ATLANTA -- Tucker Gregg rushed for 52 of Georgia State's 218 yards to become the program's all-time leading rusher as the Panthers earned a 31-17 victory over Old Dominion on Homecoming at Center Parc Stadium.
Quarterback Darren Grainger passed for 195 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 104 yards and another score, and the Georgia State (3-5, 2-2 Sun Belt) defense collected six sacks, forced two turnovers and held the Monarchs (3-5, 2-2) to 26 yards rushing and 283 total yards. The 26 yards rushing is the third-lowest total allowed by GSU in program history.
Gregg, the super senior and former walk-on from Chatsworth, Ga., now has 2,165 career yards as he moved past Tra Barnett, who had 2,156 yards from 2016-19. He scored his 24th career rushing touchdown on a 4-yard run in the first quarter.
"He's just a tremendous young man, and I'm very very proud of him for setting this record," head coach Shawn Elliott said. "This is a young man who walked on. He didn't have any offers coming out of high school, so he recruited us. It was very evident that what brought here was a determination, a leadership mentality and work ethic that you don't see a lot of in this day and age."
Â
After a 14-14 first half, the Georgia State defense forced ODU to go three-and-out on its opening possession, and then the Panthers went on a 17-play, 80-yard drive that chewed up eight minutes as Grainger's 1-yard scoring run put GSU up 21-14. Every play on the drive but one was a run as Gregg, Grainger, Jamyest Williams and Marcus Carroll all carried the ball.
Old Dominion's next possession was also three-and-out, but this time Thomas Gore sacked quarterback Hayden Wolf on third down and forced a fumble that Javon Denis recovered at the ODU 11-yard line. One play later, Carroll scampered around the right end for an 11-yard touchdown and a 28-14 GSU lead with four minutes left in the third quarter.
After another ODU punt, the GSU offense ground out another long drive, this time eating up more than 10 minutes on 18 plays to set up Michael Hayes' 26-yard field goal to put the Panthers up 31-14 with six minutes left in the game
Old Dominion managed a field goal to cut the lead to 31-17, but Georgia State recovered the onside kick with 4:50 left. The Monarchs had one final possession that GSU linebacker Justin Abraham ended with an interception to seal the win.Â
Grainger completed 14-of-20 passes, including a 38-yard touchdown pass to Jamari Thrash. The Panthers recorded 413 yards of total offense, including 218 yards on the ground, topping 200 yard rushing for the 14th time in the last 16 games.
Â
Thomas Gore (2), Jeffery Clark (1.5), Jontrey Hunter (1), Shamar McCollum (1) and Javon Denis (0.5) collected the Panthers six sacks, one shy of the school record.Â
ODU receiver Ali Jennings entered the game as the nation's leader in receiving yards, but the Panthers limited him to three catches for 24 yards.
Gore had two of the Panthers' six sacks on the day. On one of those sacks, he caused a fumble that GSU recovered at the ODU 11-yard line. One play later, the Panthers scored to take a 28-14 lead in the third quarter. Â
The Panthers, who have three of their last four games, travel to Southern Miss next Saturday for a 3 p.m. ET game on ESPN+. Georgia State's next home game, it's last of the season, is Saturday, Nov. 11 vs. ULM for Senior Day. For tickets, visit GeorgiaStateSports.com or call 404-413-4020 during business hours.
