There is no easy way to say it: Georgia State (2-3, 1-3 Sun Belt) fell to No. 20 Coastal Carolina (6-0, 4-0) in a 51-0 crowd-silencing performance at Center Parc Stadium on Saturday.
While the Panthers hoped for a strong showing similar to the game against Sun Belt Conference foe Louisiana-Lafayette, the Chanticleers proved too much to handle.
The Panthers failed to cover the 60-point spread, and the historic loss may see them take a giant step backward. From the get-go, Shawn Elliott’s team lacked the same intensity they possessed against the Ragin’ Cajuns and Arkansas State.
The game started ugly for Georgia State: After recovering from a penalty, fourth-down, the Chanticleers converted a fourth-and-one, carving out a 35-yard touchdown to go up 7-0 in the afternoon’s first possession.
Coastal Carolina picked up yardage at will for all 60 minutes, moving the ball as far as they wanted whenever they wanted. The Chanticleers also proved that they were not intimidated by the Panthers’ defense on third or fourth down situations. With 11:39 in the second quarter, they led 14-0 thanks to two fourth-and-short conversions, and the Chanticleers continued to dice up the Panthers.
By halftime, the Chanticleers controlled a 34-0 lead, the Panthers’ offense did not have 100 yards, and the next 30 minutes looked anything but positive. Entering the game as a three-point favorite, the Chanticleers gave Georgia State its worst home loss since moving into Center Parc Stadium.
However, there was some good to come out of this travesty of a game. True freshman Mikele Colasurdo received his first snaps in college. While he only threw the ball twice (both incompletions), one may think his reps will go up as the Panthers host Louisiana-Monroe next week.
The Panthers’ defense will improve at some point, but it did not come in a bigtime game today against Coastal. In the last ten quarters, the Panther defense has given up 13 touchdowns and over 1200 yards. That has to change going forward.
The Panthers will have to go back to the drawing board this week before facing the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks next Saturday at Credit Parc Stadium at 12 p.m.
