It was opening night for the Georgia State football team, and all of the stars turned out. Well, one. Sort of. If you count Ludacris.
Yes, the master of such warm ballads as “Hoes in my Room” and “Move (expletive)” showed up at the Georgia Dome on Friday night for the Panthers’ first game against Samford. He stood on the field before the game, held up a football, attempted to whip the 10s of fans into a frenzy with the rallying cry, “All blue! All in!” And then he left soon after.
All in is all relative.
I’m assuming the artist formerly known as Chris Bridges still had one foot in the building during the game’s first score, which took only 17 seconds. Samford returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. That was a first in Georgia State’s short football history, which probably is not what new coach Trent Miles had meant when he said, “We’re trying to build something new here.”
Ludacris, meanwhile, had better things to do. He was scheduled to hold a post-first-quarter session with the media, presumably to break down Georgia State’s kickoff coverage, but his people informed the school’s people by phone early in that quarter that he was, like, Ludagone.
At least he showed up. That puts him ahead of most current or former students.
It's too bad, really. I'm still not sure if Georgia State did the right thing by starting a football program, and I certainly don't believe they did the right thing moving up to the Sun Belt Conference and the FBS level before they could beat New Hampshire, Maine or Old Dominion. But any slow and painful growth on the football field seems secondary to the issue of weak fan support.
Things looked promising that first opening night in 2010 when an announced crowd of 30,000-plus showed up. But Georgia State hasn’t come close to that since and it can’t all be because of the product.
The Panthers’ announced average attendance last season was just over 12,000. The actual estimated number of people in the seats was closer to half that. The crowd Friday night was generously announced as 17,606 (including Luda).
The school’s enrollment: 32,000. The alumni base in metro Atlanta: over 100,000. See the problem?
On the field, new coach Trent Miles gave some indication in Friday's opener that the product will improve. That's all he can control. After that regrettable opening to the coach's tenure, Panthers quarterback Ronnie Bell threw two first-half touchdown passes to Kelton Hill, and the defense shut out Samford's offense for three quarters.
Then came the almost expected unraveling. Samford intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown late in the third quarter, drove to touchdowns on its ensuing to possessions — 21 points in just over nine minutes — and Georgia State fell 31-21.
“We have to teach them how to win,” Miles said. “They don’t know how to win.”
He praised his players for their effort and how they responded to the kickoff. He praised the defense, which allowed only 14 points (the field goal followed a second interception). OK, they’re 0-1. But when you’re tabbed as the 125th best team in a field of 125 by USA Today before the season, expectations aren’t high. At this point progress can’t realistically be measured by the win total.
Georgia State’s best chance for victories this season figured to come against three FCS opponents: Samford, Chattanooga and Jacksonville State. The West Virginia and Alabama games are about collecting a paycheck and hopefully not being disqualified for health insurance. The final seven games against Sun Belt teams are merely a preview of what’s waiting for them when they figure this all out.
It won’t be pleasant.
Miles knows what he is up against. He is trying to recruit talent, build classes and create some semblance of a standard and an identity, which Bill Curry failed to do in his three years. This stuff doesn't happen quickly.
Along the way, Miles has to hope people start showing up — because if they don’t, the school will have wasted millions of dollars on a venture that was questioned from the outset.
“I think part of my job is getting on campus and getting kids motivated,” he said earlier this week. “I spoke at the convocation and tried to get them fired up a bit. That’s part of it, but I’m not sure if that’s the main thing I’ll be judged on.”
No, that would be wins. In the end, he is just the football coach. He can build it, coach it and attempt to promote it. But nobody can force people through turnstiles.
“Winning takes care of everything,” Miles said. “We all have to understand where we’re at and what’s going on. We’re not an established program.”
The question is: When they are established, will people be watching?
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