Sneak peek: Georgia State

AUBURN | The Bryan Harsin era begins with a couple of warmup games before things get really serious with a trip to a Big Ten power. October includes a couple of key rivalry games and November concludes with the Iron Bowl at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Today, we continue an early look at Auburn’s 2021 schedule with a final non-conference matchup to round out September.

WHO: Georgia State (6-4 last season, 4-4 Sun Belt)

WHEN: Sept. 25

WHERE: Jordan-Hare Stadium (87,451)

SERIES: First meeting

WHAT’S NEW: Fifth-year head coach Shawn Elliott hired former ULM offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Eman Naghavi to coach the GSU offensive line. After spending four years at ULM, Naghavi spent the 2020 season as an offensive analyst at Texas.

WHO TO WATCH, OFFENSE: Wide receiver Sam Pinckney is coming off a big sophomore season with 47 receptions for 815 yards and seven touchdowns in 10 games. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound Pinckney averaged 17.3 yards per catch.

WHO TO WATCH, DEFENSE: Defensive end Hardrick Willis had 7.0 tackles-for-loss and 6.0 sacks in nine games as a junior. The 6-foot-3, 244-pound Willis helped GSU total a school-record 32 sacks last season. Sack leader Jordan Strachan transferred to South Carolina.

OUTLOOK: This should be a more competitive matchup than the opening two non-conference home games. Georgia State returns all 11 starters for an offense that averaged 33.3 points per game last season. Senior running back Dustin Coates is a workhorse rushing for 769 yards and seven touchdowns in 2020. His top backup, senior Tucker Gregg rushed for 468 yards and six touchdowns. Cornelious Brown IV is a dual-threat quarterback that threw for 2,278 yards and 17 touchdowns and rushed for 301 yards and seven touchdowns as a redshirt freshman last fall. Senior Roger Carter is a talented tight end and the offensive line averages 6-foot-4 and 299 pounds.

Eight starters return to an athletic defense that was second in the Sun Belt allowing 136.6 rushing yards per game and force 21 turnovers. Joining Willis upfront is noseguard Dontae Wilson and defensive end Jeffery Clark, who had 3.5 sacks last season. Blake Carroll is a run-stopping middle linebacker that led the team with 74 tackles last season. All four starters return in the secondary including All-Sun Belt cornerback Quavian White, who had eight pass breakups and three interceptions last fall.

MORE SNEAK PEEKS:

Sept. 4 AKRON

Sept. 11 ALABAMA STATE

Sept. 18 at Penn State

Sept. 25 GEORGIA STATE

Oct. 2 at LSU

Oct. 9 GEORGIA

Oct. 16 at Arkansas

Oct. 23 BYE

Oct. 30 OLE MISS

Nov. 6 at Texas A&M

Nov. 13 MISSISSIPPI STATE

Nov. 20 at South Carolina

Nov. 27 ALABAMA