The five-game losing streak is an ongoing point of pain for the Georgia State football players. But more hurtful has been the manner in which the losses have come.
Other than the first game of the losing streak, a poor performance against rival Georgia Southern, the Panthers have played well enough to win in successive weeks against Old Dominion, Appalachian State and UConn. A handful of bad plays in each game have been enough to tilt things in the wrong direction.
“Sometimes it’s easier to get blown out than lose a close game,” linebacker Josiah Robinson said. “Because in my head, it’s like, maybe if these two plays would have went our way, we would have won that game. It’s not even the losing streak (that’s so frustrating), but how close we are to actually winning these games.”
It doesn’t get any easier this week when the Panthers (2-5, 0-4) conclude a four-game road trip on Saturday against James Madison (6-2, 2-2) at 3:30 p.m. in Harrisonburg, Va. (TV: ESPN-Plus; Radio – WRAS-FM 88.5, Georgia State sports app) Georgia State is 0-3 against James Madison and were hammered 42-14 by the Dukes in Atlanta last season.
Georgia State’s last four losses have been tough to take: 21-14 against Old Dominion, 35-20 against Marshall, 33-26 against App State and 34-27 against UConn. The score of the Marshall game was inflated by a last-minute touchdown on a long run.
“We’ve just got to play all four quarters because we’re right there,” said running back Freddie Brock, who leads the team with 575 rushing yards. “We’re losing games by like a touchdown or basically off three or four plays that could have been the difference. We’ve just got to play a full game. That’s what we’re looking forward to and making that happen this weekend.”
James Madison may offer the biggest challenge the Panthers have faced during the losing streak. JMU put 70 points on the board in knocking off North Carolina in September and has many of the elements that have bedeviled Georgia State this season – a good quarterback (Alonza Barnett, 1,793 yards passing 18 TDs) and a defense that ranks No. 1 in the Sun Belt.
“We’ve just got to play a lot smarter,” McGee said. “Panthers can’t beat Panthers.”
The offense has responded since Zach Gibson took over as the starting quarterback. The senior has completed 69 of 100 passes for 690 yards, five touchdowns and only one interception. Ted Hurst (36 catches, seven TDs) and tight end Dorian Fleming (35 catches, two touchdowns) have become the two top options.
“I think our coaches have done a good job of trying to create situations for us to be in ball games,” said. “And ultimately, we want to win the ball game. It’s been that kind of season with this roster, and it will be that way on this weekend.”
McGee said Tuesday’s practice was lethargic and expressed dissatisfaction with lack of effort, but said the problem will be addressed before kickoff.
“You just have to challenge your players,” McGee said. “At the end of the day, when you have a player-led team, the players have got to own it, accept it. It’s not the end of the world, but it wasn’t up to the standard that we need to have to be successful on Saturday. I addressed our team at the end of practice, and they understand that. Now it’s how they respond to the message that was presented to them.”
James Madison’s win last week at Southern Miss made the Dukes bowl eligible. Georgia State must win its final four game to earn a trip to a bowl game for the second consecutive season.
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