After Georgia State’s season-ending loss to Coastal Carolina on Saturday, coach Dell McGee was understandably more eager to talk about the future of the program and not the 48-27 crash that left the Panthers with a 3-9 record in his first season at the helm.
“Moving forward, we are looking forward to the offseason,” McGee said. “That’s the one thing we did not have coming into the start of this season. It was kind of I got hired, went straight to football, tried to acquire guys out of the portal and go play football.”
There weren’t many positive signs on Saturday at Center Parc Stadium. Georgia State turned it over six times – four interceptions and two fumbles – and allowed 475 yards in total offense. Coastal Carolina (6-6) played like a team in need of a win to become bowl eligible, ran for 275 yards, threw for 200 and converted 10 of 15 third downs.
Georgia State quarterback Christian Veilleux completed 15 of 26 passes for 205 yards, but four were intercepted and one turned into a pick-six. Veilleux also ran for 62 yards, but lost the ball in the red zone and Coastal turned that takeaway into points.
Freddie Brock rushed for 71 yards and two touchdowns and Ted Hurst caught eight passes for 131 yards.
Coastal quarterback Ethan Vasko completed 13 of 17 passes for 200 yards and three touchdowns and ran 13 times for 68 yards and one touchdown. Christian Washington carried 20 times for 124 yards and one score.
“We just didn’t stop the running quarterback, the running back ran the ball, so we just couldn’t get off the field on third down,” McGee said. “They pretty much ran the ball at will.”
It was a poor way to end the season, particularly on Senior Day.
“Like I told the guys in there, they got to go through some tough times, and to have a testimony in life, whenever you lose there are life lessons. That’s the great thing about football,” McGee said. “You learn about life; you learn about yourself and how to overcome adversity and all the things that come with losing.
Both teams had turnover problems in the first half. Georgia State gave it up three times – two picks and one fumble – and Coastal Carolina threw a pair of interceptions.
GSU’s Ja’maric Morris intercepted a halfback option pass, one possession after he allowed Coastal’s first touchdown on a throw from Vasco to Senika McKie. It was the first interception for Morris, a senior transfer from Central Florida, and helped set up a 28-yard Liam Rickman field goal that cut Coastal’s lead to 7-3.
Georgia State took a 10-7 lead after Jyron Gilmore intercepted a pass that Vasco may have been trying to throw away. The Panthers launched a 70-yard drive that was completed by Brock’s 19-yard touchdown run.
That was the last time Georgia State led. The Panthers trailed 17-10 at halftime and were outscored 31-17 in the second half. GSU’s second-half points came on a 30-yard field goal from Rickman, a 1-yard run by Brock and a 6-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Kyle Lowe to Dorian Fleming.
Lowe made the most of his opportunity. He threw for 21 yards and a touchdown and ran for 47 yards, including a 56-yarder that ended at the 1.
There were positive signs this season – a 36-32 win over Vanderbilt and a 52-44 road win over Texas State – but the roster wasn’t deep enough or developed enough to withstand the grind of a Sun Belt Conference schedule. McGee aims to start solving that problem over the next month through high school signees and portal acquisitions.
“The evidence shows what we’re capable of, but you’ve got to play consistent and you’ve got to be able to hang your hat on something,” McGee said. “We’re going to take a deep breath and reassess every aspect of our program. Take a deeper dive into where this program is moving forward to the next season, which is finishing out this recruiting class, the portal season is going to open here very shortly, and making sure we acquire and keep the right guys is very important.”
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