Georgia State Beats Western Kentucky 27-17 in the AutoNation Cure Bowl

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Orlando, FL — The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers were looking for their fourth-straight postseason win, while Georgia State had its sights set on making program history with their first bowl win. The Panthers pounced on Western Kentucky to achieve their goal, 27-17 in the third annual AutoNation Cure Bowl Saturday afternoon at Camping World Stadium.

After quarterback Mike White and the Hilltoppers went three-and-out in the first drive of the contest, Georgia State moved the chains three times before being the first to crack the scoreboard with a 42-yard field goal by Brandon Wright.  Wright’s boot not only made the score 3-0, it was the second-longest kick in Cure Bowl history.

WKU took over on the following drive that was capped on a 54-yard strike to tight end Deon Yelder from White.  The opportunity was created by a busted coverage in the Panther’s secondary that left Yelder with field for days and a 7-3 lead.

Western Kentucky Quarterback, Mike White. Photo by Scott McEntire

Not to be outdone, GSU field general Conner Manning and his offense retained momentum on the next possession despite being behind early. Manning helped blaze the Panthers down the field in three plays to nearly-instant pay dirt with Demarcus Kirk running through arm tackles for the 26-yard scamper to regain the lead at 10-7.

With a minute left in the first quarter,Hilltopper defensive end Masai Whyte recorded a forced fumble after jarring it away from Manning. Defensive back Joel Brown secured the ball for WKU at the Panther 24 yard line and just two short runs later, kicker Ryan Nuss tied the game at 10-10 from 38 yards out.

Later in the half, Georgia State’s offense was handed 30 yards in personal foul penalties that not only set up Wright to launch another three on the board from the 37-yard-line, but brought the ejection of Hilltopper team captain and defensive end Derik Overstreet on a questionable targeting call. The Panthers retook the lead 13-10 as both sides battled to a stalemate for the remaining nine minutes of the half.

Georgia State Quarterback, Conner Manning. Photo by Scott McEntire

The clock ticked nine minutes before more points were tallied in the third quarter.  On a flea-flicker, Manning sent a floater to tight end Roger Carter to add 42 more yards to his passing total and increase the GSU lead to 20-10.

After Kyle Nealer smashed through the plain from one-yard out to turn it into a 27-10 one-sided contest, it was all Georgia State, dominating defensively outside of a garbage time trip to the end zone for the Hilltoppers as Yelder secured his second score of the night.

In the losing cause, Yelder caught five balls for 112 yards and two touchdowns while White delivered to him and his fellow receivers going 26-for-39 (67 percent) with two trips for six, two interceptions and a fumble.

Georgia State’s top offensive  performers were Manning, completing 20-of-28 (71 percent) for 276 yards, one touchdown and a fumble. Carter hauled in four receptions for 85 yards and a touchdown while running back Glenn Smith posted 83 yards on 23 carries.

The Panthers defensive made an incredible impact as well sacking White six times and keeping him under pressure all night.

While the players attributed their 2017 success to buying in to the philosophy of Head Coach Shawn Elliott, Elliott put it right back on them.

“Apparently I didn’t do a good enough job,” he said,  “Because we didn’t come in here sell anything to these players. It was either get it or get out.  To tell you the truth, that’s how it is.  It wasn’t buying in because we weren’t selling anything. What they had to understand really early on was we were going to do it our way. We were gonna  practice hard, we were gonna be disciplined and we weren’t gonna mouth off. We were gonna play with a certain demeanor. We were gonna play with a lot of confidence, but not a lot of cockyness and go do more than what’s expected and that’s what we did”.

GSU finished their season with a record of 7-6 while WKU capped their campaign off at 6-7.

 

 

 

 

 

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