Drenched in Powerade, Georgia State coach Bill Curry couldn’t stop giving hugs after the Panthers defeated South Alabama 27-20 in overtime Saturday.
Curry hugged linebacker Mark Hogan, whose interception in the second overtime clinched the victory.
He hugged quarterback Kelton Hill, who completed 12 of his 15 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns in his first start.
Last, he gave a hug to his well-dressed wife, Carolyn. Five consecutive losses, and a potential dry-cleaning bill, were forgotten in the sticky sweetness of the impromptu bath.
“Another routine Georgia State victory,” Curry joked, adding that if he looked uncomfortable it was because he was. He then got serious.
“It would have been very easy to pack it in the last few weeks,” he said. “Even today, we shot ourselves in the foot again and again, but we just keep coming back and making plays.”
Curry’s defense, maligned during the streak, made most of the plays. It created a school-record five turnovers, each occurring inside the 35-yard line. That doesn’t include another by Hogan at the end of regulation that was wiped out by a false-start penalty. Christo Bilukidi said, other than Hogan’s interception, none of the turnovers were as important as a confidence-boosting goal-line stand on the Jaguars’ first series of the game.
“That was the turnaround moment for our defense and our team as a whole,” Bilukidi said. “From then we knew we had this game.”
If only it were that easy.
South Alabama drove 54 yards in the final minutes to tie the score at 20 and send the game to overtime. The tying play didn’t come without controversy.
It appeared that South Alabama didn’t have enough men on the field on fourth-and-5 with four seconds to play. A player scampered from the sideline after the team was set and lined up as a wide receiver. The ball was snapped and quarterback C.J. Bennett threw a pass that Hogan intercepted. However, the Jaguars were called for an illegal-procedure penalty before the snap.
Backed up to the 9-yard line, Bennett hit Cory Waldon for a touchdown to force overtime.
Georgia State’s defense stopped the Jags in the first overtime, forcing a 44-yard field-goal attempt that sailed wide left.
Led by Russell, Georgia State drove to the 7-yard line, where Curry elected to try a field goal on first down. However, Christian Benvenuto’s effort was blocked, forcing the second overtime. This time, the Panthers didn’t lose confidence. The offense scored, and the defense made its stop when Jake Muasau hit Bennett’s arm as he tried to pass on second-and-goal at the 2. Hogan caught the tipped pass — this time it counted — and the hugs began.
“The point we emphasized this week was keeping our poise and composure and to keep playing,” Hogan said. “They made some big runs, but we put that behind us and played the next play. That was the best we’ve done all year at that.”
The offense led by Donald Russell, Albert Wilson and Hill, was confident as well.
Russell became the first player in school history to rush for more than 100 yards. He finished with 136 and an 8-yard score in the second overtime.
“We’ve had a hard time finishing,” Russell said. “But we showed today that we can finish and come out with a victory.”
Hill, the third starting quarterback the team has used this season, hit Wilson for touchdown passes of 78 and 64 yards in the first half. Wilson set a school record with 175 receiving yards. The 78-yard play, a simple screen that featured good blocking from Jordan Giles and Danny Williams, was the longest offensive play in Georgia State’s history.
“Football and life teach you that if you have guts and if you are able to suck it up and go to the next play ... then you can have moments like this,” Curry said. “What matters now for our program is to build on this and understand that it’s just one step.”
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