Georgia State’s Arbuckle, Sullivan Win Sun Belt Awards

Release from Georgia State Athletics:

After Georgia State’s record-setting 41-19 victory at Texas State, quarterback Nick Arbuckle and cornerback Chandon Sullivan earned Student-Athlete of the Week awards from the Sun Belt Conference.

 

Arbuckle shattered the Georgia State passing record by throwing for 471 yards and four touchdowns and was named Sun Belt Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week for the second time this season and third time in his career.

 

The GSU quarterback was also one of eight quarterbacks nominated as Manning Award Stars of the Week. Fans can now go to the Allstate Sugar Bowl Facebook page to vote for Arbuckle as the Manning Award Quarterback of the Week.

 

Arbuckle’s performance led the Panthers to a Georgia State-record 643 yards of total offense and helped the Panthers top 40 points for the first time under head coach Trent Miles.

 

The senior from Camarillo, Calif., needed just 23 completions on 34 attempts for his 471 yards as he had 10 completions of 20 yards or more to five different receivers.

 

He got the air attack started immediately, hitting Robert Davis for a 44-yard completion on the Panthers’ first play of the game and then connecting with Davis for a 34-yard touchdown three plays later. He also threw a pair of touchdowns to Donovan Harden, covering eight and four yards, and then a 17-yard scoring pass to Penny Hart to tie his own GSU record for touchdown passes.

 

Arbuckle also had a 25-yard run for a first down, giving him a school-record 496 yards of total offense in the game. His 471 yards passing and 496 yards of total offense bettered records that he already held. His previous marks were 414 yards passing and 438 yards of total offense.

 

For the season, Arbuckle leads the Sun Belt and ranks fifth in the FBS with 348.3 yards passing per game. He is also first in the league in total offense (341.3 pg) and second in pass efficiency (154.8) and touchdowns (20). He needs just 149 yards passing to break the GSU season record of 3,283 yards that he set last season.

 

In 21 games in a Georgia State uniform, Arbuckle is averaging 305.6 yards passing per game. That ranks THIRD AMONG ALL ACTIVE FBS QUARTERBACKS, trailing only Washington State’s Luke Falk and Cal’s Jared Goff.

 

Sullivan, the sophomore from Winder, Ga., collected six tackles, an interception and two pass breakups to lead the Panthers’ strong defensive effort and win the league’s Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week honor.

 

GSU’s starting defense held Texas State to one touchdown and two long field goals before the Bobcats added a late touchdown against the Panther reserves with just three seconds left in the game. Even with the late score, Georgia State equaled its low for points allowed under Miles.

 

Sullivan’s interception at the GSU 28-yard line came in the decisive second quarter in which the Panthers turned a 14-6 lead into a 31-12 halftime advantage, GSU held the Bobcats to 71 total yards and 0-for-3 on third downs.

 

Sullivan and the GSU secondary allowed only three completions longer than 15 yards and none longer than 29 yards.

 

For the season, Sullivan has 38 tackles with three tackles for loss and two sacks, two interceptions and five pass breakups. He was recently named to the Capital One Academic All-District team with a 3.7 GPA.