What You Need to Know
* Junior safety Bobby Baker grabbed two interceptions and recovered three fumbles in his first game in a Georgia State uniform but the Panthers fell to Charlotte 23-20.
* The Georgia State defense allowed just one offensive touchdown, forced five turnovers and had four sacks.
* Nick Arbuckle threw touchdown passes to Taz Bateman and Penny Hart, but the Panthers' late comeback came up short.
ATLANTA – Georgia State safety Bobby Baker collected two interceptions and three fumble recoveries in his first game for the Panthers, but GSU (0-1) dropped its season opener to Charlotte 23-20 Friday afternoon at the Georgia Dome.
Baker, a transfer from UAB, is the first player in school history to grab more than two turnovers in a game. His three fumble recoveries are a school record, while his two interceptions tie the GSU mark held by two other players.
The Georgia State defense held Charlotte to just one offensive touchdown, forced five turnovers and had four sacks, but the Panthers struggled on offense and hurt themselves with three turnovers.
“The defense in the second half was outstanding, we gave up three points,” head coach Trent Miles said. “But you can't turn the ball over three times in the first quarter and expect to win. Offensively, we need to do a better job as a coaching staff in helping these kids get points on the board.
“Charlotte did a great job and give them credit, but as a coaching staff we need to do a better job with the offense,” Miles said. “We need to do a better job in putting out players in a position to succeed.”
Charlotte (1-0) used a balanced attack as quarterback Matt Johnson threw for 244 yards and a touchdown and running back Kalif Phillips carried the ball 18 times for 85 yards. Blake Brewer added three field goals for the 49ers.
The GSU offense had two fumbles and an interception in the first quarter, including a play on the Panthers' first drive that swung momentum to Charlotte.
On Georgia State's fourth play of the opening drive, quarterback Nick Arbuckle hit Glenn Smith for a short pass over the middle. When the ball came loose and Smith appeared to be down, but Charlotte's Terrance Winchester came up with it and returned it 43 yards for a touchdown. After a lengthy replay, the call was upheld, giving the 49ers the early 7-0 lead.
Trailing 10-0, Georgia State appeared to score a touchdown when another official review went against the Panthers as Arbuckle's 14-yard pass to Todd Boyd in the end zone was initially ruled a touchdown but overturned. One play later, Arbuckle was intercepted in the end zone.
Georgia State made things interesting late in the fourth quarter when true freshman Penny Hart hauled in a 53-yard touchdown from Arbuckle to bring the Panthers to within three. GSU attempted an onside kick with 30 seconds remaining but was unsuccessful.
Wil Lutz booted a pair of field goals for Georgia State, including a 50-yarder that is the second longest of his career and second best in school history. Lutz also punted for an average of 49 yards.
Arbuckle completed 25 of 43 passes for 299 yards, including a pair of fourth quarter touchdown passes. In addition to the 53-yarder to Hart, he hit Taz Bateman for a 24 scoring play with 10 minutes to play.
Baker did his best to keep the Panthers in the game with his five takeaways, two of them stopping Charlotte drives in the red zone.
In the first quarter, he recovered a fumble at the Charlotte 17. The on consecutive possessions in the second quarter, he intercepted Johnson in the end zone and then recovered a fumbled snap at the GSU 14. On Charlotte's first drive of the third quarter, Baker grabbed his second interception at the Charlotte 34. Finally, he recovered another fumble by Johnson on a sack at the 49ers 39-yard line.
Georgia State plays its next two games on the road, beginning next Saturday at New Mexico State (8 p.m. ET).
