Old Dominion 40, Georgia State 17
The game that was
From the lack of fans at the Georgia Dome, to the troubles the offense, defense, special teams, and in Bill Curry's words, coaches had, Saturday's loss to Old Dominion was troubling for many reasons.
What we learned
1. Georgia State's offense has work to do. The Panthers had a few good plays, but overall it went three and out too many times (3.7 yards per play average) and committed too many turnovers (three) to give itself a chance against upcoming teams like Jacksonville State, Houston, Murray State and South Carolina State. Who will start at quarterback? Starter Bo Schlechter looked shaky and back-up Drew Little rusty after his long layoff.
2. The special teams have work to do. One blocked punt. One partially blocked punt. At least three penalties on returns. ODU averaged 10.8 yards per punt return and 20.2 per kickoff return. Georgia State doesn't have a big enough margin of error to commit these kinds of breakdowns.
3. The fans have work to do. No one would say it, but the turnout for the televised game was embarrassing. More than 11,000 attended, according to the announced attendance. However, it looked like fewer than 1,000 were in the student section from a school with an undergraduate enrollment of more than 20,000. Yes, sorority rush was going on, but Georgia State isn't a women's-only university. Yes, Georgia State is mostly a commuter university, but the game time wasn't announced a few days ago.
Injury report
Center Ben Jacoby left the game with what Curry said was an MCL injury. There was no update on his condition as of Sunday.
Numbers game
2.4
Georgia State's average per rushing attempt. The Panthers had 85 yards on 35 carries. Old Dominion averaged 5.1 yards on 54 carries.
Sound bite
"You have to have their attention. You have to know you have their attention. It has to be in the finest detail. … Both the quarterbacks that played today have been out there every day so they know what to do. The receivers know what to do. The guys providing protection have been out there every day. There is just no excuse."
-- Bill Curry
What's next
It's not going to get any easier. Georgia State faces Jacksonville State in its first road game this season, followed by Houston in Texas. The Panthers were 1-3 on the road last year.
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