Two late interceptions helped doom the Panthers to a 23-14 loss.
A clock-eating drive for Lambuth in the fourth put the Eagles ahead 16-14, and an interception return for a touchdown iced the game.
Georgia State falls to 1-1 on the season. Attendance was announced at 12,647 for the Saturday afternoon crowd.
3rd Quarter
Two big touchdown strikes put the Panthers ahead 14-9 in the third quarter.
The first came thanks to a 53-yard run by QB Kelton Hill to the Lambuth 2-yard line, with Travis Evans taking the ball in from 2 yards out two plays later. The drive lasted just five plays and spanned 52 yards, and the Panthers cut the deficit to two points after an Iain Vance extra point.
On the Panthers' next possession, a trick play got the team on the scoreboard again. From the Lambuth 39 yard line, Hill pitched the ball out to RB Rosevelt Watson, who then passed to a wide open Danny Williams for a touchdown strike. Williams crossed the goal line with just :06 on the clock in the third quarter.
2nd Quarter
The second quarter began with a big first-down conversion for Lambuth to move to the GSU 43. On third down and very long, Lambuth picked up an unfortunate late-hit call on Jake Muasau as QB David Ingram ran out of bounds and picked up the automatic first down.
However, Muasau came up with another turnover later in the drive with a fumble recovery at the State 31. Olufemi Opanubi forced the fumble.
A stalled Panther drive resulted in another punt, with Lambuth taking over.
After a 30-yard gain by Lambuth's Marquis Williams to the Panther 37, head coach Bill Curry's squad took a timeout to regroup. After the break, the defense stiffened and kept Lambuth from gaining any net yards on the next three plays, but Lambuth converted a fourth-down pass to keep the drive alive. A near-interception by Brandon Jones almost stopped the Eagles inside the red zone, and then on the next play Lambuth was hit with an intentional grounding call to push the ball back to the GSU 24 on the 15-yard penalty.
A 42-yard field goal by Nate O'Jibway pushed the lead to 9-0 with 2:20 to go in the half.
Demarius Matthews took the ensuing kickoff from the 5 to the GSU 40, beginning the Panthers' drive. But a three-and-out left 1:44 on the clock for Lambuth, which took the ball at its own 21 after the punt.
Several long rushes by Lambuth backs put the ball at the GSU 36, but a huge tackle for loss by Jake Muasau dropped Lambuth to the 44 and killed the drive to bring the game to halftime.
1st Quarter
Georgia State kicked off Game No. 2 of its inaugural season against NAIA No. 7 Lambuth, which is 0-1 on the season after falling 34-19 to Division II Arkansas Tech last week.
The Panthers won the toss and deferred to take the ball in the second half. On Lambuth's first drive of the ball game, the Eagles rumbled for 10 yards on the first play from scrimmage, and then converted a third-down pass on the second series of the game to reach the GSU 44-yard line. A fourth-and-short situation from the GSU 25 saw a sneak for a first down by Eagles QB David Ingram.
On the next play, running back Marquis Williams raced 24 yards for a score on the opening drive. Placekicker Nate O'Jibway, a Florida State transfer, missed the point after. Lambuth up on the Panthers early, 6-0.
Lambuth burned two of its three timeouts on the first drive.
Parris Lee took the Lambuth kickoff to the 30, but Drew Little threw an interception to Lambuth's Ethan Cooper on the second play of the series, giving the Eagles the ball at the GSU 44.
The defense, however, showed up for Lambuth's second possession of the game.
Two quarterback sacks on Lambuth's possession forced a punt to Demarius Matthews, who fielded the fair catch at the GSU 10-yard line with 6:24 left in the opening period.
The Panthers' ensuing drive was hampered by an illegal substitution penalty, and resulted in a 44-yard punt by Bo Schlechter to the Lambuth 39.
Again, the Panthers hunkered down on 'D', this time getting an interception by Jake Muasau after Justin Hughes tipped the pass to take possession on the 50.
Kelton Hill came on in relief at quarterback, and had a fourth-and-2 on his hands from the Lambuth 41. The Panthers lined up for an apparent attempt to convert it, but a delay of game pushed GSU back 5 yards, forcing another Schlechter punt. The quarter ended with Lambuth in possession of the ball on its own 35.
