A Friday night clash quickly turned ugly for the visiting Panthers as everything was going right for the Memphis Tigers. For the second time this season, Brady White turned in a five touchdown night against a Georgia opponent and Darrell Henderson finished with 233 yards and 2 TDs on 14 (!!) carries.
Georgia State received the kickoff and proceeded to go three-and-out, including a sack of QB Dan Ellington, an omen for how the night would go. Ellington would be under duress all night, checking down on short throws to the tune of a 4.1 YPA and scrambling all game. Memphis lived in the backfield all night, going through and around the Panther line who surrendered two sacks and 8 TFLs.
Once Memphis got the ball, they proceeded to score touchdowns on five consecutive possessions to open the first half, highlighted by a 54-yard Henderson TD run and two Damonte Coxie receiving scores.
The Panthers would respond with a 10-play TD drive to start the 2nd quarter to show signs of life, but the Tigers continued their onslaught of touchdowns and capped the first half with a FG to make it 38-10 at half time.
The teams would trade touchdowns to open the second half, but the game was well in hand by that point before Memphis would go on to add a couple more touchdowns to the delight of gamblers everywhere. A Panther pick six would close the scoring, and Memphis ran the clock out to mercifully end the game.
Player of the Game
It’s hard to not give it to a guy who accounted for five touchdowns on the night, but Darrell Henderson was special. Showing power and elusiveness, he ran over defenders all night and finished with an incredible 16.6 YPC. Honorable mention shout-out to the offensive line for creating those holes and keeping the pressure to a minimum (1 sack, 1 hurry).
Look Ahead
Georgia State (1-2) will finish out the OOC schedule next week with a home game against Western Michigan.
Memphis (2-1) will welcome another Sun Belt team as they take on South Alabama.