Georgia State’s football team with new coach Trent Miles will open its 2013 schedule against Samford at the Georgia Dome.
The game will either be Aug. 29 or 30, depending upon the Falcons’ preseason schedule.
Samford, which went 5-3 last year in the Southern Conference, will be the third FCS team the Panthers will play in 2013, joining Tennessee-Chattanooga on Sept. 7 and Jacksonville State on Sept. 21.
The Panthers, which went 1-0 last year, will play at West Virginia on Sept. 14 and at defending national champ Alabama on Oct. 5.
FBS teams that play and defeat two FCS teams in a season may only count one of those victories toward reaching bowl eligibility. Georgia State will be in year two of its transition from FCS to FBS and as such is ineligible to compete for the Sun Belt Conference title or to appear in a bowl game.
The Sun Belt schedule is expected to be released within in a few weeks. It was complicated with the recent departures of Middle Tennessee and Florida Atlantic, which have forced some members schools to find new games at the last minute. That is a reason why Georgia State is opening against Samford instead of against a Sun Belt foe.
2013 schedule
Aug. 29 or 30 vs. Samford
9/7 vs. Chattanooga
9/14 at West Virginia
9/21 vs. Jacksonville State
10/5 at Alabama
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