRENGTHS The ground
game should be solid, with four starting
o=ensive linemen returning, along with
running back Akrum Wadley, one of two
1,000-yard rushers last year. Wadley was
also the team's second-leading receiver in
2016. On defense, Iowa returns six mem-
bers of its starting front seven, including
durable middle linebacker Josey Jewell.
POTENTIAL CONCERNS The Hawkeyes
have some decisions to make at QB, where
sophomore Nathan Stanley and junior
Tyler Wiegers are competing. Stanley is
the more experienced of the two, but
that's not saying much; he has nine career
passing attempts. The defense must re-
place two highly skilled cornerbacks in
Desmond King and Greg Mabin.
SCHEDULE Iowa won't have to face re-
venge-minded Michigan, so that's a
plus. But the November slate still looks
brutal: Ohio State, at Wisconsin, Pur-
due, at Nebraska.
GAME OF THE YEAR The Hawkeyes sure
have a lot of trophy games, but with all
due respect to Floyd of Rosedale, the
biggest game of the season, at least in
terms of tone-setting potential, may be
their Big Ten opener against Penn State.
OUTLOOK Ferentz gets a lot of criticism
for playing a conservative game in an in-
creasingly wide-open conference, but
don't expect much deviation this fall.
The Hawkeyes are built according to
Ferentz's dictates: run the ball and stop
the other guy from running on you. That
used to be the magic formula in the Big
Ten, and maybe it still is, given that Iowa
is only two years removed from a cham-
pionship game appearance. But the
Hawks probably won't be favored to
make it back to Indy. –M.H.
IOWA HAWKEYES
TOP RETURNEES
PASSING
Nathan Stanley 5 of 9 | 62 yds. | 0 TD | 0 int.
RUSHING
Akrum Wadley 168 att. | 1,081 yds. | 10 TD
RECEIVING
Akrum Wadley 36 rec. | 315 yds. | 3 TD
TACKLING
Josey Jewell 58 solo | 66 asst. | 124 total
INTERCEPTIONS
Brandon Synder 3 int. | 5 yds.
W E E K 4 | S E P T E M B E R 2 3 | K I N N I C K S T A D I U M