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Georgia State Revisited: News and Notes
10/4/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
No. 18/18 Liberty wrapped up the non-conference portion of its schedule on Saturday with a 41-33 FBS win over Georgia State in the Georgia Dome.
Throughout the season, LibertyFlames.com will run a similar feature online each Sunday, spotlighting the notable accomplishments and numbers from the previous day's gridiron battle.
Interview with Defensive Coordinator Robert Wimberly:
Interview with Senior Quarterback Josh Woodrum:
Series with Georgia State:
• Following the win, Liberty now leads the series, 1-0
• Georgia State is the second of three first-time opponents on Liberty's 2015 schedule
• Joining Georgia State as first-time opponents for the Flames this year are Southern Illinois (Sept. 26) and Kennesaw State (Oct. 24)
• Liberty is now 2-0 all-time against Sun Belt Conference opponents
• Last year, Liberty knocked off Appalachian State, 55-48, in an overtime thriller at Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone, N.C.
Team Talking Points:
• The win marks Liberty's first road victory of 2015 and moves the Flames to 10-11 on the road in four seasons under Head Coach Turner Gill
• The Flames finished the game with a season-high 41 points and are now 9-1 all-time under Head Coach Turner Gill when scoring 40 or more points in a game
• The Flames finished the game with a season-high 502 total offensive yards on 82 plays, averaging a season-best 6.1 yards per play
• For the second week in a row, Liberty finished the game with 80-plus total offensive plays and the Flames are averaging 74.2 total offensive plays per game this season
• Liberty scored on seven of its 10 drives in the game against Georgia State, including touchdowns on five of its first seven drives
• Five of Liberty's 10 drives against Georgia State were for 10 or more plays and six of the Flames' 10 drives totaled 60 or more yards
• The Flames dominated the time of possession battle, finishing the game with a 27:06 TOP edge over Georgia State (43:33 to 16:27)
• The Flames have won the time of possession battle all five games in 2015 and currently rank No. 3 in the country in average time of possession (35:48)
• Liberty is now 17-4 all-time under Head Coach Turner Gill when the Flames win the time of possession battle
• The Flames rushed for a season-high 263 yards on 50 rushing attempts, averaging 5.3 yards per carry
• During Liberty's previous three games, the Flames rushed for a combined 251 yards on 105 carries (2.4 yards per carry)
• Liberty finished the game with five rushing touchdowns, matching the Flames' rushing touchdown total during the first four games of the 2015 season
• Liberty's five rushing touchdowns matches the Flames' second-highest total under Head Coach Turner Gill (rushed for five touchdowns in four games in 2013; rushed for seven touchdowns against PC in 2012)
• Liberty finished the game with 239 passing yards and enters Big South play as the No. 1 passing offense in the conference (257.2 yards per game)
• For the fourth game in a row, Liberty finished a contest without an interception and now Liberty ranks No. 6 in the country in fewest intercepted passes in 2015 (1)
• For the third time this year, Liberty finished a game with 20 or more first downs (24) and now ranks No. 18 in the country in first down offense (105 total first downs)
• Liberty finished the game with 10 rushing first downs and 11 passing first downs, marking the first time the Flames have finished with double digit rushing and passing first downs in a game since 2013 (sixth time overall under Head Coach Turner Gill)
• The Flames finished the game with nine third-down conversions, their second-highest total of the 2015 season (highest was 10 vs. Southern Illinois)
• Liberty set a new school record by converting on all four of its fourth-down conversion attempts (previous record was 3-of-3 against Charleston Southern in 1999, Elon in 1997 and Morehead State in 1980)
• Two of Liberty's fourth-down conversions came at the goal line where Desmond Rice was able to score on a pair of one-yard touchdown runs
• The Flames finished the game tying a season low with four penalties for 45 yards (also had four penalties for 26 yards against West Virginia)
• For the second time this season, Liberty did not allow a sack and the Flames are now averaging 1.80 sacks allowed per game
• The Flames finished the game with one turnover (fumble on their first drive) and now rank No. 14 in the country in fewest total turnovers (4)
• Liberty finished the game with 32 tackles, 26 of which were solo tackles
• Georgia State finished the game with 14 rushing attempts for 11 yards, marking the third opponent Liberty has held below 50 team rushing yards in 2015
• Following the road victory, Liberty now ranks No. 8 in the country in rushing defense (allowing 100.2 yards per game)
• Despite the lower rushing total, Georgia State finished the game with a red zone rushing touchdown, giving Liberty's opponents nine rushing touchdowns in the red zone this season
• Over 97 percent of Georgia State's offense came via its passing game, as Georgia State finished the game with 394 passing yards
• Georgia State made the most of its limited offensive plays in the game, as the Panthers averaged 9.1 yards per offensive play (43 plays for 405 yards)
• The Flames finished the game with three sacks for a loss of 32 yards
• Following the game, Liberty now leads the Big South and is ranked No. 6 nationally with 17 sacks
Notable Player Points:
• RB Desmond Rice finished the game with three rushing touchdowns, marking his fourth career game with three rushing touchdowns
• With his 87 rushing yards against Georgia State, RB Desmond Rice has exactly 1,500 career rushing yards
• RB D.J. Abnar finished the game with 88 rushing yards, bolstered by a career-long run of 67 yards
• With his 88 rushing yards against Georgia State, RB D.J. Abnar surpassed the 2,000 career rushing yard mark (2,057)
• Both RBs Desmond Rice and D.J. Abnar now have 23 career rushing touchdowns
• With his 88 rushing yards and 76 kickoff return yards, RB D.J. Abnar surpassed the 3,000 yard mark for career all-purpose yards (3,016)
• RB Todd Macon tied a career high with two rushing touchdowns against Georgia State (also had two rushing touchdowns against North Carolina in 2014)
• With RB Todd Macon's pair of rushing touchdowns against Georgia State, five of his seven career rushing touchdowns have been against FBS opponents
• QB Josh Woodrum finished the game with a season-high six rushing attempts for 44 yards
• QB Josh Woodrum had a 36-yard run against Georgia State, the second-longest rushing attempt of his career
• QB Josh Woodrum finished the game completing 78.1 percent of his passing attempts (25-of-32), marking the 11th time in his career he has completed 70 percent of his passing attempts in a game
• QB Josh Woodrum finished the game with 283 total offensive yards, becoming the first player in program history and third in Big South history with 9,000 career total offensive yards (9,159)
• QB Josh Woodrum has not thrown an interception in his last four games, the longest streak of his career (had a streak of three-consecutive games without an interception in 2013 and 2014)
• After missing last week's game at Southern Illinois, WR Darrin Peterson returned to lead the Flames with nine receptions for 89 yards
• With his 89 receiving yards against Georgia State, WR Darrin Peterson is now in sole possession of third place on Liberty's all-time career receptions list (171)
• WR Darrin Peterson (2,545 yards) moved within one yard of tying Kelvin Edwards for second place on Liberty's all-time career receiving yards list (2,546)
• WR Damien King finished the game with a career-high four receptions for 49 yards
• K John Lunsford moved into second place on Liberty's career scoring list with his two field goals and five extra points against Georgia State (259 career points scored)
• For the second week in a row, K John Lunsford knocked down a 50-plus yard field goal (56 yards) and now is 11-of-18 on 50-plus yard field goal attempts for his career
• With his 42 career field goals, K John Lunsford is now tied for third in Big South history
• LB Jimmy O'Grady led Liberty's limited defensive effort against Georgia State, finishing the game with five of Liberty's 32 total tackles
• All four of CB Tyrin Holloway's tackles were solo stops against Georgia State
• DE Chima Uzowihe added to his career leading sack total, finishing with an 11-yard sack against Georgia State to give him 23.5 career sacks
• DL Juwan Wells had his second sack of the year, a 16-yard stop on Georgia State's final drive of the game to force the Panthers into a third-and-26 situation
• CB Chris Turner recorded his second career interception against Georgia State, halting the Panther's final drive of the game when he picked off a deep sideline pass by Nick Arbuckle