The Georgia State Panthers faced off with the Troy Trojans. The Panthers came into the game with a 6-5 record, and the Trojans came in with a similar record of 5-6. If the Trojans won this game, they would be bowl eligible, but win or lose for the Panthers, they would be going bowling! The game was held in Center Parc Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. This stadium was previously called Turner Field, and was home to the Atlanta Braves, baseball team.
The stadium has changed to accommodate football, but Georgia State maintained the history that was set by the Braves. Kimani Vidal, the starting Trojan running back, has a personal connection to the Braves and this stadium. His great uncle, Hank Aaron, played for the Atlanta Braves, and held the Major League Baseball home run record for many years. Vidal stated it was a very important game to him, as his uncle passed away earlier this year, he dedicated his game to him.
Georgia State University came out on top with a final score of 37-10. The defense was effective on both sides, and it really came down to who could run the ball more efficiently and turnovers. The Trojans could blame their loss on the shifting of coaches recently after their head coach, Chip Lindsey, was fired the day after their last game against Appalachian State.
The first quarter consisted of turnover after turnover, but GSU was able to put one touchdown on the board about halfway through. The second quarter was not as great for Troy, as the Panther defense held them to only 5 minutes of possession, so that allowed for more points put on the board by the Georgia State offense. The half break began with a score of 17-3 in favor of the Panthers.
The second half is when it really began to go downhill for the Trojans. As the young quarterback, Gunnar Watson, was sacked 5 times in the third quarter alone. They were able to put one touchdown in the books with graduate running back, BJ Smith working his way down the field against the tough Panther defense.
The game did not go to plan as it was predicted Troy would only lose by 6 points, but they ended up with a score difference of 27. Due to this loss, the Trojans season is over , as they finished with a losing streak. This win was big for the Panthers, because they will be heading to a bowl game for the third year in a row, and they set a new program record for conference victories, with 6 wins! The bowl game for the Panthers will be announced next Sunday, December 5th!
