Features

The Ultimate GSU Fan Guide: Part 2

'Bama? Really?

Alabama's Mark
Ingram

When Head Coach Bill Curry's contacts in Tuscaloosa called him in hopes that the Panthers could fill an open date on the 2010 Alabama schedule, Curry swallowed hard and agreed to bring his first-year team to historic Bryant-Denny Stadium on Nov. 18.

Alabama is one of the most heralded programs in college football history - they're the defending national champions and they return Heisman Trophy-winning running back Mark Ingram.

"We would have preferred to wait until year two or three to take on a challenge like this, but 2010 was the only opening that Alabama had available and we just didn’t want to pass up this chance," Curry said. "The opportunity to go into that environment and see how football is played at that level will be quite a learning experience."

He would know - Curry led the Crimson Tide from 1987-89, and his team won the SEC championship in 1989.

Tide fans might see the game as a tune-up for the Iron Bowl against Auburn the following weekend, but the match-up also features two interesting storylines. Not only does it mark Curry’s return to town, it will be a return for quarterback Star Jackson, who transferred from 'Bama to GSU in June.

FEEL THE ROAR!

When the Panthers storm the field this season and the next, they’ll be competing as an independent in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as NCAA Division I-AA. But in 2012, the Panthers will officially join the Colonial Athletic Association as its 14th football-playing member. Georgia State began competing in the CAA for all sports in 2005-06. Old Dominion, who the Panthers face Oct. 23, began its football program last fall and will join CAA football in 2011. Since 1998, four different CAA schools have won the FCS NCAA championships.

Offense:

Assistant Head Coach and Wide Receivers Coach George Pugh says that Offensive Coordinator John Bond's offense is as good as any as he’s been involved in. "And I’ve been around some great ones," Pugh says. Bond will run a multiple, one back offense.

I want us to have a physical personality. We like to run the ball, and we'll have a set of play action passes off of those. You can’t stop both. We'll also have a core group of passes that we’ll work and that we’ll disguise with motions and movements.
- John Bond

Defense:

In his 30-plus years as a coach, Defensive Coordinator John Thompson has operated out of every defensive formation imaginable. Thompson said the Panthers defense will play out of several different formations depending on personnel and the opponent and will employ his brand of "organized chaos."

We'll be an aggressive defense. That doesn't necessarily mean we'll be a gambling or a blitzing defense all the time; it means that we want to force the action. We want offenses to have to react to us.
- John Thompson