Georgia State vs. Abilene Christian football preview

By E. Marcel Pourtout, Editor

Game: Georgia State vs. Abilene Christian

Date: Wednesday, August 27

Location: Georgia Dome, Atlanta

Georgia State will open its 2014 campaign in the first FBS game of the season as Abilene Christian visits the Georgia Dome this Wednesday.

The Panthers are entering the second season under head coach Trent Miles and their first as a fully certified FBS team meaning that they’re eligible for the Sun Belt Conference title and postseason bowl games.

“We’re excited to kick off the season,” Miles said in the team’s pre-game press conference last Friday. “The kids have worked really hard and anxious to get to Wednesday evening.”

Georgia State will start junior Nick Arbuckle at quarterback in his first game as a Panther. Arbuckle, who transferred into the program in January,  threw for nearly 7,000 yards and 73 touchdowns in two seasons at Pierce (Calif.) College.

“Hopefully we see a composed field general that leads our football team and can get us in the right plays and manage the football game,” Miles said of Arbuckle. “We look for him him to run the system, distribute the ball and gets us into the right plays and the right protections. I’m pretty confident that Nick will do that.”

Arbuckle expressed readiness for this opportunity. “I’m very comfortable in the offense,” he said. “I’ve always been good at picking up offense and you can’t make things too complicated with the pace we run. I think we’re ready to go.”

The Panthers are seeking to win their first game in more than two years as they went winless last season in 12 contests.

“Our mindset is that we have something to prove,” Miles added. “We want to go out and prove that we can compete in the FBS to win games, not just compete against teams. That’s our mindset, and that will always be mindset. We want to have that hard-nosed, pound-the-rock mentality.”

Abeline Christian went 6-5 last season and has posted eight straight winning seasons.

“Abilene Christian brings in a winning mentality and will be just as talented, if not more talented, than we are,” Miles said.  “They bring in speed and have a lot of returners on defense. They are a very good football team, and we are going to have to play our very best.”