ATLANTA – Cornelious Brown IV passed for a career-high 372 yards and scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 1-yard plunge with 2:54 to play to send Georgia State to a 30-24 victory over in-state rival Georgia Southern Saturday at Center Parc Stadium.
 
Georgia State scored 17 fourth-quarter points to conclude its regular season with a winning record (5-4, 4-4 Sun Belt) for the second straight year and take a 4-3 lead in the series with Georgia Southern (6-4, 4-3 Sun Belt).
 
"What a way to cap off a regular season, with a win over our rival," head coach Shawn Elliott said. "It was truly a team effort – offense, defense, special teams all had to come together—and it was a gratifying thing to see. We had to fight back in the fourth quarter to make it happen. Our players did a tremendous job of keeping their heads up, and coaches did a marvelous job as well.
 
"This game means something to all of us, I really could care less how they feel about it on the other side, and I certainly do appreciate them 'letting us in this rivalry,' so to speak," Elliott said, referring to comments by Georgia Southern coaches and players during the week. "I'm just so proud of our team."
 
Sam Pinckney was Brown's top target as the sophomore wideout finished with a career-high 10 catches for 126 yards. Cornelius McCoy joined him in the 100-yard column with five receptions for 111 yards, including a 45-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter, and Terrance Dixon added seven catches for a career-best 77 yards.
 
The Panthers fell behind 14-3 in the first half and trailed 24-13 in the fourth quarter when Brown, the redshirt freshman, directed an 8-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, capped by Destin Coates' 4-yard run. After the try for two failed, Georgia State was within 24-19 with 12 minutes left.
 
The Eagles drove down the field but Alex Raynor missed a 48-yard field goal, and Georgia State took over its 31-yard line with 7:42 left.
 
Brown hit Terrance Dixon for 31 yards to the Georgia Southern 14-yard line and then connected again with Dixon for a 13-yard completion to the 7-yard line. An offsides penalty gave the Panthers a first-and goal at the 4, and three plays later, Brown snuck over from the 1. His 2-point conversion pass to Sam Pinckney put Georgia State up 27-24 to play.
 
On Georgia Southern's second play from scrimmage following the lead change, backup quarterback Josh Tomlin was sacked by Jordan Strachan and fumbled, and Panther linebacker Blake Carroll recovered at the Eagles' 21-yard line.
 
The Eagles exhausted their three timeouts, and Georgia State's Noel Ruiz booted a 35-yard field goal, his third of the day, for a 30-24 lead with 1:53 still on the clock.
 
But Quavian White intercepted Tomlin at the Georgia State 24 to seal the game.
 
Georgia State managed a field goal on its opening drive as Ruiz hit from 35 yards, but Georgia Southern jumped in front with back-to-back touchdowns, including Logan Wright's 63-yard scoring run that put the Eagles up 14-3 three minutes into the second quarter.
 
After another Ruiz field goal, Brown directed a 7-play, 65-yard drive in the final minutes of the half, capped by McCoy's spectacular 45-yard touchdown catch at the goal line to send the Panthers into the locker room trailing 14-13.
 
After Brown threw an interception on an ill-advised pass, Georgia Southern capitalized with another Wright scoring run to take a 24-19 lead on the first play of the fourth quarter before the Panthers started their comeback.
 
The Georgia State defense turned in another strong performance to keep the Panthers in the game despite two turnovers by the offense.
 
Carroll, whose late fumble recovery was one of the biggest plays of the game, finished with a career-high 14 tackles. Strachan had two tackles for loss, including his GSU-record ninth sack of the season, to give him 12.5 TFL and tie the Panthers' season record.
 
White's interception is his third of the season and sixth of his career.
 
Brown, who bettered the 334 passing yards he had in last week's win at South Alabama, completed 28 of 39 passes. After completing his final 10 passes last game, he hit his first three today for 13 straight completions, two short of Dan Ellington's school record of 15.
 
Georgia Southern kept the Panthers' running game in check, but Destin Coates finished with 47 yards on 15 carries as the topped 1,300 yards for his career and moved past Ellington and into fourth place on the Georgia State career list.
 
With its regular season complete, Georgia State will wait to learn its potential bowl fate.