GEORGIA STATE HEAD COACH TRENT MILES
Opening statement...
"My hat is off to South Alabama. They deserved to win. I wish we would have showed up to play them. It was very disappointing to end the season that way. That wasn't the same football team we've had for the last so many weeks with the battle, the fight. We were lethargic, we didn't have any sense of urgency and turned the football over. I'll take full responsibility. You can blame me. Somehow I didn't have them prepared the right way to play this game and I will make sure that doesn't happen again. It's just very disappointing to end the season on that note when we've fought so hard to gain ground and put ourselves in a position to win football games, and then we just didn't show up today. I didn't feel we showed up. I'm a big person on watching body language and eyes and I didn't see it today. That's the disappointing part of it. I thought we practiced well. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday we had a walk through. We let them go for Thanksgiving after Thursday morning. We brought them back Friday and had good meetings. I'm a little blindsided by this today. Didn't see it coming. Really didn't. I don't know if it was the emotion of Senior Day. I just can't put my finger on it. I didn't feel the same intensity, the same sense of urgency, and when you turn the ball over early and give them points, and then they jump out, it's really tough. We didn't perform the same as the week before or the week before that or the week before that.”
On third down problems...
"We had too many third-and-longs. We also didn't pick up the third-and-short. The ball was a little low but we dropped it. We probably had five or six drops. We just did not perform well. Again, that falls on me. This is my fault."
On when he realized the team wasn't as sharp as he wanted them to be...
"We tried to get them going. We talked to them about their energy levels, their sense of urgency, lining up. Our defense at times was just walking around. They weren't lining up. It was simple calls that we were making. We realized it really early. We tried to breathe some life into them, but obviously it didn't work. You can't get down and come back on a team and still turn the ball over and not convert third and fourth downs. And we didn't stop them. They threw the ball over our head, ran it on us. I didn't look at the total stats, but they were able to garner 522 yards of offense. 242 on the ground and 280 in the air. That's pretty balanced. We couldn't stop them. You have to give them credit. They did a great job on that side of the ball, so give Coach Jones and South Alabama credit where credit is due."
On what the team needs to be competitive next year...
"Recruits. More guys. We have to get more guys. We've got to get more young men in there and raise our expectation level of how you approach and how much winning matters. That's one of the things that is so hard to get out of a team that's had not much success is getting them to understand that losing feeling should be a horrible thing that you never want to deal with. It should be like life or death to them. I don't know if there's some guys comfortable or not. We need to raise our expectation level and really do a good job of recruiting and getting more guys in here that can take the place of an Albert Wilson and some of the guys that are leaving."
On how he will remember this team...
"I will remember them as a bunch of young men that believe in what we are doing but had lapses in how to get it done. They tried and practiced hard and did all the things you want them to try and do, but for some crazy reason on some occasions they would have a breakdown. Whether it be the first 3:51 [of the second half] against Arkansas State or this game, and then other times they went out and did it the way they needed to it. They showed glimpses and made improvement. I'm a big picture guy. I see the big picture. There is improvement on this football team. It's just so disappointing leaving today and not seeing it come to fruition at the end. There was marked improvement as they went and then they go out and lay an egg, it doesn't sit well with you."
On losing senior Albert Wilson...
"I can't say enough about Albert. I love Albert. People don't know the way Albert is in the locker room. He's had a very difficult life and made something very positive out of it and became a leader. He showed up every day and gave everything he had. He had great effort and great attitude. I love him and I look forward to watching him compete at the next level because he will have the opportunity. I need more Albert Wilsons."
South Alabama head coach Joey Jones:
On getting the win to keep bowl eligibility alive:
“Yeah I thought our kids prepared really well for this week, and you know Georgia State has been playing really well. My hats off to them. The way they've gotten better this year. Our guys just came out and played really well today. They prepared, they came out with some emotion and just I thought had a good game.”
On whether a fast start was key to victory:
“No doubt because you know with them to have the senior day and this is an emotional game for their seniors. We knew we had to come out and play well early because we didn't want them to give them some big plays early and get the momentum going so it just worked out that way for us. We tried to plan on moving the ball early in the game and scoring as many points as we could.”
On stopping Albert Wilson:
“As you can see he can still make plays. We did everything we could to stop him, and he still made a bunch of plays. He's a quality player, and I was really proud of our defense, the way they played overall. We're a much better defense compared to where we were three or four games ago.”
On the big game from Shavarez Smith:
“He's a playmaker man. He's so strong getting the ball, and he just makes play after play after play every game. We've got to have a big play, and number one comes up big for us.
NOTING THE PANTHERS
Left tackle Ulrick John caught a pass for the Panthers, the third different offensive lineman to catch a pass this season. Tim Wynn and Cade Yates previously had receptions on tipped balls. John's catch was a designed play.
Albert Wilson's 50-yard punt return in the first quarter is the longest of his career. He has 21 plays in his career of 50-yards or longer – 12 receptions, seven kickoff returns, one run and now one punt return.
The 80-yard completion from Ronnie Bell to Robert Davis is Georgia State's longest pass play of the season. It equals the third-longest play from scrimmage in school history, but it is the longest non-scoring play in Panther annals.
Freshman Robert Davis achieved his second 100-yard receiving game with a career-high 110 yards on [catches.
With Albert Wilson (6-101) and Robert Davis (4-110), Georgia State had two 100-yard receivers in the same game for the second time in school history. The first time was last season against Old Dominion with Wilson and tight end Emmanuel Ogbuehi.
Sean Jeppesen played both ways in the game, starting at linebacker (3 tackles) and scoring a touchdown at fullback.
