Archive for September, 2012

Kelton Hill may have indicated that he wants another chance to play quarterback for Georgia State, a day after the Panthers were beaten 35-3 by William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va. to drop the team to 0-5 this year.

This tweet was sent from the account @KHILL4GSU Sunday morning: All I wanna do is play QB.

I’m trying to confirm if Hill sent the tweet, or if someone else sent it from his namesake account. The tweet has since been deleted.

If sent by Hill, the message continues a subtle  back and forth between the player and the coaches.

The week before the Tennessee game, Hill was moved from backup quarterback to defensive back. Hill indicated it was his decision because he said the quarterback shuffle going on between he and then-starter Ben McLane was holding back the offense.

Last week, after coach Bill Curry opened up the quarterback competition between McLane and Ronnie Bell, offensive coordinator John Bond was asked if he regretted the Hill move considering the offense …

Continue reading Tweet indicated Hill wants another shot to be GSU’s quarterback »

Here are a few notes, quotes and observations following Georgia State’s 35-3 loss to William and Mary on Saturday. (Note, this is an abbreviated version based off stories and releases; I wasn’t assigned to cover the game).

A few numbers to ponder

The Panthers committed seven turnovers.

William and Mary scored 28 points off those turnovers.

Ronnie Bell, making his first start, threw four interceptions and was sacked twice. He passed for 157 yards.

Bell is the fifth different starting quarterback coach Bill Curry has used in 27 games.

The Tribe rushed for 312 yards.

Donald Russell rushed for 107 yards, cracking the century mark for the second consecutive game.

Georgia State’s offense is now averaging 10 points and 287 yards per game.

Georgia State’s defense is now giving up an average of 38.4 points and 460 yards per game.

Quotes after the game

Transcript provided by Georgia State

Bill Curry

“We work on ball security over and over and over, but if you turn the ball over that …

Continue reading Notes and observations about GSU’s loss at William and Mary »

Three storylines for Georgia State’s game at William and Mary on Saturday in Williamsburg, Va.

1. Can Georgia State’s offense find a spark? After another lackluster showing in last week’s 35-14 loss to Richmond, coach Bill Curry reopened the quarterback competition between Ben McLane, who started the first four games, and Ronnie Bell. The offense has averaged 297 yards and 11.8 points per game. But the quarterbacks, who haven’t been as accurate as expected, aren’t entirely to blame. The offensive line had pass-blocking issues early, and the wide receivers have had trouble with consistency. Expect both quarterbacks to get playing time as offensive coordinator John Bond looks for someone who can the offense’s luck around.

2. Can the defense rebound? After giving up 28 points in the first half of last week’s loss, the Panthers allowed one more touchdown for the best two-quarter stretch they’ve had this season. But like the offense, the defense failed to make plays …

Continue reading Previewing Georgia State vs. William and Mary »

Georgia State’s football coaches are trying everything they can to get the good results they are seeing on the practice field to happen during the games. So far, nothing has worked. The team is 0-4 and will face winless William and Mary on Saturday in Williamsburg, Va.

However, coach Bill Curry and his players recognize that they can’t keep doing the same thing and expect different results.

“… We’ve got to activate that talent and that’s significant,” Curry said.

Everything is being scrutinized. The biggest change this week was the opening of the quarterback competition in an attempt to jump-start a sputtering offense. A unit that is efficient in practice isn’t producing the same results in games. The Panthers have averaged 11.8 points and 297.2 yards per game.

Curry and offensive coordinator John Bond said it’s not fair to pin all the responsibility on redshirt freshman quarterback Ben McLane. He is trying to overcome his experience, and his teammates haven’t …

Continue reading Georgia State trying everything to get first win »

Georgia State’s defensive line and linebackers are beat up heading into Saturday’s game at William and Mary.

The line, already thin with the loss of David Huey and the NCAA ruling that Nermin Delic is ineligible to play this year, may be without defensive tackle Joe Lockley, who suffered a groin injury in last week’s loss to Richmond.

The linebackers were without Mark Hogan (shoulder) last week. He didn’t practice Sunday, had an MRI Tuesday and was able to participate in some aspects of practice Wednesday. He is questionable. Jarrell Robinson, who started his first game of the season against the Spiders, was already fighting through injuries. He is probable to face the Tribe.

Defensive coordinator Anthony Midget said a trio of underclassmen, Jon Marshall Sauls, Chris Russo and Marcus Stetzer, will back up Terrance Woodard and Theo Agnew at defensive tackle.

“It’s what we have, we’ve just got to keep rolling and deal with it,” Midget said.

Injuries do present opportunities and …

Continue reading Defense is beat up; Bell ready to go if needed for Georgia State »

Georgia State’s football program has fallen behind other recent start-up programs in more than wins and losses. The Panthers trail in average home attendance, season-ticket sales and student attendance.

Playing its third season of football, Georgia State has averaged 13,298 fans this season through three home dates, punctuated by the program-worst 9,476 who showed up to watch Saturday’s loss to Richmond at the Georgia Dome. That average trails:

• Texas-San Antonio, in its second season, by almost 15,000 per game;
• Old Dominion, in its fourth season, by almost 7,000; and
• South Alabama, in its fourth season, by almost 3,000.

Not coincidentally, Georgia State’s attendance has declined as losses have mounted. The Panthers have lost their four games this season and 12 of their past 15, underlining the issues that a school with an enrollment of 32,000 can have trying to attract interest in a team that’s not winning.

“Our athletics department is working hard to engage fans …

Continue reading Winless Georgia State also falling behind in turnstiles »

Georgia State coach Bill Curry said they are opening up the quarterback competition between Ben McLane and Ronnie Bell after the team lost its fourth consecutive game on Saturday, 35-14 to Richmond.

Curry said the starter for Saturday’s game at William and Mary will be a game-time decision.

McLane, a redshirt freshman, has started the first four games but the team has struggled. The Panthers are averaging 11.8 points and 297.2 yards per game this season.

McLane is completing 49 percent of his pass attempts — far below the 65 percent Curry said he wanted to see — and 124 yards per game.

“We do well for a while on offense and then we get stopped,” Curry said. He compared the performance of the offense to a tennis player that loses because of mistakes. “We make too many unforced errors.”

Bell, also a redshirt freshman, is completing 57.1 percent of his passes and is averaging 98 yards per game this season. He has played in two games, mostly in the second half in which the …

Continue reading Georgia State opens up quarterback competition »

Georgia State was beaten 35-14 by Richmond on Saturday at the Georgia Dome.

The loss dropped the team to 0-4 this season.

It was played in front of the smallest crowd in program history: 9,476.

As for the Panthers’ performance, the loss felt more like the one at Tennessee, in which the team showed some sparks of progress, rather than the losses at South Carolina State and Texas-San Antonio.

But, as noted in the game story you can click on above, the team simply wasn’t consistent enough to give itself a chance to win, as coach Bill Curry noted in his press conference after the game.

A few numbers to ponder

The Panthers’ defense “held” the Spiders to 398, almost 100 less than the defense was allowing.

However, the Spiders converted 7 of their 14 third downs.

The Panthers were 1 of 4 on fourth downs.

The Panthers had 0 sacks, continuing the season-long issue.

The Spiders had 0 sacks in another sign the offensive line is improving.

The Panthers rushed for 159 yards, including 119 …

Continue reading Notes, quotes and observations after Georgia State’s loss to Richmond »

If this was Georgia State’s introduction to the Colonial Athletic Association football, its goodbye may not come soon enough.

Playing its first conference game, the Panthers were throttled by Richmond 35-14 on Saturday in the Georgia Dome in front of 9,476 attendees. It was the smallest crowd in the program’s three-year history, breaking the previous mark set last year against Murray State by almost 1,500.

Georgia State will face seven more opponents in the CAA before it begins playing in the Sun Belt next year. Of course, because of the vagaries of the NCAA rules as they relate to the team’s move to the FBS level, the Panthers are still technically 0-0 in the conference. But it does count in the overall record, dropping the Panthers to 0-4 this season and losers of 12 of their past 15 games.

The Panthers didn’t go down without a fight. Running back Donald Russell rushed for more than 100 yards for the third time in his GSU career, capping the day with the team’s last …

Continue reading Georgia State loses to Richmond in front of smallest crowd in program’s history »

Playing football in the Colonial Athletic Association is something Georgia State coach Bill Curry said he has looked forward to.

He will get his chance when the Panthers host Richmond in the first conference game in school history. Of course, this is also their only season in the CAA. Georgia State is in the first year of a two-year transition to FBS.

“I was and am honored to have a chance to coach in this league,” said Curry, who has coached in the ACC and SEC. “Some of the greatest teams and coaches in college football history have been in the CAA. Some of the guys in the league are doing as good a coaching job as is being done anywhere.”

Four teams from the conference have won national championships, and three others have played for one in the past nine years. The Spiders defeated Montana to win the title in 2008.

“At least we get to play this one year and see if we can’t get our team to compete at the level the CAA demands,” Curry said. “That’s what we are after. We want …

Continue reading Georgia State readies for CAA »