The Georgia State football team pushed its winning streak to two contests with a 28-16 home victory over Texas State in Sun Belt Conference play Oct. 28.

The Panthers (3-4, 2-1 Sun Belt) amassed 498 yards of total offense in the victory. Quarterback Darren Grainger had 306 total yards (200 passing, 106 rushing) and two touchdown passes for Georgia State. Tucker Gregg had a game-high 115 rushing yards in the win and surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for his career.

“Great homecoming win and a gutsy performance,” Panthers’ head coach Shawn Elliott said. “In the first half, we had the ball for over 10 minutes and had the lead going in. Our defense was holding them to field goals and felt very comfortable going into halftime. I felt like we were going to pull away in the second half and did a great job.”

The Bobcats (2-5, 1-2 Sun Belt) were led by Brady McBride’s game-high 268 passing yards in the loss.

Leading 14-13 to start the second half, Georgia State increased its margin to 21-13 on its first possession of the third quarter with Jamyest Williams’ 28-yard touchdown run. He finished the day with 77 yards rushing and two touchdowns on the ground.

Seth Keller’s 31-yard field goal on the Bobcats’ subsequent possession made the score 21-16 in favor of the Panthers.
Aubry Payne’s 27-yard touchdown catch on a go-route from a throw by Granger in the first play of the fourth quarter increased Georgia State’s lead to 28-16.

The Panthers’ defense created a turnover on the Bobcats’ next possession as Jaylon Jones intercepted a pass thrown by Brady McBride at the five-yard line.

“These wins are tough,” Elliott said. “We pulled out a good win. Texas State is a gutsy team. We had to play with composure in the second half and it got chippy out there. We’re fortunate to come out with a conference win.”

Texas State took a 6-0 lead early in the first quarter on consecutive field goals from 42 yards by Keller.

The Panthers responded on its next possession with an 18-yard touchdown run by Williams and took a 7-6 lead with 54 seconds left in the first quarter. The touchdown completed a seven-play, 99 yard drive that took 2:30 off the clock and tied the program-record for the longest drive in history.

Georgia State increased its lead when it received the ball back on a 35-yard touchdown catch by Jamari Thrash on an inside post route, making the score 14-6 early in the second quarter.

The Bobcats cut the deficit to 14-13 on an eight-yard quarterback keeper by McBride at the 9:46 mark of the second quarter. He had a team-high 46 rushing yards.