Much of the positives of this year for Georgia State sports in 2014-15 have been highlighted. There were also some occasions this season that fans of Panthers blue and white felt … well, mainly just blue.
Here is The Signal’s list of Georgia State sports moments of 2014-15 that are probably better left forgotten instead of remembered.
5. The football team falls to Southern
The Panthers took a 69-31 loss in the first game of what is a budding rival in front of the second largest crowd in program history. Georgia State was outgained 660 to 455 in total yards of offense.
(On the bright side, Georgia State demolished the Eagles in basketball when it most mattered. See: Best moments of the year, #2: Sun Belt champions).
4.Panthers lose their leading rusher to transfer
Freshman running back Krysten Hammon was released from his scholarship during the Panthers’ bye week. Hammon did not play in Georgia State’s game against Washington or their game against Air Force a week earlier. He rushed for 205 yards and two touchdowns in the first two games of the season against Abilene Christian and New Mexico State.
3. Men’s basketball drops an unexpected game at Appalachian State
The men’s basketball team traveled to Boone, North Carolina on January 17 and took a shocking 74-69 loss to the then 5-10 Appalachian State Mountaineers. The Panthers held a double digit lead to open the second half before the Mountaineers went on an 8-0 run to cut Georgia State’s lead to two points and go on to win the game.
2. Ryan Harrow goes down in March
Georgia State’s senior point guard drove to the basket and injured his hamstring in the first half of the highly anticipated Senior Day matchup with rival Georgia Southern for the regular season Sun Belt Conference championship. Harrow would return to the game briefly but clearly was not able to continue. He was only able to watch and play sparingly for the Sun Belt tournament semi-final and did not play at all in the Sun Belt championship game or the second round of the NCAA Tournament. He did make an appearance in the third round game against Xavier but only played the first half. After being such a key part of the team’s success, Harrow was made to watch the team’s March run they had been preparing for all season.
1. Football falls to Appalachian State 44-0 in the snow
The Panthers fought the Mountaineers and the weather conditions through a tough 60 minutes on Nov. 1 in Boone, North Carolina. Georgia State was without Joseph Peterson, who was out with an ankle injury. The Panthers had many injuries at this point of the season, including Kyler Neal among others. Nick Arbuckle struggled through the swirling winds, amassing only 47 yards passing. The Panthers managed just 64 total yards in the game.
