Georgia State earns bowl eligibility for third straight season with win over Arkansas State

ATLANTA — Georgia State’s football team is bowl eligible for the third straight year after a 28-20 victory over Arkansas State, fueled by a dominating performance by the Panthers’ defense.

The GSU defense collected 15 tackles for loss with six sacks, and held the Red Wolves (2-9, 1-6 Sun Belt) to just 270 total yards, including a school-record minus-3 rushing yards, as the Panthers won for the fifth time in their last six games to improve to 6-5 overall and 5-2 in the Sun Belt Conference.

“Congratulations to our football team on becoming bowl eligible for the third straight year, something that’s never been done before at Georgia State,” said head coach Shawn Elliott, who has guided the Panthers to bowl eligibility in four of his five seasons. 

“I’m very proud of our team. We made the plays to get it done,” Elliott continued. “This game is tough, and today might have been one of the tougher ones. We weren’t crisp, to the very end. I tell them all the time, You’ve got to play 60 minutes the hardest and the longest, and we love using every second of that 60-minute ballgame. But I’m thrilled to death. We’re going bowling, and that feels really good.”

On offense, Jamyest Williams rushed for a career-high 125 yards and two touchdowns on just 16 carries, and Tucker Gregg added 99 yards and one score as the Panthers piled up 282 yards on the ground. Quarterback Darren Grainger passed for 152 yards and rushed for 46, including a 35-yard touchdown run.

Jamari Thrash led the receiving corps with a career-high 108 yards on four catches. 

But the defense was the story of the day.

“We talked all week about 609 yards offense, 551 passing yards, eight touchdowns a year in a 59-52 loss a year ago,” Elliott said, referencing last year’s game at Arkansas State. “They came out and played fantastic football. They were relentless all day. Offensively, we put them in a lot of tough situations, and they responded. I’m just proud of them.”

Defensive lineman Thomas Gore led the way with seven tackles, including two sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss. Outside linebacker Jontrey Hunter made eight tackles, including a school record-tying four tackles for loss, along with a pass breakup. 

Noseguard Dontae Wilson had 2.5 tackles for loss, including 1.5 sacks to move into second place in GSU history with 11.5 career sacks, just one-half behind teammate Hardrick Willis (12.0).

On the back end, cornerback Bryquice Brown stopped a scoring drive with an interception at the 1-yard line and added two pass breakups. Safety Antavious Lane also grabbed an interception, along with a forced fumble, a tackle for loss and two pass breakups. Cornerback Jaylon Jones had six tackles and three pass breakups.

Lane’s interception was his third of the season and the seventh of his career to tie the Georgia State career record, equaling teammate Quavian White and current Green Bay Packer Chandon Sullivan. 

With Georgia State leading 28-13 with six minutes left, the Panthers stopped Arkansas State on four downs deep in the Red Wolves territory. GSU took over at the ASU 18, looking to put the game away, but Arkansas State returned a fumble 80 yards for a touchdown to pull within 28-20 with 4:22 to play. 

But Gregg converted two third downs to allow Georgia State to run out the clock. 

The Panthers conclude the regular season at home next Saturday, hosting Troy at 2 p.m. at Center Parc Stadium.