ATLANTA -- Georgia State got a career-high 150 yards rushing from Destin Coates, but the Panthers fell to No. 19 Louisiana 34-31 in overtime in their season opener Saturday at Center Parc Stadium.
 
Coates, the junior from Tallahassee, Fla., scored the tying touchdown on a 4-yard run with 7:37 to play, knotting the score at 28-all, and then the GSU (0-1, 0-1 Sun Belt) defense came up with a huge stop to force overtime. The Panthers went on offense first but had to settle for Noel Ruiz's 25-yard field goal, and then Elijah Mitchell's 12-yard touchdown run gave Louisiana (2-0, 1-0 Sun Belt) the win.
 
Still, there were numerous positives for the Panthers in their season opener.
 
"It's a disappointing loss, but to play that team the way we did and have the opportunity to win at the end, I'm very proud of our football team," head coach Shawn Elliott said. "I'm most disappointed that we didn't win because we had every opportunity to win the football game. I feel like we got worn down a little bit there in the second half, offensively and defensively, and some drives we didn't capitalize on like we should have. We had a chance to end it right there in regulation but we didn't finish the drive. I thought we had controlled the line of scrimmage for the most part of the game, and I thought we could do it there, but we came up short and had to punt it back to them.
 
"We got to overtime, and when you don't stick it in on that first drive, you've got to hold on tight," Elliott continued. "Hats off to them, they're a good football team and they played hard. It was a really good ballgame, and I'm very proud of our players. Disappointed with the loss, but this Georgia State team has a chance to be a really good football team."
 
Georgia State jumped to a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter and took a 21-7 lead early in the third before Louisiana scored three straight touchdowns to take a 28-21 on a 2-yard scoring run by Trey Ragas with 11:54 to play.
 
But the Panthers answered with a 13-play, 75-yard drive directed by Cornelious Brown IV, the redshirt freshman making his first start under center. Brown hit senior Matlin Marshall for an 18-yard completion to the Louisiana 13-yard line, and then Coates carried three straight times for the touchdown and the tie.
 
After an exchange of punts, Louisiana took over at the GSU 45 with 2:39 to play, but the Panther defense held as Hardrick Willis and Jeffery Clark combined to sack a scrambling Levi Lewis on 4th-and-4.
 
Georgia State took over at the Louisiana 46 but couldn't convert on third down and had to punt and settle for overtime.
 
Coates was a workhorse throughout the game, tying the GSU record with 34 carries.
 
Brown completed 22 of 39 passes for 196 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also rushed for 64 yards on 15 attempts, including a 12-yard scoring run that capped the Panthers' first touchdown drive and gave GSU a 7-0 lead with three minutes to play in the first quarter. After the GSU defense forced a punt, Brown engineered a 90-yard drive, hitting tight end Roger Carter for a 28-yard touchdown and a 14-0 advantage early in the second quarter.
 
Louisiana got on the board on Lewis' 18-yard TD pass to Chris Smith with 1:33 left in the second quarter and was driving again late in the half when Quavian White intercepted Lewis at the GSU 15-yard line to send the Panthers to locker room with a 14-7 lead.
 
Lewis was intercepted again on third play of the second half as linebacker Victor Heyward grabbed a tipped ball at the GSU 34 to set up another touchdown drive. Carter made a nice 25-yard reception down to the LA 4, and true freshman Marcus Carroll's 2-yard run put the Panthers' ahead 21-7 less than five minutes into the third quarter.
 
Elijah Mitchell led Ragin' Cajuns with 164 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Lewis was 21-for-37 for 279 yards and two scores.
 
On the first start for his quarterback, Elliott said, "I thought he managed our team very well. He took the opportunity in the run game when he had it and made positive yardage. He's going to learn from his mistakes, just like everyone else, and we're going to learn from our mistakes as coaches. I told everybody in that locker room that I'm damn proud to be their football coach. They went out there and laid it on the line. We would have liked to make another play to get that win, but it didn't happen today."
 
Georgia State is scheduled to play at Charlotte next Saturday at 12 noon on ESPNU.