Is the Georgia State vs Georgia Southern game a rivalry?

There’s no question it is from the Panthers' side, but past Eagles players and coaches — fans, too, for that matter — have had a tendency to shrug off the game as much less meaningful than their annual dust up with Appalachian State.

That changed last year with the hiring of Clay Helton. The second-year GS coach understands what’s at stake when it comes to playing an in-state rival much less one who is also a fellow conference member.

If no one was buying in when Helton discussed the importance of beating the Panthers, perhaps they started listening after Georgia State posted a 41-33 win, it’s third straight over the Eagles, to take a 6-3 lead in the series. 

Perhaps the Georgia Southern attitude dates back to that first ever meeting when Coach Willie Fritz and Co., rushed for 613 yards in a 69-31 win at the Georgia Dome in a game in which two-thirds of the 28,427 attendees were Eagles fans.

No one seems to remember Georgia State came back to win the next year at Paulson Stadium, 34-7, and it has been more than holding its own ever since. The Panthers are 3-1 at Paulson, normally a place of horrors for visitors.

It’s a big game for both teams in more ways than one:  there’s the in-state rivalry angle, of course, but the winner will move into “first” place behind East Division leader James Madison which is ranked No. 25 in this week’s Associated Press poll.

The unbeaten Dukes (7-0, 4-0) are, by NCAA and SBC rules, ineligible for the conference championship and a bowl game as part of their two-year transition from FCS to FBS and looking more and more like a team which is going to run the table.

If that should happen then whoever finishes “first” behind the Dukes will play the West winner for the conference title.

The Eagles (5-2, 2-1) are an early three-point favorite for the 7:30 p.m. Thursday matchup which will be televised on ESPN2. They'll more than have their hands full with a Georgia State team (6-1, 3-1) which is off to its best start ever after posting a hard-earned 20-17 win at Louisiana last Saturday.

That win made the Panthers bowl eligible after a disappointing season last year when they were 4-8 with six of the losses coming by a total of 17 points.

In getting its first ever win against Louisiana after six losses, the Panthers scored all of their points in the second quarter and then made a stop inside their 10-yard line in the final minute thanks to an interception by defensive back Gavin Pringle to preserve the win.

“What an incredible finish,” Coach Shawn Clark said. “Our backs were against the wall. We were doing nothing offensively in the second half and we have it right there for our defense to make the biggest play of the year to seal the victory.

“We overcame a lot of adversity,” said Clark who is now 40-39 in his seven seasons at Georgia State. “I made a very, very dumb call at the end of the first half where we ended up giving up a sack-fumble and giving them seven points. They got momentum and came back to set up an incredible finish.”

Louisiana scored with 30 seconds left in the half following a fumble by Panthers backup quarterback Mikele Colasundro who was seeing action for the first time this year following starter Darren Grainger getting shaken up.

Grainger played the entire second half but he and running back Marcus Carroll could not generate any offense against the Cajuns.

If the Eagles are to win, they are going to have to contain three of the top players in the Sun Belt in Grainger, Carroll and wide receiver Robert Lewis.

Grainger, a 6-foot-4, 225-pound senior who transferred from Furman following his freshman year, had 211 yards passing and 18 rushing at Louisiana. He now has 7,552 yards total offense in his three seasons at Georgia State. He is only 15 yards away from breaking Nick Arbuckle’s school record of 7,556.

Brooks, a senior who is in his first year as a starter although he had 622 yards last year, is third in FBS in rushing at 121.7 yards per game. Troy’s Vidal Kimani leads the nation at 135.8 per game.

Lewis has 34 receptions for 561 yards and five touchdowns. He set a school single game record with 220 yards on six catches against Charlotte, a 41-25 win in which Grainger had 466 yards passing.

“It’s just awesome to be around these guys,” Clark said. “They fight, they push through adversity and they come out with their heads held high. It doesn’t seem like anything affects us like it did a year ago.”