Tucker Gregg
Daniel Wilson
24
Georgia St. GSU 1-3 , 0-0
34
Winner Auburn AUB 3-1 , 0-0
Georgia St. GSU
1-3 , 0-0
24
Final
34
Auburn AUB
3-1 , 0-0
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
GSU Georgia St. 3 21 0 0 24
AUB Auburn 6 6 7 15 34

Game Recap: Football |

Heart-Breaking Ending in 34-24 Loss at No. 23 Auburn

AUBURN, ALA. – Georgia State battled No. 23 Auburn for 59 minutes but the Tigers scored the go-ahead touchdown on a fourth-down play with 45 seconds left and went on to win 34-24 Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
 
Georgia State (1-3) took the lead early in the second quarter and still led 24-19 when Auburn took over at its own 2-yard line with 3:23 to play. The Tigers (3-1) were able to move down the field but faced 4th-and-9 at the GSU 10 when quarterback T.J. Finley scrambled and then found Shedrick Jackson in the end zone for the go-ahead score. That was the only offensive touchdown that Auburn managed against the GSU defense.
 
"I think our football team played one unbelievable contest," head coach Shawn Elliott said. "They played as hard as they could. They fought, dug, clawed, and it's amazing that it came down to one fourth-down play.
 
"I couldn't be more of proud of them," Elliott continued. "The wins, for me, are about seeing their faces, so tonight it was disappointing to walk in there and see a team that had given everything they had but came up on the short end. Sports can rip you apart. That was a tough one to lose, but we'll bounce back. We've had a tough non-conference schedule, and we've got to gain confidence from coming down here and playing so hard and playing so well, but it's hard to lose."
 
Tucker Gregg rushed for a career-high 150 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown run, and quarterback Darren Grainger passed for 117 yards and two touchdowns. Linebacker Jordan Veneziale led the outstanding performance by the GSU defense with seven tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery.
 
"Our entire defense played one helluva game," Elliott said. "Time and time and time again, stop after stop. They controlled the line of scrimmage and they controlled the passing game. It was fun to watch.
 
"That's two weeks in a row, and if they continue to play like that, we've got one heckuva chance."
 
The Panthers got on the scoreboard first as Gregg's career-long 57-yard run set up Noel Ruiz's 32-yard field goal midway through the first quarter, the 11th straight make for the senior.
 
Auburn managed a pair of field goals before Georgia State took its first lead early in the second quarter. Grainger directed a 16-play, 75-yard drive, capped by a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jamari Thrash, putting the Panthers up 10-6 with 12:45 left in the second quarter.
 
After an Auburn field goal cut the GSU lead to 10-9, the Panthers embarked on another 75-yard scoring drive, this time needing only five plays. After Williams started the drive with an 18-yard run, Grainger hit tight end Roger Carter for a 24-yard completion down the left sideline and rushed 11 yards for a first down at the Auburn 7. On the next play, Grainger found Carter in the end zone for the 7-yard scoring pass and the 11th career touchdown catch for Carter, who surpassed Keith Rucker for the most ever by a GSU tight end. That put the Panthers up 17-9 with seven minutes left in the half.
 
The Georgia State defense again held Auburn to a field goal, and after a penalty on the kickoff return, the Panthers took over at their 40. After one first down put the ball at the 50, Gregg took the handoff and broke through the middle, outracing the defense for a 50-yard touchdown run, giving Georgia State a 24-12 half-time lead.
 
The 50-yard run gave Gregg 142 for the first half, the most rushing yards that Auburn has allowed to any running back in the first half since LSU's Leonard Fournette gained 169 in 2015, and the most in a first half by a visiting back at Jordan-Hare since 2002.
 
Georgia State returns home to host Appalachian State in the Sun Belt Conference opener for both teams next Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Center Parc Stadium. For tickets, visit GeorgiaStateSports.com/Tix or call 404-413-4020.
 
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