Dec 19, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; San Jose State Spartans quarterback Kenny Potter (5) throws the ball against the Georgia State Panthers during the second quarter in the 2015 Cure Bowl at Citrus Bowl Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
ORLANDO, Fla. — San Jose State rode the fourth-quarter magic of quarterback Kenny Potter to defeat Georgia State 27-16 on Saturday in the inaugural Auto Nation Cure Bowl.
Potter’s 42-yard touchdown run put the Spartans ahead with 9;15 remaining and he hit tight end Josh Oliver with a 1-yard scoring pass on third-and-goal to seal the game with 2:40 left.
Potter completed 10 of 19 passes for 89 yards and his 15th TD pass this season. It was the first touchdown catch this season for Oliver.
Senior running back Tyler Ervin helped Potter and San Jose State’s offense control the game, running for 132 yards on 30 carries. He scored on an 85-yard punt return in the first half.
Panthers quarterback Nick Arbuckle completed 14 of 29 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns, but couldn’t help his team convert enough third-down possessions to keep pace with the Spartans (6-7).
Georgia State (6-7) led only once – 16-13 – after capitalizing on a botched punt attempt by San Jose State. The Panthers’ Ryan DiSalvo flew his snap over the head of punter Michael Carrizosa while Carrizosa was stationed at the back side of the end zone. It was DiSalvo’s first bad snap of the season and the resulting safety cut Georgia State’s deficit to 13-9.
The Panthers took the ensuing free kick back to the Spartans’ 36-yard line and needed four plays to get the go-ahead touchdown. Arbuckle threw a swing pass to Todd Boyd, who dodged one tackler and outran the rest of the San Jose State secondary into the end zone for a 19-yard scoring play.
The Spartans came right back with Potter and Ervin combining to run them back into the lead. Ervin got the 66-yard drive off to a good start with a 20-yard dash up the middle. Two plays later, Potter was flushed from the pocket and took off right down the middle of the field for a 42-yard scoring run.
Georgia State failed to convert a fourth-and-one from its own 49 on the next possession and Potter led San Jose State down for the clinching touchdown.
The two offenses combined for all of 79 yards in a first quarter devoid of action.
The Spartans finally got something going, but a 14-play, 75-yard drive stalled at the Panthers’ 2-yard line. Austin Lopez delivered an 18-yard field goal with 11 minutes left in the second quarter for the first points of the game.
Ervin made it 10-0 when he fielded a punt on his own 15-yard line and weaved his way past slow-footed Georgia State defenders for an 85-yard touchdown return.
That put some hurry-up in the Panthers’ offense, which had just 36 yards and one first down on its first three possessions. Georgia State’s offensive line gave Arbuckle some time and he made the most of it, hitting tight end Ari Werts with passes of 20 and 29 yards to breathe some life into his teammates.
That set up a 38-yard scoring toss to Donovan Harden on a perfectly executed wheel route. The extra point cut the Panthers’ deficit to 10-7.
San Jose State thought it would go in ahead 17-7 at halftime after wide receiver Tim Crawley plucked a ‘Hail Mary’ pass from Potter out of the air and tumbled into the end zone as the half ended. However, the 46-yard scoring play was called back because of a chop block and the half ended 10-7.
NOTES: San Jose State RB Tyler Ervin broke a pair of school records. His 132 yards gave him 1,601 this season, breaking Deonce Whitaker’s record of 1,577 set in 200. His 85-yard punt return for a touchdown helped him break the school’s single-season all-purpose yards record of 2,513 set in 1990 by Sheldon Canley. … San Jose State qualified for the bowl game with its academic record, not its football record. The Spartans had one of the top five Academic Progress Report scores in the country among teams with five wins that included Nebraska, Missouri and Minnesota. Missouri declined to participate in a bowl and the other accepted. “I think post-season play is a reward for doing things the right way,” coach Ron Caragher said. “Why should it just be limited to your record? We had five wins a couple of games that were really close. Our team has been competitive.” … Players were injured on three consecutive plays in the first half and each appeared to happen after their footing appeared to get stuck in the artificial surface. Georgia State DE Carnell Hopson left with a leg injury, San Jose State OL Chris Gonzalez went down with a knee injury and Spartans TE Billy Freeman fell immediately after catching a 5-yard pass. Freeman left with a foot injury and didn’t return. Hopson and Gonzalez both sat out two possessions, then returned to the game.
