In the biggest game of the season and the team’s final contest in the Georgia Dome, Georgia State pulled out all the stops to come away with a 30-24 victory over rival Georgia Southern.
The Panthers (3-8, 2-5 Sun Belt) took the lead on the opening drive and never looked back. The Eagles (4-7, 3-4) clawed back in the game to make the score close, but they were unable to get over the hump, allowing GSU to create enough separation to dismiss any last-ditch effort for a comeback.
1. The Panthers’ hot start
If there was any question how much this game mattered to the home team, GSU answered it at the beginning of the game. The Panthers jumped to a 20-0 lead as quarterback Conner Manning got all of his weapons involved early to help the GSU offense come out swinging. The defense did its job as well by forcing a fumble on its first possession and a three-and-out on its second to help get Manning and the offense right back on the field.
“We had a lot of energy and juice,” interim coach Tim Lappano said. “They really believed that they were going to win the football game.”
2. Penalties
A targeting call against linebacker Michael Shaw and an offside penalty on a play when the Panthers forced what could have been a game-clinching fumble nearly doomed GSU. Luckily for the Panthers, the Eagles made more blunders.
Georgia Southern had 11 penalties for 78 yards. A targeting call that extended a Panthers drive that led to a field goal did enough damage to the Eagles’ chances, but in the final two minutes, a pair of miscues doomed their hopes of a comeback even more. Georgia Southern was called for a block in the back on a punt return with one minute and 14 seconds left, forcing the offense to start a potential game-winning drive from its 4-yard line. On the first play of the drive, the Eagles lost another two yards thanks to an ineligible-man-downfield call.
3. Turnovers
“Just that willpower,” linebacker Shawanye Lawrence said of the team’s two forced fumbles. “We preach on getting three takeaways every game, so we just really focus in on just getting those takeaways.”
Although the Panthers failed to reach their goal of three turnovers, the two they did force led to 10 points at crucial times in the game. On Georgia Southern’s opening drive, Lawrence forced and recovered a fumble, which led to a Panthers touchdown and a 13-0 lead. In the second half, after going up 27-17, linebacker Alonzo McGee emerged from a pile with the ball to set up GSU’s final score of the game.
4. GSU’s special-teams woes continued, but didn’t haunt the team
It was mostly positives for the Panthers, but special teams once again provided some scary scenes for the home team. An extra-point attempt and a field-goal attempt were blocked, and GSU gave up a 34-yard punt return early in the game when Georgia Southern started to shift momentum. But unlike in previous weeks, the Panthers addressed the issues at halftime by switching in punter Brandon Wright to kick field goals and extra points and prevented any more game-changing plays on special teams.
5. Keith Rucker had a stellar Senior Day
On a day celebrating the seniors and in a game the players dedicated to former coach Trent Miles, few members of Miles’ first recruiting class performed better than tight end Keith Rucker. The senior’s eight catches and 145 yards were both season highs.
“Not only was this our bowl game and it was a rivalry game, but we were also playing to do it for coach Miles,” Rucker said. “I’m just so happy right now.”
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