BOISE, Idaho – Utah State allowed 643 yards of offense, including 386 on the ground, as Georgia State posted a 45-22 win in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, held here on Saturday, Dec. 23, 2023.
Utah State, who won three of its final four games to get bowl eligible, finished with a 6-7 record for the second straight season. Georgia State snapped a five-game losing streak as it finished its season at 7-6.
Georgia State QB Darren Grainger was named the Most Valuable Player as he had 368 yards of total offense and accounted for five touchdowns as he was 19-of-22 passing for 257 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing for 111 yards on 24 carries and two more scores.
Freddie Brock led Georgia State's rushing attack as he gained 276 yards on 24 carries and scored one touchdown. The Panthers also had a 100-yard receiver in the contest as Cadarrius Thompson caught five passes for 117 yards and two scores.
Utah State finished with 346 yards as it passed for 188 and rushed for 158. However, 161 of those yards were gained in the first quarter as the Aggies managed just 185 yards and eight points over the final three quarters.
Senior WR Terrell Vaughn led Utah State with eight receptions for 86 yards and a touchdown, while junior WR Jalen Royals had three receptions for 57 yards and another score. Junior RB Davon Booth led the Aggies on the ground as he gained 71 yards on four carries and added one touchdown.
Royals scored Utah State's first touchdown of the game on a 35-yard pass from graduate junior QB Levi Williams in the first quarter to tie the game at 7-all. For Royals, it was his 15th touchdown reception of the year to set the single-season school record. The previous mark was set by Tracy Jenkins in 1990 with 14 touchdown catches.
Booth scored the Aggies second touchdown of the game on its next possession to tie the game at 14-14 as he raced 65 yards for the score, which is the longest scoring run by Utah State in bowl history. It was also a season-long run for Booth and USU.
Unfortunately for the Aggies, Georgia State scored the next 31 points to take a commanding 45-14 lead early in the fourth quarter. USU scored the final points of the game on a 2-yard pass from freshman QB
McCae Hillstead to Vaughn, followed by a successful two-point conversion as Hillstead connected with Royals in the back of the end zone.
Graduate senior ILB
MJ Tafisi Jr. recorded his school-record ninth-straight double-digit tackle outing as he had 11 stops. Tafisi finished the season with 142 tackles, which is tied for the ninth-most in a single game in school history.
Sophomore S
Ike Larsen tied his career high with 11 tackles for his fifth double-digit tackle outing of the season. And, sophomore S
Simeon Harris had a career-high 11 stops and his first-career fumble recovery. Junior CB
Jaiden Francois added a career-high nine tackles, which included a career-best 1.0 sacks and a career-high 2.0 tackles for loss, to go along with his first career forced fumble.
Overall, Utah State's defense recorded 5.0 sacks and 9.0 tackles for loss in the game, including a career-high 3.0 sacks by redshirt freshman DE
Paul Fitzgerald, which is tied for the most sacks in a bowl game in school history.
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