Georgia State coach Trent Miles doesn’t think there will be a hangover from last week’s 52-10 loss to Arkansas State when his team takes on South Alabama on Saturday.
His evidence is in the study hall logs.
After the Panthers lost a close game to to Louisiana-Lafayette two weeks ago, a game in which they could have won, Miles said the team had a lethargy during last week’s practices.
One player was late for a team meeting. Four didn’t complete their mandatory two hours of study hall on Sunday.
“I really believe the disappointment of Louisiana-Lafayette, combined with not getting back into 5 a.m., it lingered on us,” Miles said.
A day after the loss to Red Wolves, every player on the team completed a minimum of three hours of study hall on Sunday. Miles said the players’ focus is back and they are ready to compete.
“They know, they know,” Miles said.
Miles uses something he learned while an assistant at Washington to explain part of what happened in the loss to the Red Wolves, Georgia State’s worst performance this season.
While with the Huskies, the coaching staff was invited to a think tank, the Pacific Institute, to discuss winning and losing. They learned that when a team comes close to winning, as the Panthers had in three of the four games before Arkansas State, and are not able to win, there can be a cumulative effect.
“A lot of times, subconsciously, the same mental focus and the same energy level isn’t quite there,” Miles said. “You are scared to feel that way again.”
Miles said the coaches thought the team practiced well last week, but he said mentally they weren’t as intense as they needed to be.
“When we let our energy and/or focus slip that much,” Miles said. The implication is a loss will happen.
“We have to ensure it never happens again,” he said.
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