Georgia State learned firsthand that an outstanding defensive effort can be quickly washed away by a pair of mistakes – in this case two errors that resulted in touchdowns. The result was a disappointing 31-28 loss to Louisiana-Monroe on Senior Day at Center Parc Stadium.
Georgia State allowed a blocked punt for a touchdown and an interception for a touchdown – both by Quae Drake -- and fell to 4-6, 3-3 in the Sun Belt Conference. The Panthers must win their final two games, on the road against James Madison and Marshall, to become bowl eligible for the fourth consecutive season.
Despite the problems, Georgia State had one last chance in the final minutes to send the game to overtime. Taking over at their 16 with 3:34 remaining, the Panthers drove to the 37 before turning it over on downs, inches short of a first down.
“It was a poorly executed contest,” Georgia State coach Shawn Elliott said. “You’ve got a fumble, you’ve got an interception for a touchdown, you have a blocked punt for a touchdown. It’s crazy to think you have an opportunity to have an attempt at a field goal after playing that poorly.”
Georgia State had 525 yards of offense, 186 on the ground, despite missing a couple of starters on the offensive line that caused them to play a mix-and-match group.
Marcus Carroll ran 28 times for 100 yards, and Darren Grainger ran 17 times for 50 yards. Grainger completed 25 of 40 passes for 349 yards and one touchdown, but was sacked four times and intercepted once. Jamari Thrash caught nine passes for 164 yards, and Ja’Cyais Credle caught six for 78 yards and one touchdown.
“I feel like we could have made some more plays,” Grainger said. “We’ve just got to get better all-around, starting with me. I feel like we left a lot out there.”
The GSU defense allowed only 75 yards rushing and 225 passing. The Panthers had two sacks, six tackles for loss and five quarterback hurries. But the two big plays were too much to overcome.
“I thought defensively we played well enough to get the victory,” Elliott said. “You can’t have the turnovers. To go out there and play the way they did defensively. (The GSU defense) played to win that football game and well enough to win that game.”
Georgia State appeared to be in control in the first half after scoring on 4-yard keeper by Grainger, who leaped over the signage after he was shoved at the end of the play, and a 3-yard touchdown by Gregg, a drive enabled by a 4-yard pass to Jamari Thrash.
But the momentum shifted at the beginning of the second quarter when Nick Torres broke through the middle of the line and blocked Michael Hayes’ punt. Drake fielded the ball on a bounce and carried it 23 yards for a touchdown. It was the third blocked punt to go for a touchdown against the Panthers this season and allowed the Warhawks (4-6, 3-3) to cut the lead to 14-10.
“You get a punt blocked for a touchdown, it’s a huge momentum swing,” Elliott said. “You get a punt off and probably a stop and maybe another score, and we’re probably sitting here talking about a whole different outcome.”
Georgia State answered with a touchdown set up by another long pass to Thrash. Gregg ran it in from the 9 for a touchdown, the record-setting 26th of his career.
The Panthers limited the Warhawks to another field goal, but surrendered a touchdown with 2:27 remaining on a a 1-yard run by Andrew Henry, who celebrated with a little moonwalk. That cut Georgia State’s lead to 21-20 at halftime.
GSU went ahead 28-20 with 4:11 to play in the third quarter on a 21-yard pass from Grainger to Credle, but didn’t score again.
Louisiana-Monroe kept it close when Calum Sutherland kicked a 54-yard field goal – his third of the game -- and Georgia State appeared to be in good position after Antavious Lane intercepted a pass with 7:39 left. But the Warhawks went ahead when Drake stepped in front of a Grainger pass for an easy interception that he returned for 34-yard touchdown.
“I’ll put that on my shoulder,” Grainger said. “That’s just decision-making on me, and it’ll be better the next time.”
The game had been chippy throughout the afternoon, but it boiled over at the end. The Warhawks took a knee to take the final two seconds off the clock when both teams began to tussle and shove, forcing Elliott and Louisiana-Monroe coach Terry Bowden and their staffs to intervene and push players off the field.
“If you want to fight, you should have done it during the game when you had the chances, during the downs that mattered,” Elliott said. “You never want a game to end in a situation like that. That’s foolish. I apologize to coach Bowden and their football game. That’s not who we are, and it certainly will not happen going forward. I can assure you of that. When you play that poorly, you’ve got to accept the consequences and move on.”
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