ATLANTA -- The Georgia State defense piled up six sacks and got a piece of program history from Isaiah Stone to beat Northern Illinois 35-14 at Center Parc Credit Union Stadium Saturday afternoon.
"Very happy about the win," head coach Dell McGee said. "I feel like our special teams really carried us this game. We had a huge return by Isaiah Stone that sparked our team. We also got the first score of the game because of our kicking game causing a fumble on the opening kickoff."
Stone's 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown early in the second quarter tied the program record for the longest kickoff return in Georgia State history and now stands as the longest run in the record book. The return came right after NIU had tied the game at 14-14, swinging momentum back to the Panthers at a pivotal moment.
Cameran Brown led Georgia State's passing attack with 148 yards, throwing two touchdowns. Lanear McCrary Jr. paced the ground game with 111 yards and a touchdown, and Brown added 18 yards rushing on 9.0 per carry. Rodshaun Dorsey hauled in five catches for 114 yards with two appearances in the end zone.
Defensively, Jabriel Rhodes-Nelson led the way with three tackles, a tackle for loss, a sack and a fumble recovery. Xavier Esqillion added four tackles with two sacks, and Zach Stair chipped in a fumble recovery of his own.
Georgia State forced two turnovers on the day and turned those takeaways into seven points. The Panthers converted six of 12 third-down tries and went a perfect 1-for-1 on fourth down.
The Georgia State defense also smothered Northern Illinois' running game, holding the Huskies to 112 net rushing yards while the Panthers' own ground attack piled up 144. GSU finished with 10 tackles for loss to go with the six sacks. The Panthers cashed in every red-zone trip, scoring touchdowns on all three of their chances inside the 20.
How It Happened
Georgia State needed just two plays to open the scoring, going 4 yards in 48 seconds after Northern Illinois fumbled the opening kickoff return. Cameran Brown found Avion McBride for a 5-yard touchdown pass, and the Panthers led 7-0 with 14:00 left in the first quarter.
Northern Illinois answered on its next possession with a 14-yard touchdown run, tying it 7-7 with 1:58 left in the first.
Georgia State wasted little time in the second quarter, needing only four plays to cover 75 yards. Lanear McCrary Jr.'s 13-yard run set up an 18-yard touchdown pass from Brown to Rodshaun Dorsey, putting the Panthers back on top 14-7 with 13:55 remaining.
NIU responded just as quickly to even the score at 14-14 with 12:21 left.
The game turned on the very next play. Isaiah Stone fielded the kickoff at his own goal line and went untouched for a 100-yard touchdown, the longest kickoff return in program history, tying Georgia State's own record and setting a new mark for longest run in school history. The score gave Georgia State a 21-14 advantage with 12:08 left in the half.
Georgia State's defense took over from there. After NIU turned the ball over on downs late in the second quarter, the two teams traded empty possessions into the third quarter, when the Panthers finished with a 1-yard touchdown run by McCrary to make it 28-14 with 6:25 to play in the third.
Georgia State struck again just over five minutes later. DJ Riles connected with Dorsey deep down the right sideline for a 50-yard touchdown, extending the lead to 35-14 with 1:25 left in the third quarter.
Game Notes
» Isaiah Stone's 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown ties the Georgia State program record for longest kickoff return and stands as the longest run in school history.
» Georgia State never trailed after its opening-drive.
» The Panthers' best offensive quarter came in the third, when they scored 14 points.
» Georgia State won the third-down battle, converting six of 12 to Northern Illinois' three of 13.
» Donovan Faria led all Panthers with nine tackles.
» Christian Teeter punted three times for a 47.3-yard average, pinning NIU inside its own 20 twice.
» Cameran Brown completed 66.7% of his passes (14-of-21) for 7.0 yards per attempt.
Up Next
Georgia State returns home to Center Parc Credit Union Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 3, for Homecoming and the start of Sun Belt Conference play, welcoming Old Dominion to Atlanta. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m.
