Conner Manning and the Georgia State offense trotted one last time onto the Camp Randall Stadium field with a chance to shock the college football universe.
Down 23-17 with just 3:36 remaining, 75 yards was all that stood between the Panthers upsetting No. 9 Wisconsin in front of a home crowd of 79,883 Saturday.
Just 24 seconds of game clock and three consecutive incompletions from Manning later, the Badgers (3-0) got the ball back and bled the remaining three minutes and 12 seconds to escape with a 23-17 win.
“Offensively, we just couldn’t get it done,” Manning, who completed 20 of his 29 passes for 269 yards, said. “I put that on my shoulders. I had the ball in my hand and didn’t make the plays at the end.”
Redshirt freshman quarterback Alex Hornibrook, who replaced starter Bart Houston in the third quarter and injected life into the Wisconsin offense, connected with tight end Kyle Penniston on play action from one yard away to go up 20-17 with 7:25 remaining. Kicker Rafael Gaglianone added one of his four field goals on the next Wisconsin drive to add some insurance.
The Panthers (0-3) took the lead 17-13 with 12:42 remaining on a 9-yard run from running back Kyler Neal (15 rushes, 41 yards). The previous play was a 60-yard completion from Manning to Glenn Smith, who broke three tackles on his dash to the Wisconsin red zone.
Georgia State’s offensive drive before that also resulted in a touchdown to take its first lead of the game at 13-10. Manning lobbed a beautiful ball to receiver Robert Davis, who made a difficult diving catch by the front pylon of the end zone, getting his right foot down and the ball across the plane before he fell out of bounds.
Davis caught eight passes for 93 yards and his 174 career catches means he is one catch behind Albert Wilson as Georgia State’s career leader in receptions.
“Definitely in a situation where you had a chance to shock the world and come that close, and have it slip out your hands when you have a lead in the fourth quarter,” Davis said, “that adds a little bit more pain to it.”
The Panthers’ defense kept the team in the game during the first half, continually stalling the Wisconsin offense once it crossed midfield. In the first quarter, the Panthers forced the sputtering Badgers to settle for two field goals and the Badgers fumbled at the goal line early in the second quarter. But Georgia State’s offense couldn’t take advantage, and the first half ended with the Badgers leading 6-0. Those missed opportunities cost Georgia State dearly.
“There are no moral victories for Georgia State,” coach Trent Miles said. “We’re very disappointed. We had the opportunity to win the game in the fourth quarter and we didn’t get it done.”
Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst blamed his team’s performance: “We were just off a little bit on some things,” he said.
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