Feeling blue: Fourth straight loss leaves Panthers searching for answers

Poor special teams and an uninspired defensive performance overshadowed receiver Danny Williams record breaking day and doomed the Panthers against Murray State Saturday. In their first home game since Sept. 10, the result seemed to stymie Georgia State head coach Bill Curry who spoke in a disappointed tone after the game. "If I had a rational explanation for what you've seen the last four weeks I would certainly offer it," Curry said. Quarterback Drew Little played well in his second start of the season, while Bo Schlechter returned to his punting duties. Unfortunately, the Georgia State special teams continuously gave the Racers a short field. "Any short drives are detrimental especially with a potent offense like that. You have to make them go a long way and we didn't do that," Curry said. "There are so many things we didn't do well and field position is among them. Special teams coverage and punting was a concern as the Racers repeatedly broke loose for big punt returns, but Curry quickly pinpointed the problem. "Bo (Schlechter) didn't have a goodday," he said. "Our coverage does not allow us to kick the ball down the middleof the field. There is a specific place he is supposed to punt it, but we did not get that done today against a dangerous returner and that killed us." Wide receiver and return man Albert Wilson also missed his second game of the season after suffering a hamstring injury three weeks ago. In his stead, receiver Danny Williams broke Georgia State's receiving yardage record by catching nine balls for 151 yards and one touchdown. However, Williams was the only receiver with more than two receptions. The running game was also non-existent as the Panthers averaged only 2.5 yards per rush for 86 yards againsta Murray State run defense that allowed 497 yards in its previous two games.

 Defensively, cornerback D'Mario Gunn snared two interceptions, but the offense was unable to capitalize on them. After throwingthe first of his two interceptions of the first offensive play, Casey Brockman threw for 321 yards and four touchdowns. Instead of relying on big plays, the Murray State's offense methodically moved the ball down the field by throwing on short and intermediate routes, then relying on receivers to gain yardage after the catch. The Racers also used screen passes to running backs as an extension of their running game. Despite running for only 68 yards on eight carries, Murray State running back Duane Brady caught seven passes for 91 yards and one touchdown. A penalty also wiped off 28 yards from Brady's 80-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Murray State's first touchdown drive began near midfield following a short punt by Schlechter. Georgia State responded with the longest  touchdown drive in its short history, highlighted by a 49-yard completion to Danny Williams. Two plays later, Russell would carry the handoff, along with a slew of defenders into the end zone to tie the score.

The Panther's next offensive drive ended with a 39-yard field goal by kicker Christian Benvenuto that gave Georgia State its first lead since its season opening win over Clark on Sept. 2. Unfortunately, that's where things took a turn for the worse as Murray Stated raced out of the gates in the second quarter with three unanswered touchdown scores and tacked on a fourth to start the second half.

The most pivotal play of the first half came after Curry inexplicably replaced Little with Schlechter at quarterbackon the final possession of the half. Schlechter then overthrew a wide open Darius McCray, who was sprinting downfield with nothing but daylight between himself and the end zone. It would prove to be a costly misfire and swing momentum i Murray State's favor. Two incompletions later, Schlechter shanked the punt 19 yards out of bounds. On the final offensive play of the first half for Murray State's Duane Brady received a short screen pass, ran behind a wall of blockers, reversed field and sprinted 46 yards into the end zone. Instead of the Panthers trailing 21-1after a touchdown catch by McCray, the Racers extended their lead to 28-10 going into the half.

 Murray State began the second half with the ball and wasted no time making reservations for the end zone by going 97 yards for the score. The touchdown appeared to have the Racers cruising to a blowout victory,however, Georgia State made a serious comeback attempt in the third quarter. "In that third quarter we were coming together, that was probably the best we've played all year," Danny Williams said. After replacing Drew Little for one play, Kelton Hill uncorked a 43-yard touchdown pass to Danny Williams to pull Georgia State back within 18. On the next possession, Little would lead the Panthers deep into Murray State territory before Russell made it a two possession game witha short touchdown run to make t  score 35-24. The Panthers next drive stalled and Benvenuto missed a short field goal with eight minutes remaining to take all of the air out of the Panthers comeback attempt. Brockman slammed the door shut on a potential Georgia State comeback by throwing his fourth touchdown pass of the afternoon and gave the Racers a 42-24 lead. "The team was ready to come back, which we did, but we didn't sustain," Curry said. "You can't just  come out and have a burst by throwing a couple of touchdowns. You have to keep fighting and we should have been able to keep scoring." In the process, Murray State became the fourth consecutive opponent to eclipse the 40-point mark against the Panthers defense. Murray State also became the latest offense to shred the Panthers 3-4 defense.