ATLANTA – After erasing a nine-point halftime deficit to take a lead late into the fourth quarter, Georgia State fell to NAIA No. 7 Lambuth 23-14 on Saturday in the Georgia Dome. Two late interceptions — one of which was returned for a Lambuth touchdown — doomed the Panthers in their second game as a program.
"We did not sustain anything running the ball today," said Panthers head coach Bill Curry after the game. "And we couldn't stop them when we needed to."
The Panthers trailed 9-0 at the half before coming alive on offense.
Georgia State (1-1) got on the scoreboard on their second drive of the second half, starting at their own 48-yard line after forcing a Lambuth punt. Quarterback Kelton Hill, in for starter Drew Little, took off out of the pocket on third-and-13 and broke free for a 53-yard gain down to the Lambuth 2-yard line. Two plays later, Travis Evans ran 2 yards for a Panthers touchdown, and Iain Vance hit the point after to cut it 9-7.
After penalties helped kill the ensuing Lambuth drive, the Panthers struck again on a 77-yard drive that culminated in the Panthers' biggest pass play of the season so far. Hill, in again under center, pitched to Rosevelt Watson who then found a wide-open Danny Williams for a 39-yard touchdown pass to put the Panthers ahead 14-9 with just six seconds remaining in the third quarter.
The Panthers' second touchdown drive was set up by a 14-yard pass from Little to Darren McCray and a 20-yard run from Evans.
"I was proud the guys fought back in the third quarter to get the lead," added Curry. "But Lambuth deserves the win today because they outplayed us."
A clock-eating Lambuth touchdown drive in the fourth quarter put the Eagles back on top 16-14 with 2:27 left in the game, and the interception return for a touchdown on the Panthers' next drive sealed the win for Lambuth (1-1).
Linebacker Jake Muasau came up with two turnovers in the first half, getting an interception and a fumble recovery, and had three sacks in the game. Olufemi Opanubi led the defense with nine total tackles.
Georgia State next plays Jacksonville State at the Georgia Dome next Saturday at 1 p.m.
Official attendance was announced at 12,647 for Saturday's crowd.
