Fans who planned to follow Georgia State’s football team to a bowl game can pack away those golf clubs for the trip and break out the skis. The Panthers are headed to Idaho to play in the Great Idaho Potato Bowl.
Georgia State (6-6) will meet Utah State (6-6) on the iconic blue turf at Albertson Stadium in Boise. The game will be Dec. 23 at 3:30 p.m. and shown on ESPN.
This will be the sixth bowl game for Georgia State since it began competing at the FBS level in 2014.
“Anytime you can take individuals like our team to a place they’ve never been before to experience something new is always exciting,” Georgia State coach Shawn Elliott said. “I believe the anticipation to get out there is on a really high level right now.”
Elliott and assistant strength coach Brandon Pringle, a native of Boise, are thought to be the only ones in the program who have visited the state. Elliott was a junior defensive end at App State in 1994 when the Mountaineers played at Boise State in the playoffs.
“That was a long time ago, but I remember it was such a nice, clean town,” Elliott said. “My parents went out early and went snowmobiling. My dad at that time told me it was one of the best experiences he’d ever had up on that mountain.”
The Panthers are 3-2 in the postseason. Their most recent bowl appearance came in the 2021 Camellia Bowl, where they routed Ball State 51-20. This will be Georgia State’s first appearance at the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. It has appeared twice in the Cure Bowl and once each in the Arizona Bowl, the LendingTree Bowl and the Camellia Bowl.
The Panthers began the season with four straight wins — the first time that’s happened — and stood 6-1 and bowl-eligible after a white-knuckle win at Louisiana. But a difficult stretch took its toll — a loss at rival Georgia Southern, blowout losses to powerful James Madison and App State and a wipeout against LSU. The gut punch came in the season finale when GSU wasted a 21-point lead and lost to Old Dominion on a touchdown as time expired. GSU finished 3-5 in the Sun Belt Conference.
Utah State went 4-4 in the Mountain West Conference and became bowl-eligible on the final day of the season by defeating New Mexico 44-41 in double overtime. The Aggies are 6-9 in bowl competition and have played in a bowl game in 11 of the last 13 seasons. They lost to Memphis 38-10 in the First Responder Bowl last season.
“Without me researching Utah State, right off the top of my head I think we’re real similar,” Elliott said. “We started our season very strong and ended up pretty lousy. This is a way to jump back on top and get the momentum going.”
The teams have two common opponents — and common results. Georgia State beat UConn 35-14 and Utah State beat the Huskies 34-33. Georgia State lost to James Madison 42-14 and Utah State lost to the Dukes 45-38.
Georgia State is already starting to deal with transfer portal defections. All-Sun Belt Conference running back Marcus Carroll, who has rushed for 1,350 yards and 13 touchdowns, has already turned in his notice, as has backup K.Z. Adams. Top receiver Robert Lewis, who leads the team with 70 receptions and seven touchdowns, is also in the portal.
“I really don’t have any concern about anybody opting out,” Elliott said. “Once they step out of our football program, I very rarely worry about it. We’ve got guys that will step in and we’ll do our very best to make sure our football program is going to prepare the best we can and we’re going to go out there and play with some guys what want to win.”
Utah State runs a play every 21.4 seconds, the fifth-fastest tempo in FBS. The Aggies have thrown 33 touchdown passes and average 259.75 yards passing and 446.3 yards rushing.
But Utah State’s situation at quarterback is uncertain. Regulars Cooper Legas and McCae Hillstead were injured against Boise State and could not play the final game. Levi Williams got a chance to start and scrambled for the game-winning touchdown on a broken play. Williams, a graduate junior who began his career at Wyoming, has a year of eligibility remaining, but announced he would leave school to join U.S. Navy SEAL training.
Utah State had three first-team All-Mountain West players: middle linebacker M.J. Tifisi Jr., wide receiver Jalen Royals and safety Ike Larsen. Royals attended Cobb County’s Hillgrove High School; he and receiver/kick returner Micah Davis, honorable mention all-conference pick from Harrison High, are the only two Georgians on the roster.
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