Wyoming tops Georgia St. in bowl

TUCSON, ARIZ.— A series of errors and poor defense on third downs cost Georgia State, as the Panthers fell to Wyoming 38-17 in the Arizona Bowl at Arizona Stadium on Tuesday.

Georgia State had a dropped pass on fourth down, an interception, a shanked punt, a roughing-the-kicker penalty and a missed tackle that resulted in the Cowboys building a 21-point lead midway through the third quarter. Wyoming was helped by converting nine of its first 12 third downs.

With the loss, its second loss in three bowl appearances, Georgia State finished 7-6 and missed a chance to set a school record for victories. The defeat was the team’s fourth in its past five games, coinciding with QB Dan Ellington suffering an ACL injury in the first half against Louisiana-Monroe on Nov. 9.

Tuesday’s defeat marked the end of the college careers of several key seniors, including Ellington, who passed for 156 yards with a touchdown and an inter

ception and rushed for 70 yards with a TD; running back Tra Barnett, who finished with 64 yards; offensive tackle Hunter Atkinson; and kicker Brandon Wright, who set a school record in the game. Wright’s 32nd career field goal, a 25-yarder to cut Wyoming’s lead to 17-10 with 9:31 remaining in the first half, broke Wil Lutz’s career

mark. Wright’s 83 points this season also set a school record.

The game set Georgia State’s rushing offense — led by Barnett, who surpassed 2,000 yards in his career this season to lead a group that averaged 245.2 yards per game — against Wyoming’s rushing defense, which allowed just 99.4 yards per game, sixth-fewest in FBS.

Because it was playing from behind, Georgia State didn’t get a chance to run the ball as frequently as it did during the season. The team finished with 199 rushing yards.

Wyoming’s Xazavian Valladay rushed for 204 yards, and the Cowboys finished with 290 rushing yards.

Georgia State led 7-0 in the first quarter after Ellington’s 4-yard TD run. Georgia State got its second touchdown in the third quarter when Ellington threw for a 44-yard TD to Cornelius McCoy.