Kyler Neal took advantage of his first start at running back this year to rush for 80 yards on 10 carries in a 48-38 loss to Air Force on Saturday. He also caught three passes for 91 yards.
“I’m really proud of Neal,” Georgia State coach Trent Miles said.
Neal, a sophomore who played at East Paulding High School, received the start because leading rusher Krysten Hammon was suspended on Friday for a violation of team rules. His status will be re-evaluated by Miles next week.
Neal had a few highlights.
The first came when he put a tackler on his back. It was at least the second time this season Neal has flattened an opponent trying to bring him down head on.
The second came on a 25-yard run with 12:49 left in the second quarter. Neal took the ball and ran left before cutting upfield, where he bounced off one tackler. As he reached the 5, several more tacklers converged.
Neal dragged them all into the end zone for his first touchdown.
“It’s kind of a blur,” he said when asked how many players he carried with him.
The third came late in the fourth quarter when Neal caught a swing pass that he turned into a 73-yard gain to the 2-yard line.
“When I came out of the backfield, I saw everyone following the drag route we had going back across the field,” he said. “I knew I would be wide open. I ran out of a gas a little bit at the end.”
That Neal couldn’t finish the play cost quarterback Nick Arbuckle the school record for passing yards. Instead, Arbuckle tied the record, set by Drew Little against Old Dominion in 2010, with 414 yards.
“I’d much rather win the game and not throw for any yards,” said Arbuckle, who came 1 yard short of tying the record in the season-opening win against Abilene Christian.
Record: Linebacker Joseph Peterson set the school record for career tackles with a stop on a kickoff return in the second quarter.
Peterson, a junior, needed six tackles to break the mark of 199, set last year by linebacker Robert Ferguson.
The record came when Peterson tackled Jon Lee on the Air Force 13-yard line with 12:49 left in the first half.
Peterson finished with a game-high 13 tackles and has 207 in his career.
Peterson, a junior, has nine more games and next season to extend the record.
“It’s just a record; I’d rather have won the game,” Peterson.
Fourth and one: Miles and Arbuckle said they thought the team got a bad spot after an unsuccessful run by Jonathan Lytle on fourth-and-1 at the 20-yard line on Georgia State's opening series. Though it was early, it cost the Panthers an opportunity to score.
Lytle was hit hard by an unblocked linebacker shooting through a hole before he could get to the line of scrimmage.
“I felt the spot wasn’t very good,” Miles said.
Attendance: Georgia State set a season-high attendance mark with 16,836 tickets distributed for Saturday's game.
Earlier in the week, a Georgia State spokesman said he expected that 40 percent of the tickets would be taken by Air Force supporters.
The season’s previous high came when 10,140 tickets were sold and distributed for the opener against Abilene Christian.
About the Author
