The experience of cornerback Gavin Pringle made the difference for Georgia State on Saturday, as the graduate transfer came up with an interception in the end zone with 30 seconds remaining to preserve a 20-17 road win over Louisiana in Lafayette, La.
“That is exactly why he’s here,” said Georgia State coach Shawn Elliott. “He’s where he needs to be and he doesn’t let the moment get too big for him.”
The win gave Georgia State its first win in six tries against Louisiana, improved its record to 6-1 for the first time in program history, and made the Panthers bowl eligible. GSU is 3-1 in the Sun Belt and remains in contention for the conference championship.
It wasn’t easy.
Georgia State watched a 20-0 lead evaporate thanks to a slew of mistakes and an offense that disappeared in the second half. Louisiana began its final possession with 6:56 remaining and used a 34-yard run by redshirt freshman quarterback Zeon Chriss to flip the field. The Ragin’ Cajuns pushed it to the 7-yard line and milked the clock to 38 seconds left in an effort to take the lead and leave GSU out of time.
But on third-and-4, Chriss underthrew his pass in the end zone and Pringle made the easy interception, his third of the year.
“I caught it and I couldn’t believe it,” said Pringle, a grad transfer from Bucknell. “I love this team and we found a way to pick each other up.”
Georgia State quarterback Darren Grainger completed 17 of 22 passes for 211 yards and two touchdown and ran for 18 yards on nine carries. Marcus Carroll carried 26 times for 110 yards, his fifth time to surpass the 100-yard mark. Tight end Ahmon Green caught four passes for 44 yards and a pair of touchdowns, the first two of his career.
The GSU defense was able to keep Chriss off-balance most of the game. He completed 14 of 28 passes for 106 yards, one touchdown and one interception, but he ran 17 times for 119 yards.
“On the last play I told our guys I wanted pressure, I wanted him knocked down, I wanted to make sure he did not have time to beat us,” Elliott said. “Chad Staggs (defensive coordinator) said we’re just going to play zone and going to let our guys do the work and they did a great job. We were in a great position.”
Georgia State set the tone on its first possession by driving quickly to the 1, only to have the dependable Carroll lose the ball as he tried to reach the end zone. Louisiana’s Kendre Gant recovered at the 3.
GSU scored on its first possession of the second quarter, overcoming a procedure penalty and an intentional-grounding call. On third-and-goal from the 24, Grainger hit Green over the middle for a touchdown. The kick was missed, leaving the Panthers with a 6-0 lead.
Georgia State scored again on its next possession. After a third-and-2 pass to Carroll went for 42 yards, Grainger – who completed his first nine passes -- found Green for a 1-yard touchdown and a 13-0 lead.
After forcing Louisiana to punt, GSU’s Grainger was injured on the first play when he took a hard shot to the head. Backup Mikele Colasurdo entered and the Panthers fed Carroll on seven of the eight plays, with Colasurdo scoring on a 3-yard run.
Another three-and-out gave Georgia State the ball at the 31. On third-and-3 Colasurdo dropped back and had the ball knocked loose by Gant, with Marcus Wiser recovering at the 27. Five plays later, Louisiana scored on Chriss’s 5-yard keeper.
The momentum continued in the second half. Louisiana scored on its first two possession, the second touchdown on a drive that was extended by a fake punt.
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