BOISE -- Freddie Brock rushed for a school-record 276 yards in his first start for Georgia State and quarterback Darren Grainger earned Most Valuable Player honors after accounting for five touchdowns to lead the Panthers to a dominating 45-22 win over Utah State in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl at Albertston's Stadium.

Georgia State (7-6) earned its third straight bowl win and improved to 4-2 in bowl games in its 10 years at the FBS level. Grainger picked up his second straight MVP award after completing 19 of 22 passes for 257 yards and three touchdowns and rushing for 111 yards and two scores. He tied his own GSU record with five touchdowns responsible for.

With Brock and Grainger as the only ball carriers, the Panthers piled up a 386 yards on the ground and averaged 7.9 yards per carry while scoring a season-high 45 points, despite playing without three starters on the offensive line as well as the team's leading rusher and top receiver. Georgia State put up 643 yards of offense while holding the Aggies (6-7) to 346 yards.

Grainger, the sixth-year senior from Conway, S.C., scored Georgia State's first two touchdowns on GSU's first two drives and then added three scores through the air to lead the Panthers to 31-straight points, turning a 14-14 game late in the first quarter into a 45-14 lead early in the fourth quarter.

"It was a great feeling for me to go out with a bang, with all the guys and the coaches and everyone involved," said Grainger. "The whole team went out there and played an excellent and we showed what we did early in the year. What a way to go out."

Head coach Shawn Elliott agreed with his record-setting quarterback.

"I told them last night, Loosen up and go play the best 60 minutes of football in your life," Elliott said. "I told them that after the first touchdown, I wanted the goal post dunked, and he (pointing to Grainger) took care of that."

Cadarrius Thompson was Grainger's top target, catching five passes for a career-high 117 yards, including touchdown receptions of 23 and 37 yards. Tailique Williams added a 27-yard TD catch.

"I really didn't know what to expect going into this game, to be honest. There were a lot of unknowns, a lot of new guys who had to step up and be the guys," Elliot said. 

"I thought these new guys stepping in would give everything they had today, and it was incredible to watch them play. To see how we prepared and got this bowl win is incredible. We had three new starters on the offensive line, three new starters on defense, a new running back starting for us. There wasn't a single person who blinked an eye; they just went out and executed and got the job done. 

"What a great way to end it with this team of truly great men," Elliott continued. "I can't thank them enough. I can't say enough about every man who went out there and executed today."

Brock, the transfer from Maine in his first season at GSU, only carried the ball six times for 31 yards during the regular season, but he rushed 24 times for 276 yards, including runs of 31, 43, 58 and 60 yards.

"I hadn't played that much this season, but I trusted the scheme, trusted what Coach Elliott said and just took advantage of the moment. I just came to play," Brock said.

Elliott improved to 4-1 in bowl games in his seven seasons at the helm.

"When you win the last one, that's very important," Elliott said. "This was just a fantastic day for us and a fantastic week. This is what the bowls are all out. And now we get to end it with a bowl championship.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Georgia State drove for touchdowns on its first two possessions, both capped by 1-yard touchdowns by quarterback Darren Grainger. The Panthers' first scoring drive came after th GSU defense stopped Utah State (6-7) on downs on a fourth-down stop by Kevin Swint at the GSU 33-yard line. Grainger drove the Panthers 68 yards on 10 plays, and then 75 yards on five plays, highlighted by Freddie Brock's 60-yard run to the USU 15-yard line. 

With the game tied at 14-all late in the first quarter, Grainger directed another long scoring drive, this one resulting in his 27-yard touchdown pass to Tailique Williams on a 3rd-and-10 play. That touchdown gave GSU the lead for good as the Panthers scored 31 straight points to take a 45-14 lead early in the fourth quarter.

GAME NOTES
>> Georgia State won its third straight bowl game, following the 2020 LendingTree Bowl and 2021 TaxAct Camellia Bowl. The Panthers are now 6-2 in bowl games in their 10 seasons of FBS football, including 4-1 in seven seasons under head coach Shawn Elliott.

>> In his first start for Georgia State, Freddie Brock rushed for a GSU-record 278 yards. His previous high came while at Maine with 123 yards vs. Rhode Island in 2021. After transferring to GSU this fall, he had just six carries for 31 yards before today.

>> Brock broke the GSU single-game rushing record of 242 yards, set by Tra Barnett in 2019. His 276 yards rank among the Top 10 bowl performances of all time.

>> Brock had Georgia State's two longest runs in a bowl game with a 60-yard run in the first quarter and a 58-yard run in the second quarter. 

>> In his final game, QB Darren Grainger accounted for 368 yards of offense and five touchdowns, which equaled his own GSU record. 

>> Completing 19 of 22 passes (86.4 percent), Grainger broke the GSU record for completion percentage in a game.

>> Grainger earned MVP honors in both of his bowl game starts, the 2021 TaxAct Camellia Bowl and 2023 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. In the two games combined he had 693 yards of total offense and nine total touchdowns.

>> Junior defensive back Ronald Cooper made his first career interception, which he returned 17 yard to the Utah State 10-yard line, setting up a field goal to give GSU a 24-10 lead midway through the second quarter.

>> Senior wide receiver Cadarrius Thompson recorded career highs with five receptions for 117 yards and two touchdowns. His 117 yards are the GSU high for a bowl game. In addition to his two touchdowns, his three other catches resulted in third-down conversions.

>> Georgia State piled up 386 yards rushing, the fourth-best single-game total in program history (most in a bowl game) and 643 yards of total offense, which equals the third-best game in school history (most in a bowl game). 

>> Georgia State played the game without five starters on offense and three on defense.