Coordinator John Thompson said after Georgia State’s 37-21 loss at Jacksonville State that he has to find something that his defense can do well.
The Panthers gave up 401 yards to the Gamecocks. The Panthers run a version of the 3-4 in which several of the linemen, and sometimes the linebackers, are interchangeable. In three games, the defense has given up 140, 282 and now 246 rushing yards.
Thompson said the players are doing what they are supposed to do. He’s got to find a way to put them in the spots to make plays. “We’ve got to find ourself in terms of what kind of team we are,” he said. “I’ve got to find something we can line up in. We’ve just got to go back to work.”
Thompson said they’ve already tried to simplify the defense. He said the team has to go do a better job of playing gap-control, in which they control their assigned area.
Coach Bill Curry and Thompson said there won’t be any significant overhauls of the personnel. “We’ve got a nucleus of guys who are good enough to do it, they’ve just got to do it,” Curry said.
Former Georgia player Washaun Ealey benefitted by rushing for a touchdown and 82 yards, seven less than Calvin Middleton, who led the Gamecocks. Quarterback Coty Blanchard added 77 more and two touchdowns. “It was just the game plan,” Ealey said. “We were catching them.”
Wilson out
Wide receiver Albert Wilson, considered the team’s fastest player and the most dangerous playmaker, pulled up lame on his way to a touchdown in the final minutes of the game.
He was quickly diagnosed with a hamstring injury.
“I pray that it’s not serious, but it looked like it could be,” Curry said.
Wilson had just caught a pass from Drew Little in the middle of the field and had an open path to the end zone when he suddenly stopped running. He fell to the turf a few steps later.
“It was one of the freakiest things I’ve ever seen in the sport,” Curry said.
Wilson had six catches for a career-high 146 yards, including a 54-yard reception from Bo Schlechter earlier in the game.
Getting personal
The Panthers were flagged seven times for 77 yards, including at least three personal-foul penalties. Two of those penalties contributed to Jacksonville State scoring drives.
Curry said there is a special punishment for players who commit personal fouls, but he declined to say what that punishment was.
“You take the penalties out of it, and if we simply play intelligently, we’re right in the game,” Curry said. “We didn’t show poise in the clutch.”
The Panthers committed seven penalties in the previous week’s loss to Old Dominion, and seven in the season-opening win over Clark Atlanta.
“We will learn a lesson that you don’t do that,” Curry said.
Quick-kick
Like Wilson’s injury, Curry saw another once-in-a-lifetime thing when Little’s quick-kick punt was blocked in the second quarter.
He was lined up in a shorter formation, one designed to try to confuse the defense.
Little normally doesn’t punt. He executed one punt last year against Lamar. Saturday’s kick was the first time this season that he has attempted one.
Defensive end Barry Stafford surged through the protection, leaped and tipped the punt. Clarence Jackson picked up the ball and ran 34 yards for a touchdown.
After having only one punt blocked last season, the Panthers have had three blocked in two games. In their loss to Old Dominion, they had a punt blocked and returned for a touchdown and one partially blocked that went out of bounds on the 19-yard line. The Monarchs scored soon after.
“I can’t remember seeing a quick-kick blocked,” Curry said.
Russell in the Wildcat
Donald Russell ran several plays out of the Wildcat formation, in which he lines up by himself in the backfield. It's a package that the Panthers are running more frequently each week. He finished with 47 yards and a touchdown.
He said he ran it some at Kentucky, where he played before transferring during the offseason. He said the most difficult part is reading the defense and making the call which direction he will run.
"We've been working on it a lot in practice," Russell said. "I think we did a very good job. Hopefully we can do it again next week."
