Panthers Snap Jags Two-Game Win Streak 21-13 In Atlanta
South Alabama (3-5, 2-2 SBC) lost momentum early to Georgia State (4-3, 3-1 SBC) and was unable to get back on solid footing until under three minutes to go as the Jags two-game winning streak came to an end by a score of 21-13 in Atlanta.
On the Jags first possession and the second play of the drive, Dallas Davis’ pass hit Messiah Francis in the hands, but popped up and was intercepted at the 36 yard line and returned to the Jaguar 3 yard line. The Panthers seized momentum at that point and never intended to relinquish it as they played very spirited defense and solid offense.
On the Jaguars second possession, they drove from their own 23 yard line to the Panther 25 before they stalled and settled for a 42 yard field goal attempt by Gavin Patterson. However, Patterson pulled it wide left and the Jags came up empty.
Early in the second quarter the Jags finally got on the board after 38 yard punt and four yard return put them at the Panther 42 yard line. But again, the Jags drive would stall out at the 11 yard line but this time Patterson slid it inside the right upright.
After trading possessions, Corliss Waitman’s punt was downed at the Panther 8 yard line, but an unsportsmanlike penalty backed them up to the 4 yard line with 5:14 left in the opening half. Then they proceeded to drive it 96 yards in 3:31 to take a 14-3 lead over the Jaguars. Which would be the score at halftime.
After both teams opened the second half with three-and-outs, the Panthers started a drive that would span 14 plays, 51 yards and take 7:39 off the clock. Around midway through the drive the Jags thought they had gotten the stop that they needed on 3rd and 9, but two flags would be thrown. One for roughing the passer when Jimmie Gipson low trying to get to Conner Manning and pushed into his legs just as he was throwing the ball. The other was when Nigel Lawrence lowered his shoulder and kocked the ball loose for an incomplete pass. The targeting would be overturned but the roughing the passer moved them to the Jaguar 40 yard line with a first down. Two holding penalties on the Panthers after that and they were forced to eventually attempt a 50 yard field goal, which they missed well right of the upright.
The Jaguar offense would capitalize on the good field position with a 7 play, 32 yard drive to add a 46 yard field goal and cutting the lead to 14-6 with just over a minute to play in the third quarter.
A pass to Penny Hart would spark the Panthers again on the ensuing drive when he took a short pass and turned it into a 45 yard gain to the Jaguar 20 yard line. They would run tempo to take advantage of the Jags to follow up with a 10 yard run. A couple plays later, when a Jag defenisve lineman jumped offsides, Manner tossed a back-shoulder throw towards Hart in the corner of the end zone to score their final touchdown of the game and to take a 21-6 lead with 12:55 left in the game.
On the next possession, the Jags were starting to move the ball and had converted their first 3rd down of the series when Davis threw a pass to the right sideline where Cedric Stone stepped in front of the receiver and intercepted the pass. He finally stepped out of bounds at the Jaguar 26 yard line. But the Jaguar defense held strong and got the ball back on downs in four plays.
The offense would drive from their own 34 yard line to the Panther 7 but three consecutive incomplete passes turned the ball over on downs.
The Jags would get the ball back with 2:45 left in the game. After taking a 5 yard sack on first down, Davis found Jamarius Way behind the defense down the left sideline for a 75 yard touchdown and giving them the shot in the arm they needed, albeit a bit late.
Corliss Waitman teed up and kicked a perfect onsides kick that Blake Worthy was able to recover on a perfect bounce at the Panther 49 yard line with 2:11 left in the game.
Deonta Moore ran on first down for 7 yards but three consecutive incomplete passes turned the ball over on downs. On the final play, Davis tried to get it to Jamarius Way but he was double covered, but it looked like he had another receiver a little more open about five yards deeper on a crossing route but he was unable to see him.
The Jags finished the game with 338 yards of total offense, 297 passing and merely 41 rushing. The Panthers finished with 309 total yards, 195 passing and 114 rushing. The Jags converted 5-of-16 on third down and held a 31:30 to 28:30 time of possession advantage.
Dallas Davis was the teams leading rusher with 11 yards on 7 attempts. Foster also had 11 yards on only one carry. Xavier Johnson, who had problems all night long slipping on the newly installed turf at Georgia State Stadium, the former Turner Field, finished with -3 yards on seven carries.
Jamarius Way finished with 118 yards on 6 catches with the lone touchdown. Sam Harris caught 7 passes for 73 yards. McCray caught three for 35 yards. Seven other Jaguars also caught passes in the game.
Dallas Davis finished 27-of-48 for 297 yards, a touchdown but also two interceptions and one sack.
Conner Manning finished 17-of-31 for 195 yards and two touchdowns. Penny Hart led the Panthers with six catches for 98 yards and a touchdown. Glenn Smith had two catches for 36 yards and the other touchdown. The other five receivers who caught passes had 19 or fewer yards.
Glenn Smith rushed 17 times for 73 yards, Kyler Neal had 10 carries for 32 yards and Manning had three carries for 8 yards.
Coliss Waitman continued his great season with five punts averaging 46.4 yards per punt, a long of 51 with four of his punts being downed inside the 20 yard line.
Head coach Joey Jones summed it up like this, “It was a case of Georgia State grabbing the momentum early on with the first interception and turning that into a touchdown. We never got the momentum back after that. We never really did anything to flip it back our way, except late in the game when we got the long touchdown pass and recovered the onside kick. We had a chance to drive the ball down and score, but didn’t get that done. It just felt like we were climbing out of a hole the whole game. We would drive the ball a little bit on offense, but then stall out. We have to learn from this game, because over the last two weeks, we’ve been able to take the momentum away from teams and held it, but we didn’t do anything to turn the momentum in our favor tonight.”
While not billed as such, the Jags and Panthers game has turned into a bit of a rivalry as they both started football within a couple years of each other and have played very spirited games against each other. When you give momentum to a rival early in the game like that, it’s very hard to get it back. See the Troy game for a good example.
Dallas Davis took the blame offensively, “Offensively, we just didn’t execute. The offensive line did a good job and gave me all the time in the world to throw but we just didn’t execute out on the perimeter, and we have to be able to do that to win games. I feel like we came out flat today, and that’s on me; I have to get the offense going, so I take the blame for it.”
Jeremy Reaves summed it up well too, “We have to bury this game and put it behind us. Sunday starts a new week for us when we get back on the practice field. You just have to learn that you can’t come out flat. Every team you play is going to give you their best every week; you can’t expect to just show up and beat someone. We have some good ball clubs in the Sun Belt. You have to bring your energy and your ‘A’ game every week or you’re going to get beat.”
The Jaguars will start a two-game home-stand on Saturday, November 4 when they host Louisiana-Lafayette. The game is scheduled to kick off at 3pm. The Jags will need to win three of the next four games (Louisiana-Lafayette, Arkansas State, Georgia Southern and New Mexico State) to get bowl eligible.
Strong home support over the next two home games will be a must. Especially against Arkansas State, who is probably one of the top teams in the conference. If the Jags can win out, including a win over ASU, they will be in a very good position win out.