Box Score TUCSON – Georgia State fell 38-17 to Wyoming in the NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl Tuesday afternoon at Arizona Stadium.
 
Playing in their third bowl game in the last five years, the Panthers finished the season at 7-6.
 
"What an extraordinary senior class we have who took this field and fought to the very, very end," head coach Shawn Elliott said. "We just didn't play the ballgame the way we needed to play to win – a lot of mishaps from us as coaches and players. Hats off to Wyoming.
 
"I'm extremely proud of this football team and the steps they took to make this program worthy to come out to this bowl game and compete. This isn't just a one or two-time occurrence. We're going to be here for a while, and we've got a lot to keep building on.
 
"This is a disappointing loss," Elliott continued. "As a coach or a player, you fight like hell every single day to prepare your football team to win. We didn't make the plays to win today, but we're going to work hard and get better."
 
In his final game in a Georgia State uniform, senior quarterback Dan Ellington went 13-for-26 for 156 yards and a touchdown through the air, while rushing 14 times for 70 yards and a touchdown.
 
With 355 yards of total offense, Georgia State broke its season record, collecting 5,718 yards to surpass the previous record of 5,627 yards set in 2015. GSU had already set new season records for points, touchdowns, rushing yards and rushing touchdowns.
 
Ellington led the Panthers down the field for a touchdown on their opening possession with a 6-play, 75-yard drive. He completed a 23-yard pass to Devin Gentry and Tra Barnett had a 7-yard run, but Ellington picked up the rest of the yardage on the ground, despite playing with a torn ACL in his right knee. He had a 29-yard gain down to the 20-yard line and scored on a 4-yard run, his first rushing touchdown since the injury, to give the Panthers a 7-0 lead just two minutes into the game.
 
"I'm thankful I was part of this program," Ellington said. "To the fans, I want to say thank you for believing in me. Thank you for cheering on a guy from Mississippi and having me as your family."
 
Wyoming took a 17-7 lead with two touchdowns in the final two minutes of the first quarter, both set up by Panther miscues in their own territory, first a failed fourth-down attempt and then an interception. The Cowboys added a 51-yard touchdown pass in the final seconds of the first half to take a 24-10 lead into the locker room.
 
Senior Brandon Wright kicked a 25-yard field goal in the second quarter for the 32nd field goal of his career to break Wil Lutz's Georgia State career record. Those three points also gave Wright the GSU season scoring record, surpassing Iain Vance's 80 points in the inaugural season of 2010; Wright finished with 84 points.
 
Wright and senior left tackle Hunter Atkinson played in their 49th career game, tying the school record held by several players.
 
Barnett, who became Georgia State's all-time leading rusher earlier this season, finished with 15 carries for 64 yards.
 
Georgia State's receiving corps was led by Cornelius McCoy, who had five catches for 78 yards, including a 44-yard touchdown.
 
Wyoming (8-5) was led by freshman quarterback Levi Williams who went 11-for-26 for 234 yards and a touchdown. On the ground Xazavian Valladay rushed 26 times for 204 yards and a touchdown and was the game's Offensive MVP.
 
The difference in the game might have been on third down where the Panthers managed to go just 3-of-13, while Wyoming was 11-of-17. The Cowboys twice stopped Georgia State on fourth down in the red zone.
 
Georgia State saw 19 seniors play in their final game with many having played in two bowl games. Four seniors (Khai Anderson, Hunter Atkinson, Ed Curney and Brandon Wright) were part of all three GSU bowl teams.
 
"It's really remarkable what this team has overcome," Elliott said. "I'm proud to be their coach."