Despite a first half performance that had some thinking that an upset was on the horizon, Georgia State was dominated in the second half on the road in Washington as the Panthers lost to the Huskies by a final score of 45-14 from Seattle.
Georgia State would get the ball first to start the game and would keep the ball for 8 plays and over three minutes before quarterback Nick Arbuckle was intercepted by Marcus Peters at the Panthers’ 44-yard line.
It was up to the defense to prevent the Huskies from taking an early lead. They did so as Washington, at the Georgia State 24-yard line, went for a first down on a 4th and 2, but were stopped shy of the first down.
This gave the ball back to the Panthers, who drove to the Washington 22-yard line on their ensuing possession. But a holding penalty on wide receiver Donovan Harden and a sack of Arbuckle put the team outside of field goal range and forced a punt.
A three and out on the next Huskies possession set the Panthers up with decent field possession at midfield. Two Arbuckle passes of over 20 yards set Georgia State up at the Washington five yard line. The Panthers continued the drive into the second half with a short pass from Arbuckle to Keith Rucker to go ahead 7-0.
The following Panthers’ possession would result in Arbuckle being picked off for the second time in the game. Marcus Peters was responsible for the pick, but the Georgia State defense held firm and forced another Huskies punt.
This put the Panthers on the move again. Their next drive would last 13 plays, 91 yards, and would span over six minutes, resulting in Arbuckle connecting with Robert Davis for a nine yard touchdown for a 14-0 lead. The score would be 14-0 Georgia State heading into the half as the crowd at Husky Stadium was showering their home team with boos.
The Panthers had outgained the Huskies 237-73 in total yardage for the first half. Huskies quarterback Cyler Miles only had 58 passing yards where Arbuckle compiled nearly 200.
Coming out of the half, it was an entirely different ballgame. Washington would get the ball first to start the second half, but was forced into another punt by the Georgia State defense. In addition, runningback Kyler Neal would leave the game with what appeared to be a leg ailment.
The Panthers also punted on their opening drive of the second half before the Huskies got the ball again. Dante Pettis returned Matt Hubbard’s punt 35-yards inside the Georgia State redzone.
Washington took full advantage of the Panthers’ special teams miscue as Jeff Lindquist ran for nine yards for the Huskies first touchdown making the score of 14-7 Georgia State.
A pair of Washington possessions later, they engineered another long drive. Eventually, Miles found Kendyl Taylor for ten yards to tie the game at 14. Mackendy Cheridor was also hurt for Georgia State on this drive.
The Panthers’ next possession would last only one play when Arbuckle threw to Avery Sweeting before he dropped the ball. It was ruled a fumble and recovery by Andrew Hudson of Washington despite Sweeting’s knee appearing to hit the turf before it came out of his hand.
The ruling on the field stood as the Huskies would get the ball back at Georgia State’s 25-yard line. Three plays later, Miles completed to Kasen Williams for a three yard touchdown to give Washington its first lead of the game.
Georgia State’s next possession would see another three and out, fueled by a pair of sacks on Arbuckle. The Huskies would have the ball as the third quarter concluded and fourth quarter commenced.
Nearly three minutes into the fourth quarter, Miles found Jaydon Mickens for a nine yard touchdown as the score became 28-14 Huskies.
The Panthers punted on their ensuing possession led to Washington moving the ball again. A big play of the drive was a 26-yard reception by DiAndre Campbell. This eventually set up Lindquist for his second touchdown of the game, as he ran 14-yards to the end zone and a 35-14 lead for Washington.
The next two possessions for Georgia State would result in a pick and a punt. An Arbuckle pass was tipped and then intercepted by John Timu 35-yards the other way for a touchdown. 42-14 Huskies.
After another Panthers punt, the following drive had the Huskies in position for another seven points. A 33-yard run by Deonte Cooper had Washington within the Georgia State red zone again. The Panthers defense put the Huskies at 4th and 2 from the eight yard line, where their field goal unit was brought out. A 25-yarder from Cameron Van Winkle was good, giving Washington a 45-14 lead.
Towards the end of the game, Arbuckle was taken out and Ronnie Bell came in at quarterback. Chandon Sullivan and Duvall Smith also suffered injuries.
The game would end with Washington prevailing by the score of 45-14.
After the game, Head Coach Trent Miles did say that the injuries to Neal and Smith could be severe enough to sideline them for the season.
For the Huskies, Miles threw for 195-yards and three touchdowns. He also completed 19 out of his 27 passes. Dwyane Washington led the rushing attack with 12 carries and 56-yards. Campbell led all Washington receivers with 6 receptions and 71-yards.
Arbuckle completed 21 out of 33 passes for two touchdowns and two interceptions. He threw for 194-yards—182 of them occurring in the first half. Neal had 16 carries for 57-yards prior to his injury while Harden led Panthers receivers with 7 receptions for 64-yards.
After a bye week this upcoming week, Georgia State will head on the road to resume the Sun Belt conference when they face the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns Oct. 4.
