Grainger, Carroll Dominant In Georgia State Win Over UConn

The Georgia State Panthers beat the UConn Huskies 35-14 Saturday night, dominating on the ground for a second straight game.

GSU quarterback Darren Grainger rushed for 142 yards, just one short of his career-high, and running back Marcus Carroll added 107 after rushing for a career-high last week.

The Panthers’ 250 team ground yards come after 231 last week against Rhode Island. This is the first time GSU has had back-to-back 200-plus rushing games since October 2022.

Grainger also passed for 144 yards, making this the fourth game of his career with 100 ground and air yards.

UConn’s 14 points make it now four straight games with only two touchdowns, a streak that began against Army last season.

Those two scores both came in the fourth quarter.

UConn quarterback Joe Fagnano, a transfer from Maine, won the job in the offseason, but he may have lost it moving forward. Fagnano completed four of nine attempts for 60 yards, but was pulled from the game for Ta’Quan Roberson in the second quarter.

“I thought he was playing okay,” said UConn head coach Jim Mora, “But when you’re not moving the ball – unfortunately a lot comes to the QB – I saw some guys open that he didn’t see open.”

Mora also indicated that Fagnano sustained an injury.

Roberson, a Penn State transfer, finished the game 19-for-30 for 216 yards.

GSU’s win makes the Panthers 2-0 for the first time since they beat Tennessee and Furman in 2019. GSU will try to make it 3-0 for the first time in program history when it plays at Charlotte next Saturday, September 16, at 6:00pm.

UConn, after showing life last season, is 0-2. The Huskies host FIU next Saturday, September 16, at 3:30 PM.