ATLANTA — Georgia State scored 28 consecutive points after an early South Alabama field goal and beat the Jaguars 28-15 on Saturday, extending South Alabama’s school-record losing streak to nine games.
The loss was South Alabama’s 15th straight on the road. The Jaguars fell to 1-10 overall. Georgia State improved to 7-4 overall and 4-3 in the Sun Belt Conference.
Early Lead Slips Away
South Alabama’s defense forced a three-and-out on Georgia State’s opening possession, and the offense followed with a drive that ended in a field goal for a 3-0 lead.
Georgia State then scored the next 28 points, with its final touchdown coming with 14:13 left in the fourth quarter. Panthers quarterback Dan Ellington, playing with a torn ACL in his right knee, completed 21 of 27 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns.
South Alabama scored two late touchdowns. Desmond Trotter threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Wayne with 5:56 remaining and a 52-yard scoring strike to Jalen Tolbert with 49 seconds left.
The Jaguars also had trouble on special teams. On one extra-point try, kicker Diego Guajardo was penalized for starting his approach early, and the re-kick, after a poor snap, was ruled blocked when it touched a Georgia State player.
Georgia State converted several third-and-long situations. South Alabama lost a fumble, threw an interception and failed on two fourth-down attempts.
Campbell: ‘We Took a Step Backwards’
Head coach Steve Campbell said he told his players he was disappointed.
“I thought that we took a step backwards today,” Campbell said. “The last two weeks, I’ve felt we had chances to win the game against Louisiana and Texas State, and I thought if we made improvements like we had the last two games, that we would win the game. We didn’t do that though.”
Minter Becomes All-Purpose Leader
Senior running back Tra Minter passed Xavier Johnson as South Alabama’s career leader in all-purpose yards. Minter has 4,210 career all-purpose yards with one game remaining in his career. Against Georgia State, he ran 18 times for 70 yards, caught two passes for 2 yards and returned one kickoff 55 yards.
Statistical Leaders
- Trotter completed 12 of 25 passes for 218 yards with two touchdowns and an interception and ran 14 times for 37 yards. He was sacked twice.
- Kawaan Baker caught three passes for 56 yards.
- Tight end Brandon Crum caught three passes for 51 yards.
- Tolbert had two receptions for 74 yards and a touchdown.
- Carlos Davis, who ran for more than 100 yards a week earlier, had 10 yards on five carries.
For Georgia State, Tra Barnett rushed 23 times for 128 yards and a touchdown. Roger Carter caught seven passes for 87 yards and a touchdown, and Devin Gentry caught four passes for 27 yards and a touchdown.
Up Next: Arkansas State
South Alabama closes its season against Arkansas State on Friday, Nov. 29, at 4 p.m. in what is scheduled to be the final game at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile.
