Georgia State continued its trend of losing close games when it dropped a conference contest to Louisiana-Monroe 37-23 on Saturday in the Georgia Dome.
The Panthers (2-8, 1-5 Sun Belt) defense did not allow much to the Warhawks (4-6, 3-3) in the first half, but the unit cracked in the second. Mixed in with some miscues on special teams and the offense sputtering for most of the day outside of the third quarter, GSU was unable to keep pace with Louisiana-Monroe, as the visitors pulled away toward the end of the game.
1. Special-teams blunders continued to plague GSU
Last week in the 31-16 loss to Arkansas State (5-4, 5-0), three key special-teams plays put the Panthers behind the 8-ball, and coach Trent Miles said they were the difference in the game. Special teams may not have been the difference Saturday, but some big plays in that phase of the game really made it hard for GSU to stay in it late.
A safety because of a bad snap on a punt attempt, a pair of bad punts that gave the Warhawks possession inside GSU territory, a bad decision to try and return to punt from the end zone to only get to the GSU 5-yard line and a 60-yard kickoff return early in the third quarter laid the groundwork for another Panthers defeat. A blocked 27-yard field goal down by three with just more than four minutes left in the third quarter opened the floodgates as the Panthers failed to get their offense going again after that missed opportunity.
“Every play is crucial when you’re struggling as a football team,” Miles said. “When you give up a big return, that just puts your defense on a short field. But, when you’re struggling, every play is crucial. That was just one of them.”
2. Conner Manning put on a show
The GSU quarterback had arguably his best game of the season Saturday, completing 19 of 30 passes for 422 yards and three touchdowns.
Manning started off hot, going 4-of-6 in the first quarter and finishing the first half with 171 yards and a score. In the third quarter he exploded for 209 yards and two more touchdowns, going 5-of-7 in the process.
At the end of the game however, Manning started to come back down to earth. He missed his final two passes of the third quarter, which led to a GSU three-and-out after falling behind 30-20, and he went just four-of-nine for 42 yards in the final period.
3. GSU rushing defense was demolished
Early in the season, the Panthers had their fair share of difficulties stopping the run. They had started to pick it up for much of the season, but UL Monroe had other plans.
“I feel like we slowed down a little bit,” linebacker Michael Shaw said. “We got to keep the same tempo as a whole defense, just keep going, through the first and second half.”
The Warhawks’ Thomas Koufie rushed for 201 yards on 31 carries and had all five of his team’s touchdowns. He did most of his damage after halftime as he had 150 yards and four touchdowns following the break. When UL Monroe took the lead for good in the third quarter, Koufie allowed the team to salt the game away as he continued to dash through the Panthers front seven at will.
4. Fourth-quarter time of possession
Entering the final quarter, GSU was down only 10 and was in position to keep it a two-possession game after stopping the Warhawks on a third-and-7, forcing a field-goal attempt on the ensuing fourth-and-5. An offside penalty on the Panthers before the ball was snapped, put Louisiana-Monroe close enough to go for it on fourth down, and extend the drive.
After staying even with the Warhawks in time of possession for much of the night, the Panthers eventually folded, and Koufie and quarterback Caleb Evans used their option runs to milk the clock and prevent GSU from having the time needed to make a comeback.
5. Robert Davis became the Panthers’ career leader in reception yards
The senior receiver put his name next to another milestone Saturday, thanks to his 114 receiving yards, which put him above Albert Wilson to become the new GSU career leader in the stat. Earlier in the season he passed Wilson to earn the record for most career receptions.
Davis however is not paying these accomplishments much mind as he tries to close out his final chapter with the Panthers.
“That kind of stuff, that will matter after the season is over with,” Davis said. “Right now, I mean, we did lose a game, so that’s the only thing I’m focused on right now.”
