Led by Conner Manning and Penny Hart, Georgia State used a record-setting offensive performance to win its third-straight road game and move to 2-0 atop the Sun Belt Conference with a 47-37 victory Saturday at Louisiana-Monroe.
Manning directed an attack that piled up a school record 670 yards of total offense with Georgia State’s most points ever against an FBS team. The senior quarterback completed 26 of 35 passes for a career-high 446 yards, the second-highest single-game total in school history, and tied the Georgia State record with four touchdown passes.
Much of Manning’s yardage was to Hart, who set the Georgia State (3-2, 2-0 Sun Belt) record with 190 yards receiving on 11 catches, which ties his own school mark. Hart, who recorded his third straight 100-yard game, caught touchdowns of 50, 25 and 22 yards
“I can tell you one thing, we’re pleased to death with this win. We never take winning for granted,” head coach Shawn Elliott said. “I’m very proud of the effort - our guys fought hard. We made it interesting in the fourth quarter, but we’re 2-0 in the conference, and someone has to come knock us off. We’re going to continue to work to see how good we can be.
Georgia State also rushed for a season-high 224 yards, despite losing its top two backs to injury. Kyler Neal rushed for 65 yards on 14 carries, including a 1-yard touchdown, and the senior topped the 1,000-yard mark for his career. Demarcus Kirk had 56 yards rushing, and Taz Bateman gained 43 yards before leaving the game.
Louisiana-Monroe (3-3, 3-1 Sun Belt) managed two touchdowns in the final three minutes.
The Panthers collected a school-record nine sacks, including three by Marterious Allen, which ties the Georgia State record. Michael Shaw added two sacks to become the Panthers career leader in tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
Georgia State next faces Troy at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, at Georgia State Stadium.
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