What You Need to Know:
* Nick Arbuckle passed for 412 yards and accounted for three touchdowns, one passing and two rushing.
* Robert Davis had career highs with nine catches for 125 yards, including an 11-yard TD.
* The 19 points allowed by the GSU defense are the fewest under head coach Trent Miles, an Indiana native.
MUNCIE, IND. -- Nick Arbuckle passed for 412 yards and accounted for three touchdowns to back a strong performance by the Georgia State defense in the Panthers' 31-19 win at Ball State Saturday at Scheumann Stadium.
Robert Davis had career highs with nine catches for 125 yards for the Panthers (2-4, 1-1 Sun Belt), including an 11-yard touchdown. Arbuckle scored twice on 1-yard runs, the last one the game-clinching score with two minutes left that was set up by his 68-yard completion to Donovan Harden down to the 1-yard line.
The 19 points allowed by the GSU defense are the fewest under head coach Trent Miles, an Indiana native, and defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, who grew up in Muncie when his father, Rick Minter, was the defensive coordinator at Ball State. The last time the Panthers allowed fewer points was a 41-7 win at Rhode Island in 2012.
Ball State (2-5) managed 372 yards but had no run longer than 13 yards and no pass longer than 19 yards. Joseph Peterson had a game-high 14 tackles, Trey Payne added 12 tackles and Tarris Batiste 11, and safety Bryan Williams ended the Cardinals' final possession with an interception.
With Georgia State clinging to a 24-19 lead in the final minutes, Batiste, the senior safety who began his career at Indiana State, pressured Ball State quarterback Riley Neal into an incompletion on third down from the BSU 26, forcing a punt. The Panthers took over on their own 30 with 3:26 to play. After a run on first down, Arbuckle found Harden on a short slant-and-go, and Harden raced down the right sideline and dove for the end zone but was ruled down at the 1-yard line. Two plays later, Arbuckle snuck over for the touchdown to put the Panthers ahead 31-19 with 2:13 on the clock.
"We really didn't do too much on offense in the second half, but at the end, Nick and Donovan made a great play on the slant-and-go and we pounded it in," Miles said. "The defense was really outstanding, especially in the fourth quarter. They had to go out and get stops, and they did it, and I'm very proud of the way those young men played.
"I'm very proud of Jesse [Minter]. He was raised in this town and went to high school here. I'm very proud of him and the defensive staff. But it ain't about the coaches. It's about the players, and these young men did a great job today."
Georgia State got on the scoreboard with an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive in the first quarter. Arbuckle got the drive going with a 24-yard completion to Penny Hart out to midfield, and Davis had three catches before Kyler Neal capped the march with a 4-yard touchdown run to give the Panthers a 7-3 lead late in the first quarter.
After Ball State regained the lead on Riley Neal's 4-yard TD pass to Dylan Curry, Arbuckle answered on the Panthers' next drive, hitting Davis for an 11-yard touchdown pass. That eight-play, 65-yard drive put the Panthers ahead 17-14 with 7:44 to play in the second quarter.
The GSU defense forced a three-and-out to set up another touchdown. Arbuckle hit tight end Keith Rucker for 19 yards and then for 11 yards down to the 2-yard line, and then the GSU quarterback called his own number for a 1-yard scoring run and a 21-10 lead.
After stopping Ball State on fourth down, the Panthers were able to add to their lead on Wil Lutz's 50-yard field goal as time expired to take a 24-10 advantage into the locker room.
In the second half, the Panthers did not score until Arbuckle's clinching touchdown, but the GSU defense came up with several key stops. After a Georgia State fumble at midfield, the defense held the Cardinals to a field goal. Payne had a tackle for loss on first down, and Williams' quarterback hurry forced an incompletion on 3rd-and-8 at the GSU 12, so Ball State settled for three points and Georgia State still led 24-13 with 4:38 left in the third quarter.
The Cardinals pulled closer on Neal's 19-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Williams, but Batiste intercepted the two-point conversion pass to keep the Panthers' lead at four, 24-19, with 10:34 to play.
Arbuckle finished 28-for-38 with no interceptions the Panthers, who only netted for 33 yards rushing but ran the ball enough to open up the passing game. Starting running back Kyler Neal went down with a right knee injury in the second quarter and was out for the game. Neal gained 28 yards on nine carries, and Demarcus Kirk added 23 yards on 13 attempts. Kirk also caught five passes for 48 yards.
Rucker tied his career high with six catches for 58 yards, and freshman Penny Hart added five receptions for 73 yards.
After his career day, Davis is now second in Georgia State history in career receptions (125), receiving yards (1,878) and touchdown receptions (9).
Georgia State is off next week before returning to Sun Belt Conference play Oct. 31 at Arkansas State.
