Written by Derek Robbie
Orlando, FL - Georgia State captured their first ever bowl win in a 27-17 victory over Western Kentucky in the 3rd annual AutoNation Cure Bowl.
Georgia State pieced together a nice drive on their first possession. Right off the bat, Quarterback Conner Manning found his receiver, Jonathan Ifedi down the sidelines for a nice 18-yard gain to the Panthers on the right side of the 50-yard line. A few plays and penalties later they were forced to settle with a field goal. Brandon Wright’s 42-yarder gave his side a 3-0 lead with 8 minutes remaining in the first quarter.
Western Kentucky answered immediately. On their second play of the drive, quarterback Mike White found his tight end, Deon Yelder wide open in the middle of the field for a 54-yard touchdown. Yelder’s trip to the end zone gave his team an early 7-3 lead with 7:30 minutes in left the first quarter.
The Panthers responded to the Tops’ touchdown in just three plays. A big 49-yard completion from Manning to wide receiver Tamir Jones set them up in fantastic field position. On the following play running back Demarcus Kirk ran the ball right up the middle for a 26-yard score. His touchdown gave Georgia State a narrow 10-7 lead with just over six minutes left in the first quarter.
Manning went to scramble out of the pocket, but was stripped of the ball by Western Kentucky defensive end Masai White. White’s teammate, cornerback Joel Brown pounced on the ball to give the Hilltoppers possession on Georgia State’s 26-yard line. Although, the Tops could not fully take advantage of the great field position, and settled with a field goal from Ryan Nuss to the contest up at 10 apiece with 14 minutes left in the first half.
A targeting penalty called on Western Kentucky defensive tackle, Julien Lewis got him ejected, and placed Georgia State in field goal position. Just four plays later, Wright hit a 37-yard field goal to give the Panthers the three-point lead. The score was 13-10 with nine minutes remaining in the half.
It took a few drives for both teams to get going in the second half, but Georgia State made things interesting towards the end of the third quarter. They broke out the trick playbook by running a double reverse flea flicker. The confusion from the double reverse flea flicker allowed Panthers’ tight end Roger Carter to be wide open downfield. Manning found Carter for a 42-yard touchdown which gave Georgia State a 20-10 lead with six minutes in the third quarter.
Early on in the fourth quarter the Hilltoppers dove into their trick playbook, and attempted a reverse pass. Wide receiver Nacarius Fant looked to throw deep, although he severely underthrew it and was picked off by Georgia State corner Jerome Smith.
The Panthers exploited the turnover by scoring on their subsequent drive. Georgia State steadily drove down the field, eventually topping off the drive with a one-yard touchdown run from running back Kyler Neal. Neal’s goal line score gave the Panthers a 27-10 advantage with six minutes left in the game.
The Hilltoppers did not go down easily though as they scored on their next possession. Western Kentucky drove down the field in just over three minutes, and finally scored when White and Yelder connected for the second time of the contest. Yelder’s second trip to the end zone cut the Panthers’ lead to 27-17 with 2:30 left on the game clock.
“I told them before we even stepped on the field, the team that wants this the most is going to win this thing today,” said Georgia State Head Coach Shawn Elliot on his teams’ fortitude. “There was no doubt in our eyes. When we left our locker room, we were the team that wanted it, and we were going to win it. It was in our heart, it was in our mind, it was in our spirit as a team. And we never questioned it”
Georgia State ended up coming out on top 27-17 in a game they controlled on both sides of the ball. This victory is a historic one for Georgia State’s football programs as they have only been in existence for eight seasons, and the AutoNation Cure Bowl was their first bowl victory.
“It was a great opportunity for those guys. They set a standard that’s never been done before,” Coach Elliot said about this team winning the program’s first bowl game. “When you do things that’s never been done before you remember them for the rest of your life.”
Georgia State pieced together a nice drive on their first possession. Right off the bat, Quarterback Conner Manning found his receiver, Jonathan Ifedi down the sidelines for a nice 18-yard gain to the Panthers on the right side of the 50-yard line. A few plays and penalties later they were forced to settle with a field goal. Brandon Wright’s 42-yarder gave his side a 3-0 lead with 8 minutes remaining in the first quarter.
Western Kentucky answered immediately. On their second play of the drive, quarterback Mike White found his tight end, Deon Yelder wide open in the middle of the field for a 54-yard touchdown. Yelder’s trip to the end zone gave his team an early 7-3 lead with 7:30 minutes in left the first quarter.
The Panthers responded to the Tops’ touchdown in just three plays. A big 49-yard completion from Manning to wide receiver Tamir Jones set them up in fantastic field position. On the following play running back Demarcus Kirk ran the ball right up the middle for a 26-yard score. His touchdown gave Georgia State a narrow 10-7 lead with just over six minutes left in the first quarter.
Manning went to scramble out of the pocket, but was stripped of the ball by Western Kentucky defensive end Masai White. White’s teammate, cornerback Joel Brown pounced on the ball to give the Hilltoppers possession on Georgia State’s 26-yard line. Although, the Tops could not fully take advantage of the great field position, and settled with a field goal from Ryan Nuss to the contest up at 10 apiece with 14 minutes left in the first half.
A targeting penalty called on Western Kentucky defensive tackle, Julien Lewis got him ejected, and placed Georgia State in field goal position. Just four plays later, Wright hit a 37-yard field goal to give the Panthers the three-point lead. The score was 13-10 with nine minutes remaining in the half.
It took a few drives for both teams to get going in the second half, but Georgia State made things interesting towards the end of the third quarter. They broke out the trick playbook by running a double reverse flea flicker. The confusion from the double reverse flea flicker allowed Panthers’ tight end Roger Carter to be wide open downfield. Manning found Carter for a 42-yard touchdown which gave Georgia State a 20-10 lead with six minutes in the third quarter.
Early on in the fourth quarter the Hilltoppers dove into their trick playbook, and attempted a reverse pass. Wide receiver Nacarius Fant looked to throw deep, although he severely underthrew it and was picked off by Georgia State corner Jerome Smith.
The Panthers exploited the turnover by scoring on their subsequent drive. Georgia State steadily drove down the field, eventually topping off the drive with a one-yard touchdown run from running back Kyler Neal. Neal’s goal line score gave the Panthers a 27-10 advantage with six minutes left in the game.
The Hilltoppers did not go down easily though as they scored on their next possession. Western Kentucky drove down the field in just over three minutes, and finally scored when White and Yelder connected for the second time of the contest. Yelder’s second trip to the end zone cut the Panthers’ lead to 27-17 with 2:30 left on the game clock.
“I told them before we even stepped on the field, the team that wants this the most is going to win this thing today,” said Georgia State Head Coach Shawn Elliot on his teams’ fortitude. “There was no doubt in our eyes. When we left our locker room, we were the team that wanted it, and we were going to win it. It was in our heart, it was in our mind, it was in our spirit as a team. And we never questioned it”
Georgia State ended up coming out on top 27-17 in a game they controlled on both sides of the ball. This victory is a historic one for Georgia State’s football programs as they have only been in existence for eight seasons, and the AutoNation Cure Bowl was their first bowl victory.
“It was a great opportunity for those guys. They set a standard that’s never been done before,” Coach Elliot said about this team winning the program’s first bowl game. “When you do things that’s never been done before you remember them for the rest of your life.”