ATLANTA — Georgia State quarterback Ronnie Bell set school records for career and single-season total offense and career passing yards and the Panthers were tied with the Sun Belt Conference's top team late in the third quarter before UL-Lafayette pulled away for a 35-21 victory Saturday at the Georgia Dome.
UL-Lafayatte quarterback Terrance Broadway threw four touchdown passes as the Ragin' Cajuns won their eighth straight game to improve to 8-2, 5-0 in the Sun Belt Conerence.
Bell finished the game with 229 yards passing, 46 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns through the air. In only two years with the program, Bell has compiled 2,596 career passing yards and 2,772 yards of total offense, including 2,197 yards this season.
During the game, senior receiver Albert Wilson also broke Georgia State (0-10, 0-5 Sun Belt) single-season records for receptions (58) and all-purpose yards (1,834). Wilson already holds the career marks in both of those categories. Wilson also led the team with 66 yards rushing in the game.
Wilson's 22-yard touchdown reception tied the game at 21-all with five minutes left in the third quarter, but the Ragin' Cajuns answered on their next possession with an eight-play, 75-yard drive, capped by Broadway's 36-yard touchdown pass to freshman Elijah McGuire. That gave UL-Lafayette a 28-21 lead with 1:47 left in the third quarter.
Georgia State drove deep into UL-Lafayette territory on its next possession, but freshman Kyler Neal was stopped one yard short on 4th-and-3 at the UL 16-yard line.
After another Boradway scoring pass pushed the Ragin' Cajuns' lead to 35-21, Georgia State drove into UL-Lafayette on its next possessions but came up short on fourth down both times.
In the first half, Georgia State committed a pair of costly turnovers in the red zone. Starting quarterback Ben McLane fumbled on the UL-Lafayette 3-yard line in the first quarter and Bell threw an interception near the goal line in the second quarter to spoil potential scoring opportunities for GSU.
However, the Panthers also benefited from a first-half turnover. As time expired on the first quarter, the Panthers' defense recovered a Ragin' Cajun fumble at the ULL 16-yard line. Georgia State used the short field to convert a 5-yard touchdown run by senior Travis Evans and briefly tie the contest at 7-7.
On 4th-and-3 with only 24 seconds remaining in the first half, Bell connected with freshman tight end Keith Rucker for a 42-yard touchdown, the first score of Rucker's career. Rucker finished the game with six receptions for a career-high 121 yards.
Broadway tossed four touchdown passes in the ballgame, including two to the freshman McGuire, who had 107 yards rushing and 125 yards receiving. McGuire took a first-quarter shovel pass 80 yards for a score and received a screen pass in the third quarter that covered 36 yards for the score.
The Panthers scored first in the second half when Bell connected with Wilson on a 22-yard swing pass to tie the game at 21-21. Broadway then connected for a pair of second-half touchdown passes to build a 35-21 advantage for the visiting Ragin' Cajuns.
Linebacker Joseph Peterson turned in a stellar game defensively, leading the Panthers with twelve tackles and three tackles for loss, including a pair of third-down sacks.
Georgia State next travels to Jonesboro, Ark. to face Arkansas State on Nov. 23 for its final road game of the 2013 season. The Panthers will return to the Georgia Dome for the season finale against South Alabama on Nov. 30.
