Georgia State Rally Falls Short in 38-32 Loss at Arkansas State

Georgia State pulled within six in the final minutes, but the Panthers couldn’t finish the comeback and fell 38-32 to Arkansas State on Saturday night at Centennial Bank Stadium. A pick in the final seconds ended the last threat, and Georgia State dropped to 4-3 overall and 1-2 in conference play.

Georgia State fell behind early. The Panthers’ first possession went three-and-out for a loss of 16 yards, including a 10-yard sack of Cameran Brown, and Arkansas State needed only three plays to take a 7-0 lead on a 12-yard Trey Owens touchdown pass to Jaylen Bonelli. Georgia State answered with a 12-play, 44-yard drive that stalled at the Arkansas State 31 and ended in a missed 49-yard field goal by Samer Layous.

The Panthers settled in during the second quarter. Brown led a nine-play, 74-yard drive and hit DJ Riles for a 3-yard touchdown to tie it at 7. After Owens put the Red Wolves back in front with a 2-yard run, Ayden Pereira came in at quarterback and led an eight-play, 75-yard drive in 2:40, finishing with a 33-yard touchdown pass to Qwantavius Wiggins with 26 seconds left. The game was tied 14-14 at halftime.

The third quarter got away from Georgia State. Pereira’s deep pass on the Panthers’ first possession of the half was intercepted by Brandon Greil, and on the next play Owens hit Nana Burris for a 54-yard touchdown. Wiggins answered right back with a 77-yard touchdown run to tie it at 21, but Arkansas State held the ball for 11:17 of the quarter to Georgia State’s 3:38 and scored again on a 1-yard Owens run to lead 28-21.

Ti Carter’s 2-yard run opened the fourth for a 35-21 Arkansas State lead, and a 26-yard Clune Van Andel field goal made it 38-21. Georgia State fought back. Pereira connected with Rodshaun Dorsey on a 27-yard touchdown, and the Panthers converted a two-point try on a pass to Derrick Avery Jr. to cut it to 38-29. The defense then got the stop it needed when Tre Mittman sacked Owens and forced a fumble, which Arkansas State recovered before punting. Layous kicked a 33-yard field goal with 4:25 left to make it 38-32.

Georgia State got the ball back one more time. The Red Wolves ran the clock down before punting with 1:49 left, and the Panthers took over at their own 13 and moved to midfield. Pereira’s deep pass was intercepted by Makai Shahid with 25 seconds left, but a roughing the passer penalty on Arkansas State wiped it out and gave the Panthers a first down. On the next play, Shahid intercepted another deep ball at the Arkansas State 6 to end it.

Wiggins was the star for Georgia State with 99 rushing yards and a touchdown, five catches for 47 yards and a score, and 146 all-purpose yards. Dorsey caught three passes for 85 yards and a touchdown, and Dennis Murray Jr. added 66 yards on the ground and 58 through the air. Pereira finished 12-of-19 for 163 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, while Brown was 8-of-10 for 65 yards and a touchdown but was sacked twice. Landon Vargas punted four times for a 46.3 average with a long of 53.

The Panthers piled up 429 yards and averaged 7.2 yards a play, but a few things hurt them. They went 0-for-3 on third down in the fourth quarter and 4-of-12 for the game, turned the ball over twice, and Arkansas State scored seven points off turnovers to Georgia State’s none. The Panthers also lost the possession battle, 31:27 to 28:33.

Defensively, Jaydon Hood led Georgia State with 10 tackles, Keenan Nelson had eight, and Donovan Faria and Mittman each had seven. Mittman and Coby Owens each had a sack, and the Panthers finished with four tackles for loss. Faria intercepted Owens in the first quarter, but the Panthers couldn’t turn it into points. Arkansas State’s Owens threw for 309 yards and two touchdowns, with Bonelli (150 yards) and Burris (114 yards) combining for 13 catches.