In their last chance to earn a win this season, their last chance to “break the rock,” their last chance to send 26 seniors out with a positive reward for years of hard work, Georgia State had one of its worst performances Saturday in a 38-17 loss to South Alabama.
The Panthers (0-12, 0-7 Sun Belt) looked as if they were still in a tryptophan-induced lethargy from Thanksgiving, making many of the same mistakes that have submarined the team’s chances of winning for the past three seasons.
Now, the seniors will go out having won 10 games in four seasons, including one in the past two. The team will have to wait until August and the opener against FCS-level Abilene Christian to “break the rock,” the metaphor coach Trent Miles uses to describe the process of earning a victory.
“South Alabama deserved to win. I wish we would have shown up to play them,” Miles said. “It was very disappointing to end the season that way. That wasn’t the same football team for the last so many weeks with the battle, with the fight.”
Neither Miles nor his players could explain how they performed so poorly on such an important day, but Miles four times in his postgame news conference said that he takes responsibility. Miles hypothesized that maybe the emotion of Senior Day, held before kickoff, took something out of the team. Wide receiver Albert Wilson, one of two Panthers (Robert Davis was the other) to finish with at least 100 yards receiving, said maybe the team was overconfident based upon recent performances.
Despite an 80-yard pass play in the third quarter, the Panthers failed to crack 200 yards of offense until late in the third quarter. They finished with 345 and failed to convent any of their 10 third downs. Passes were dropped, blocks were missed and the Panthers gave away two fumbles in the first quarter, one of which was turned into a touchdown.
While the offense spent most of its series going three-and-out, the defense was getting run over by Jaguars quarterback Ross Metheny, whose team had 451 yards through the first three quarters. The Panthers missed tackles and assignments as they have throughout the season.
South Alabama (5-6, 3-3) took a 7-0 lead when Jay Jones ran in on first-and-goal from the 5-yard line with 7:42 left. Jones carried the ball the final four times on the drive, totaling 37 yards.
After the teams traded turnovers, the Jaguars took a 14-0 lead on a 17-yard run by Jones with 2:31 left in the first quarter. Jones took the option from Metheny, cut around the left end and ran almost untouched for the score.
The Panthers’ Kyler Neal lost another fumble on their next drive — Travis Evans coughed it up on the previous drive — and the Jags recovered on their 32. But the Panthers’ defense held.
What followed was a series that has summed up Georgia State’s issues this season.
Wilson returned the punt a personal-best 62 yards to set up the Panthers on the 24-yard line. Ronnie Bell hit offensive tackle Ulrick John for 5 yards, and a face-mask penalty moved the ball to the 9-yard line.
But Georgia State couldn’t take full advantage, as has been the case most of the season.
Bell was sacked on first- and second-and-goal plays for a total loss of 7 yards, before throwing an incomplete pass to Davis on third-and-goal from the 16. Wil Lutz kicked a 33-yard field goal to cut the gap to 14-3 with 13:27 left in the first half.
After the Panthers’ fourth three-and-out in the first half, South Alabama took a 21-3 lead on a 1-yard dive by Metheny with 6:20 left in the second quarter. Metheny pushed the pile for 2 yards on fourth-and-1 from the 3 on the preceding play.
The Panthers closed the half with Lutz hooking wide a 50-yard field-goal attempt.
South Alabama extended its lead to 31-3 with a 37-yard touchdown pass from Metheny to Shavarez Smith on its first possession of the second half.
Georgia State’s offense finally began to show signs of life in the third when Bell hit Davis running across the middle. Davis broke a tackle and took off before Montell Garner tackled him at the 1-yard line after an 80-yard completion. Bell dove in for a touchdown to cut the Panthers’ deficit to 31-10 with 7:37 left in the third quarter.
The pass play covered more yards than the Panthers totaled in either the first (71) or second (37 quarters).
The Jags answered on their next drive, taking a 38-10 lead on a 1-yard run by Kendall Houston.
“There’s a right way to play this game, and I’ll make sure (what happened Saturday) doesn’t happen again,” Miles said. “It’s disappointing to end the season on that note when we’ve fought so hard to gain ground and put ourselves in position to win football games, and then we don’t show up today.”
