Georgia State 31, Coastal Carolina 21
CONWAY, S.C. – Behind a career-high 128 yards rushing from senior quarterback Dan Ellington and a school-record 350 yards on the ground, Georgia State earned a key Sun Belt Conference road victory at Coastal Carolina 31-21 on Saturday night.
After setting a school-record with 340 rushing yards last week, Georgia State (4-2, 2-1 Sun Belt) broke the record with 350 yards on the ground Saturday. It marked the first time in program history where three different rushers each went for more than 100 yards on the ground.
Ellington rushed 19 times for 128 yards, including a long of 57 yards, while also going 16-of-24 for 122 yards and a touchdown through the air. Tra Barnett rushed 20 times for 110 yards and two touchdowns, while Seth Paige added 104 yards on 13 carries including a touchdown.
The first 18 minutes of the game saw just three field goals as Coastal Carolina took a 6-3 lead with 12 minutes left in the second quarter. For GSU, Brandon Wright nailed a 38-yard field goal that was set up by Terry Thomas’ fumble recovery at the Coastal 44 yard line.
Less than two minutes later, Georgia State took its first lead as the Panthers needed just four plays to move 75 yards, thanks to Seth Paige’s 46-yard touchdown run down the left sideline. That put GSU ahead 10-6 with 10:46 to play in the first half.
The GSU defense forced a three-and-out, and the Panthers took over at their 30 and embarked on another touchdown drive. All but 15 of the 70 yards came on the ground. Tra Barnett had a key third-down conversion for a first down at the 20, and on 3rd-and-goal at the 3-yard line, Ellington threw a quick pass in the flat to Cornelius McCoy, who fought his way into the end zone for the score, giving the Panthers a 17-6 lead with 1:51 left in the first half.
After Coastal Carolina (3-3, 0-2 Sun Belt) struck first in the second-half to cut Georgia State’s lead to 17-13 with 10:45 to play, Barnett punched in back-to-back touchdowns for the Panthers to go ahead 31-13 heading into the fourth quarter.
For a second-straight week, Georgia State controlled the clock, finishing the game with 34:59 time of possession. The Panthers also went 10-of-19 on third down and 2-of-2 on fourth down.