ATLANTA – Georgia State scored the first points in the series but Georgia Southern came out on top in the game, earning a 69-31 victory in the Georgia Dome on Saturday.
GSU was led offensively by the duo of Nick Arbuckle and Donovan Harden. The pair of transfers who each hail from California combined to hook up for four touchdowns as Harden gained a school-record 186 receiving yards. Harden's four touchdown catches are the second-most in Sun Belt Conference history and set a school record.
Harden also tied a school record with 11 receptions. He had touchdown catches of 3, 59, 35 and 36 yards. The 59-yard touchdown catch was the longest touchdown play given up by Georgia Southern in 2014.
Arbuckle finished 24 of 38 passing for 408 yards, just six shy of a school record and four scores which also tied a school record. Leading the best passing offense in the Sun Belt, Arbuckle is already within his per-game-average of reaching the school's single-season passing mark with four games remaining. It was his third game of 400-plus passing yards this season.
On the afternoon, GS outgained the Panthers 660-455 in total offense. As usual, the Eagles did most of their damage on the ground, gaining 613 yards rushing. Running back Matt Breida went over 200 yards, finishing with 201 yards and four rushing scores including a 75-yarder on the first play of the second half.
The Eagles jumped out to a 14-3 lead in the first quarter behind scoring runs of 7 and 9 yards. The Eagles posted 269 rushing yards before the intermission. A total of 11 GS players carried the ball, with eight finishing with at least 30 yards.
Georgia State opened the scoring on the first drive of the game, getting a 44-yard field goal from place-kicker Wil Lutz. The Panthers also responded with two other scoring drives before halftime, both resulting in Harden touchdown catches. Harden had seven catches for 94 yards and the two scores before intermission. Over his past two games, Harden has 21 catches, the most in a two-game span in GSU history.
GS put touchdowns on the board around each of Harden's scoring catches and went into the locker room ahead 27-17. Following the intermission, the Eagles outscored GSU 42-14 with six rushing touchdowns, including two of at least 60 yards.
GSU was hurt by penalties and missed opportunities. The Panthers finished with six penalties at inopportune times. It cost them only 40 yards, but the timing was unfortunate as one came on a 97-yard kickoff return for an apparent TD that was called back for holding. GSU also missed out on a score when a wide open Harden dropped a pass at the goal line that would have brought the Panthers within 17 points. Instead, a missed field goal led to GS getting the ball back and driving the field for a 48-17 lead in the third.
Georgia State returns to action next week as it start a three-game road stretch with a trip to Boone, N.C., to face Appalachian State. The Panthers and Mountaineers kickoff at 3:30 p.m. in a game set to be seen nationally on ESPN3. Air time for the Grady Health Systems Georgia State Radio Network is 3 p.m.
Noting the Panthers…
Today's attendance of 28,427 is the second-largest in Georgia State history and largest since 30,237 for the inaugural game on Sept. 2, 2010.
Captains for today's game: LB Joe Peterson, QB Nick Arbuckle, TE Joel Ruiz, TE Keith Rucker and LB Nate Paxton
Harden's 21 catches in the past two games easily eclipsed the previous two-game record which was held by Danny Williams with 16 catches.
Harden also became the first Panther with at least two TDs in back-to-back games in Panther history.
Nick Arbuckle had completed 124 consecutive passes without an interception until an acrobatic INT in the second quarter by Darius Jones.
After making a 44-yard field goal to open the scoring, Wil Lutz missed his first field-goal attempt of the season in the third quarter, this one coming from 48 yards.
