Georgia State learned a lot on Thursday night.
It found a new quarterback, discovered it could run the ball and unearthed some answers on defense in the second half. But more than anything else the Panthers learned they can’t get behind by 18 points and expect to win in the Sun Belt Conference.
The Panthers gamely fought back from an 18-0 deficit and lost 35-20 to Marshall on a chilly night in Huntington, W.Va., Georgia State (2-4, 0-3) has lost three straight games. Marshall (4-3, 2-1) rebounded after blowing a 20-point lead a week ago at Georgia Southern.
“You can’t spot teams 18 points to start the game,” Georgia State coach Dell McGee said. “I did appreciate our kids for fighting back and believing we can make the necessary plays down the stretch to tie the game. Our kids kept fighting but we’ve got to figure out a way to stop the run and not allow a team to run for what they run for.”
The final score was inflated when Marshall’s A.J. Turner scored on an 88-yard run on the first play after the Thundering Herd stopped Georgia State on downs at the 12 with 1:52 left. Turner was a problem all night, as the big redshirt-sophomore carried 15 times for 177 yards and scored four touchdowns. Marshall ran for 295 yards, a season-high for a GSU opponent.
The Panthers got a lift from reserve quarterback Zach Gibson, who completed 19 of 32 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns and rushed 10 times for 35 yards. Tight end Dorian Fleming and running back Michel Dukes both had seven receptions.
“We knew we were going to play Zach and then we didn’t manufacture any drives and made the move,” McGee said. “I thought he made good decisions during the game and thought we played with better tempo in the offense.”
Georgia State had its most productive running game. Freddie Brock carried 18 times for 124 yards, including a 56-yarder, and the Panthers totaled a season-high 209 yards on the ground.
“We ran the ball more effectively, which you’ve got to attribute to our O-line,” McGee said. “Our backs were breaking tackles and our O-line was getting on people.”
The GSU defense allowed a season-high 295 yards and struggled to slow down Marshall quarterback Braylon Braxton. He completed 11 of 20 passes for 132 yards and one touchdown and ran 13 times for 72 yards.
“We’ve got to learn to stop the run,” McGee said. “We did not play very good run defense. Too many explosive plays at inopportune times – the one score before the half and the last score in a one-minute situation where we had three timeouts and we were hoping to call three timeouts and give our offense another chance.”
The Georgia State defense had a poor first half and allowed Marshall to score on four of its five possessions.
“We didn’t play with a whole lot of effort,” McGee said. “We were grabbing, not playing physical football. First half they were more physical than we were. They did answer the bell at halftime when I challenged them.”
The Herd scored the first three times it had the ball, scoring on a 2-yard run by Turner – with a rarely-implemented two-point conversion on a “swinging gate” formation – a 47-yard field goal by Rece Verhoff, and a 23-yard run by Turner.
That’s when GSU changed quarterbacks, opting to bring in Gibson to replace Christian Veilleux for his earliest appearance of the season. The Georgia Tech transfer immediately sparked the team on a 57-yard drive that resulted in a Liam Rickman’s 36-yard field goal.
After forcing a punt, the Panthers drove for a touchdown, with Gibson picking up a key first down on third-and-7. The score came on a play-action pass to Michel Dukes that went for a 13-yard touchdown.
Marshall added another touchdown before halftime. Turner scored on a 30-yard reception with 28 seconds left to give the Herd a 25-10 lead at the break.
GSU scored on a 3-yard touchdown pass from Gibson to Dukes at 5:51 in the third quarter and got the ball right back on freshman Damaine Wilson’s first career interception. The Panthers drove to the 2 but had to settle for Rickman’s 20-yard field goal, which cut the margin to 25-20.
Marshall regained its eight-point advantage on Verhoff’s 49-yard field goal with 9:36 remaining, which left the Panthers plenty of time for a scoring drive. GSU had to start at the 5 after a holding penalty on the kickoff and reached the Marshall 12, where the threat ended on incomplete passes on third and four down.
“We missed the details when it’s game time and crunch time,” McGee said. “A little bit of lack of focus, lack of attention to detail when it matters. And we didn’t give our receiver a chance on a couple of those balls. Thing we’ve got to clean up and we will it them up.”
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