Georgia State Beats Coastal Carolina 30-17: Panthers 4-0 For First Time

Georgia State is 4-0 for the first time ever after beating conference rival Coastal Carolina 30-17 Thursday night.

The Panthers took an early lead with a Darren Grainger rushing touchdown on their first possession, and played in front the entire game.

Coastal Carolina did show signs of a late push after a scoop-and-score on a fumbled snap from punter Kade Loggins with about seven minutes left in the game. The Chanticleer’s onside kick was unsuccessful, however, and the Panthers iced the game with a four and a half minute drive that ended with a field goal.

GSU running back Marcus Carroll continued his season of dominance. While mild compared to previous weeks, his 150 yards on 29 carries for a touchdown solidifies his place atop the total touchdowns leaderboards in the FBS and moves him to second in the nation for rushing yards.

Carroll’s performances make him an early favorite to dethrone three-time Sun Belt Player of the Year Coastal Carolina quarterback Grayson McCall.

McCall finished the game 26-for-42 for 295 yards, but was unable to get the ball to his favorite receivers, which caused the offense to stall. Sam Pinckney and Jared Brown have averaged over 140 combined yards this season, but between the two only made nine catches for 88 yards.

Opposite McCall was GSU’s Darren Grainger, himself making a case to dethrone McCall as the best quarterback in the Sun Belt. Grainger finished the game 15-for-26 with 191 yards passing and ran for 47 yards and a ground score.

The Panthers, 4-0 overall and 1-0 against Sun Belt teams, continue their already historic season next week against reigning conference champions Troy. That game, in Atlanta, will kickoff at 7:00pm on Saturday, Sept. 30.

Coastal Carolina, 2-2 for the first time since 2012, is 0-1 in-conference. The Chanticleers play at Georgia Southern at 7:00pm on Saturday, Sept. 30 for the team’s second Sun Belt game.