You can’t beat the views.
There aren’t a lot of snow-covered mountains in Olive Branch, Mississippi, or Jefferson, Georgia, the hometowns of Georgia State standouts Dan Ellington and Dontae Wilson. So when they peer into the distance on these crisp Tucson winter afternoons, the visiting Panthers like what they see.
“Where I’m from, there’s a lot of trees,” Wilson said Monday. “In Atlanta, there’s a lot of buildings. So just seeing all these mountains around, it’s nice.”
You know what’s nicer? The view from the postgame trophy presentation at the Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl at Arizona Stadium.
That’s where Georgia State and Wyoming are striving to be come Tuesday evening. For the Panthers, it would mark the second bowl-game victory in the brief history of their program. For the Cowboys, who’ve been around a lot longer, it would represent redemption.
From the moment the matchup was announced, the parallels between the programs were obvious. Both began 2019 with upset victories over SEC schools. Both finished 7-5.
What else do they have in common? Here are five similarities between Georgia State and Wyoming that could influence the outcome of the fifth Arizona Bowl:
1. They have unusual QB situations
Coach Craig Bohl announced Monday that Levi Williams will start at quarterback for the Cowboys. It will be the first career start for Williams, a freshman who has appeared in two games.
Williams got the call over veteran Tyler Vander Waal, who recently put his name in the NCAA transfer portal. Bohl said that wasn’t a factor in the decision to start Williams. Sean Chambers, who started the first eight games, is out for the season because of a knee injury.
“He’s a bright young man,” Bohl said of Williams, a Texan who decommitted from Houston late in the 2019 recruiting cycle. “He was an early enrollee out of high school, so he had spring football with us. He’s done a great job.”
Williams came off the bench in Wyoming’s final two regular-season games, completing 8 of 13 passes for 109 yards with one interception. He also rushed 28 times for 128 yards.
“Usually with a freshman quarterback, he’s just all over the place. But it’s not so with Levi,” senior receiver Austin Conway said. “The coolest thing about Levi is he’s asking the older guys for guidance … which shows how mature he is. Because, once you’re a quarterback, you feel like … you know it all. Levi is always looking to get better.”
Williams’ counterpart is senior Dan Ellington, who made second-team All-Sun Belt after passing for 21 touchdowns and rushing for five. Ellington is a two-year starter and a team captain and, well, there’s nothing abnormal about any of that.
What makes Ellington stand out is that he’s about to play his fourth straight game with a torn ACL in his right knee. Which leads directly to item No. 2:
2. They have unselfish players
Let’s start with Ellington. The injury happened against Louisiana-Monroe on Nov. 9. Torn ACLs are supposed to be season-enders. But with his college career nearing its end, Ellington elected to play through the injury.
“I didn’t want to let the team down,” he said.
Doctors signed off on the decision, although not without warnings.
“They did tell me that it could make it worse,” Ellington said. “They did say I have some risks there. But for these guys and for him, it was worth it.”
Ellington was alluding to Georgia State coach Shawn Elliott, who recruited him out of Itawamba Community College in Fulton, Mississippi. Ellington was visiting Murray State when Elliott and GSU called to offer him a scholarship. Now Ellington is paying it forward.
“For someone to set it all aside and say I want to do it for our team, I want to do it for the university, for the coach, whatever it might be, shoot,” Elliott said. “To know that you have that type of impact on somebody that he wants to give everything and more, it’s remarkable.”
The quarterback of the Wyoming defense is All-American linebacker Logan Wilson. Wilson is slated to play in the Senior Bowl, and he has a good chance to be selected in the 2020 NFL draft.
It has become increasingly commonplace in recent years for pro prospects to skip season-ending bowl games. That thought never crossed Wilson’s mind.
“That’s just not something I think about,” Wilson said. “That’s not just who I am.”
Bohl, who has had many conversations with NFL personnel executives over the years, believes playing does more to enhance a player’s résumé than sitting. It shows that the player is willing to put the team above himself, Bohl said. Former Wyoming QB Josh Allen, who’d become a first-round pick, closed his college career by playing in the 2017 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
“When you hear a national writer or commentator say that they’re meaningless games, that’s a bunch of malarkey,” Bohl said. “All of these games are really important.”
3. They have ample motivation to win
Asked why he took the GSU job in December 2016, Elliott, a longtime South Carolina assistant, said: “I love doing things for the first time. I love setting standards.”
Elliott knew he was taking over a program that was still in its infancy. The Panthers started playing football in 2010 and joined the FBS in ’13. They had one bowl appearance and no winning seasons prior to Elliott’s arrival.
GSU just completed its first seven-win regular season and is shooting for a school-best 8-5 finish.
“It means everything,” Dontae Wilson said. “That’s what we’re here for, to make history. That’s why I came to Georgia State.”
Wyoming is making its third bowl appearance in the past four seasons under Bohl. The Cowboys didn’t get a bid last year despite being eligible with a 6-6 record. That snub has provided motivational fuel ever since.
“I remember last year around this time a lot of guys were kind of upset,” Conway said. “But I guarantee you every single guy came into January working out with a chip on their shoulder. We worked really hard this offseason. We’ve had many (discussions) about how we didn’t want to go down that road again.
“You can tell by the way the season went. You can tell by the way we played for each other. … Our locker room is tighter than it’s ever been.”
4. They want to control the ground game
The Arizona Bowl pits two of the better rushing teams in the country against each other. Georgia State ranks 13th nationally, averaging 245.2 yards per game. Wyoming ranks 26th at 208.5.
Each side features a 1,000-yard rusher: Tra Barnett for the Panthers (1,389 yards) and Xazavian Valladay for the Cowboys (1,061).
“Let’s be honest,” Elliott said. “They like to run the football. We like to run the football. That’s it.
“For me, every game is determined by the offensive and defensive lines. It just is. Those guys are the backbone of every team. The guys that win that battle typically win the game.”
GSU’s best run-stuffer is Wilson, a 6-foot, 285-pound junior nose tackle. Pro Football Focus named him a first-team All-Sun Belt selection after he recorded 46 tackles, 6.5 stops for losses and two forced fumbles.
“He is relentless,” Elliott said. “He has a passion to play the game. He loves the physical nature of what football stands for.
“He’s everything we thought he would be and more.”
Georgia State hasn’t been as effective as Wyoming at stopping the run, though. The Panthers allow 211.6 yards per game, which ranks 116th in the nation. The Cowboys allow 99.4 yards, which ranks sixth.
Elliott knows what GSU is up against.
“When I watch them play, those guys love to get dirty,” he said. “They exude confidence in stopping the run. You can see it from their mentality, their body language, how they run to the football. That’s why they’re so good.”
5. They have specialists who could make a difference
Wyoming brought three players to the pre-bowl news conference at the AC Marriott on Monday. One of them, Conway, doubles as the Cowboys’ punt returner. Another, Cooper Rothe, is their kicker.
Conway ranks second in the Mountain West and 12th in the nation in punt-return average (11.1). Rothe is Wyoming’s all-time leading scorer and earned an invitation to the East-West Shrine Game.
Not present: senior cornerback Tyler Hall, the active NCAA leader in kickoff-return average (32.5). He’s averaging 37.5 yards on six returns this season.
“Special teams is always a deciding factor,” Conway said. “Coach says it all the time. He’s a detail kind of guy. You’ve got to be right everywhere. He always harps on special teams.”
Georgia State’s best chance to mitigate Wyoming’s return game might be the right leg of senior Brandon Wright. Wright handles punting, placekicking and kickoffs for the Panthers.
Wright was a Ray Guy Award semifinalist in 2018, when he ranked third in FBS in gross (48.2) and net punting (42.8). He averages 42.5 yards per attempt this year.
Ideally, the Panthers won’t have to punt at all. But if they do, Elliott knows how they can keep Conway in check.
“I think we have a plan in place to minimize that,” he said. “We can kick that thing out of bounds.”
