Chandler Rogers vs Georgia State 2021
Ty Hundley / ULM Football Creative
55
Winner Georgia St. GST 2-4 , 1-1
21
ULM ULM 2-3 , 1-2
Winner
Georgia St. GST
2-4 , 1-1
55
Final
21
ULM ULM
2-3 , 1-2
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
GST Georgia St. 7 21 14 13 55
ULM ULM 7 0 7 7 21

Game Recap: Football |

ULM Suffers Home Loss to Georgia State

By ULMWarhawks.com Online Columnist Paul Letlow

MONROE, La.  – ULM scored first Saturday night but the good times didn't last long against Georgia State.

After spotting the home team a touchdown, the Panthers responded with 35 unanswered points at Malone Stadium to pull away in a 55-21 win over the Warhawks.

"We're not going to jump off the cliff," ULM coach Terry Bowden said. "Anybody that's been in this business as long as I have, you have to respond to things like that. We will. We figured there may be some stumbles in this journey and that was a stumble right there."

GSU (2-4, 1-1 Sun Belt) rushed for 326 yards and quarterback Darren Grainger had a hand in five touchdowns, with four passing and one on the ground. The Panthers accumulated 572 yards on 87 plays with 39 first downs.

The loss was a total team effort. ULM (2-3, 1-2 Sun Belt) couldn't slow the Panthers defensively, didn't muster a consistent offense and was penalized nine times for 92 yards. The Warhawks missed their only field-goal attempt and lost a fumble.

"Everybody gets a little bit of blame for that one, offensively, defensively and the kicking game" Bowden said. "As the head coach, I have to assume responsibility for our guys being ready to play and having things they can do successfully. We weren't very good on offense, or defense or the kicking game."

ULM managed 374 yards total offense with 21 first downs while punting five times. Making his second start, quarterback Chandler Rogers completed 15-of-23 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 72 yards on 14 attempts.

ULM took a 7-0 lead with 9:35 left in the first quarter as Rogers threw his first career touchdown pass. Rogers connected with tight end Zach Rasmussen for 25 yards to finish a quick six-play, 97-yard drive that burned only 1:44 off the clock.

After a sluggish opening drive, GSU responded to ULM's touchdown with a 10-play, 75-yard scoring drive of its own. Jamyest Williams punched in a 1-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 7-7 with 6:35 showing in the first.

The Panthers went ahead 14-7 with 13:28 left in the second quarter on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Grainger to tight end Aubry Payne. Already struggling to slow GSU's running game, ULM lost linebacker Quae Drake to a targeting penalty on the same play. Drake already had six tackles when he departed.

Grainger gave GSU a 21-7 lead with 4:23 left in the half with a 31-yard touchdown pass to Ja'Cyais Credle. The Panthers covered 76 yards over 14 plays on the drive.

On the second play of the ensuing drive, ULM's Andrew Henry fumbled after a big hit and GSU recovered at the Warhawks' 34. The Panthers would capitalize seven plays later as Tucker Gregg scored on a 2-yard run for a 28-7 lead with 1:33 to go before the half.

GSU extended the lead to 35-7 by scoring on the opening drive of the third quarter as Grainger threw his second touchdown pass to Payne from 9 yards out.

The Warhawks regained their offensive footing with a seven-play, 75-yard drive to get back into the end zone. Rogers threw an-18-yard touchdown pass to Zach Jackson for a 35-14 score with 9:10 to go in the third.

But the Panthers responded with another 20 unanswered points to widen the gap.

GSU extended the lead to 42-14 on Grainger's 1-yard touchdown run with 4:31 left in the third.

Grainger's fourth touchdown pass, a 38-yarder to Credle thrown into triple coverage early in the fourth quarter, pushed the lead to 49-14.

GSU back-up quarterback Cornelious Brown ran for a 26-yard touchdown with 11:48 left in the game for a 55-14 advantage.

ULM's third quarterback Jiya Wright provided a fourth-quarter highlight by directing a 12-play, 70-yard drive and tossing a 6-yard touchdown pass to Coby Cavil to cut the deficit to 55-21. Wright rushed for 41 yards on seven carries on ULM's march toward the end zone.

"We're all in this together," Bowden said. "I'll stay up all night and all morning if they will. We'll all work as hard as we can."

Crown royale: Four players were ejected for targeting over the course of the game. ULM lost linebackers Quae Drake and Ja'Cquez Williams while GSU saw safety Keon Carter disqualified in the first quarter for targeting ULM quarterback Chandler Rogers. The Panthers also lost defensive end Hardick Willis on a targeting call in the second quarter.

Enemy lines: Grainger completed 18-of-25 passes for 230 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 84 yards and a score on 12 attempts. Credle caught seven passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns.

Good call: Facing a third-and-12 from the ULM 43, Rogers connected with Boogie Knight for a 40-yard pass play down to the GSU 17, setting up a second touchdown for the Warhawks in the third quarter.

Up next: ULM plays Liberty at Malone Stadium on Oct. 16 in a non-conference game. Kickoff is 6 p.m.

Tail feathers: L Club Hall of Fame receiver Tag Rome served as honorary captain for the game. Rome also handled his usual sideline reporter duties for the radio broadcast. … GSU rushed for 129 yards on 18 carries in the first quarter. … GSU came in averaging 302.3 yards rushing in its last four games against ULM. … GSU took a 4-3 lead in the series vs. ULM.  … Safety Jabari Johnson led the ULM defense with 12 tackles. Linebacker Traveion Webster added 10 stops.
 
 
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