MONTGOMERY, Al. – The slogan for the TaxAct Camellia Bowl is “History Made Here,” and the Georgia State Panthers did their part with a dominating 51-20 victory over Ball State on Christmas Day at the Cramton Bowl. The Panthers made history with their second straight bowl win and their school-record eighth victory of the season.
“Christmas is the happiest day of the year, and it certainly was for us today,” head coach Shawn Elliott said after leading his Panthers to their third bowl win in his fifth season at the helm.
Quarterback Darren Grainger was named the Bart Starr Most Valuable Player after accounting for four touchdowns. The junior from Conway, S.C., completed 15-of-19 passes for 203 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for a career-high 122 yards, including a 34-yard touchdown run.
Grainger’s rushing total put him over the 1,000-yard mark for his career, including his time at Furman.
Sixth-year senior tight end Aubry Payne had a career-high eight receptions for 109 yards and two touchdowns. The Georgia State defense also scored twice—another first in program history—on Javon Denis’ 37-yard fumble return and Antavious Lane’s 55-yard interception return.
Leading 20-13 at the half, Georgia State blew the game open with 28 straight points in the third quarter for their fourth straight win and seventh in the last eight games.
The first scoring drive of the second half took eight plays for 75 yards as Grainger hit Newton High School alum Robert Lewis from 10 yards out for the score. Lewis’ first career touchdown gave the Panthers a 27-13 advantage three minutes into the third quarter.
Grainger then broke the game open with a 34-yard touchdown run and then a 16-yard touchdown pass to Payne, putting the Panthers up 41-13 late in the third quarter.
On the final play of the quarter, Lane grabbed his school-record fifth interception of the season and returned it 55 yards for a touchdown and to give the Panthers a commanding 48-13 lead.
Noel Ruiz, celebrating his birthday on Christmas Day, added a 45-yard field goal in the third quarter for 51 points, Georgia State’s highest total in a bowl game. Ruiz converted two more field goals earlier in the contest, too.
From there, the Panthers were on cruise control winning their second straight bowl game by 31 points.
