The Sports Inquirer

Release from Georgia State Athletics:

ATLANTA — As Georgia State prepares to face a very talented Washington team Saturday at 6 p.m. ET, one of the toughest challenges will fall on the Panthers’ offensive line.

That’s because the undefeated Huskies (3-0) share the national lead in sacks with 15 in just three games. Eleven of the 15 come from two players; nose tackle Danny Shelton leads the nation with six sacks and “buck” Hau’oli Kikaha has five.

“They’re good football players,” Georgia State (1-2) head coach Trent Miles, a former Washington assistant coach, said at his weekly press conference. “They have high motors, good speed and size. They’re very aggressive and physical and they have a really good scheme. They’ll come after you and blitz you even if they rush three or four.”

The Washington defense also features national defensive player of the week Shaq Thompson, who returned a fumble and an interception for scores in last week’s 44-19 win over Illinois.

The Georgia State offensive line that must try to slow the Huskies has benefitted from the continuity of starting the same five players in the same positions for the first three games: Tim Wynn at center, Michael Ivory and A.J. Kaplan at the tackles and Alex Stoehr and Garrett Gorringe at the guards. So far, that’s a stark contrast to last season, when the Panthers started 10 different combinations in 12 games. The Panthers played five different centers, and Kaplan started at four different positions in 2013.

“That’s the one position on the team that has to be together at all times,” Miles said. “That’s the one group that’s always sitting together at the movie or sits together at dinner or hangs out with each other at the apartment. Any successful offensive line I’ve ever been around, that’s how it is. It’s five guys working together. All of them sliding one way or sliding the other and they’re always working together. The more continuity you have, the better.”

Washington also features a potent offense that has averaged 40 points and 445 yards per game, led by dual-threat quarterback Cyler Miles. The Huskies’ signal caller averages 56.5 yards rushing and 185.5 yards passing per game while completing 66 percent of his passes.

“He can run. He’s a really good athlete. He can throw the ball and he can run. Smart player and he’s a really tough young man,” Trent Miles said of Cyler Miles. “There a lot of good things to see on their film. They’re well coached, they’re big, and they’re fast. They’re a really good program.”

Georgia State is no stranger to facing talented opponents from Power Five conferences in hostile environments after playing at Alabama, Tennessee and West Virginia in its first few seasons.

“We told them that we need to just focus on us,” Miles said. “We don’t focus on what the University of Washington can do, we take care of what we can control. We can’t control the crowd, the weather, their speed, their size. We can control us. If we perform that’s all you can worry about, that’s all you can think about.”