Georgia State Panthers Cure Bowl loss still a big step for a small program

The Georgia State Panthers played in their first ever bowl game, the inaugural edition of the AutoNation Cure Bowl, and playing in that game was a huge step for a fledgling program.

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Georgia State went down in their program’s first bowl appearance, a 27-16 loss to the San Jose State Spartans in the inaugural AutoNation Cure Bowl in Orlando, Florida.

No, it wasn’t USC or UCLA, but this was a seasoned program who had been playing ball since 1892, and who had a 6-3 bowl record coming into the game (an actual bowl track record). The Panthers were just happy to be here.

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Many of you outside Atlanta probably don’t know where or what Georgia State University is, or you get it confused with the University of Georgia, or even Georgia Southern University (for the record, Georgia Southern folks prefer not being called GSU).

The once inner-city commuter university in downtown Atlanta has grown into a full-blown urban campus, complete with dormitories, athletic buildings and fields, and as of 2010…a football program.

That’s right, a team who just competed in a postseason FBS bowl game has only been in existence for six seasons, and the first three of those were spent at the FCS level where they declined from six, to three, and then just one win in 2012 before deciding to make the move up to the FBS level.

Most programs wait until they are showing signs of improving. Georgia State threw caution to the wind and said “Just one win? Why not. Let’s make this harder on ourselves!”

But this odd tale of football-backwardness was just beginning. When Trent Miles took over the coaching reins from the legendary Bill Curry in 2013, the Panthers were joining the Sun Belt Conference and had some incredibly tough opponents during that season, including West Virginia, Alabama and some of the better in-conference programs.

Hence, the 0-12 start to Miles’ career at Georgia State, and the feeling among fans and much of the Atlanta media that the program had leapt without looking and was in for some dismal times. 2014’s one-win season didn’t help to calm those fears, and there was a sense that the Panthers were doomed to be the butt of FBS jokes for quite a while.

Just one season removed from those two unbearable years, Georgia State found themselves actually playing football, and doing it well. Well enough to finish the 2015 season at 6-6 (including a win over the earlier-mentioned Georgia Southern) making them bowl eligible.

Dec 19, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Georgia State Panthers head coach Trent Miles reacts during the second half in the 2015 Cure Bowl against the San Jose State Spartans at Citrus Bowl Stadium. San Jose State won 27-16. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Yes, it was the Cure Bowl…a brand new entry to an overstuffed bowl schedule…but it was a bowl. It was a bright spot for a young program that had seen little but darkness during it’s formative years, and regardless of what bowl it was or who they were facing, it was a tremendous step for the Panthers.

In an era where the competitive nature of college football is at an all-time high, and in an area saturated with recruiting machines from the SEC and ACC, for Georgia State to be able to come this far this fast is impressive.

Make that, miraculous.

The Panthers finished the season at 6-7, but with nothing to hang their heads in shame about. They won three more games than neighboring Georgia Tech, and they convincingly beat a Georgia Southern team who came just short of toppling state power Georgia.

I’m sure new Georgia head coach Kirby Smart isn’t looking over his shoulder at the Panthers and thinking “hope we don’t end up with a home and home against those guys”, but the rest of the Sun Belt Conference should take notice that the kid who has only been on the block for three years has shed the 98-pound weakling label, and will not be a pushover anymore.

Good for Georgia State, and congratulations on a fantastic season, with bigger and better things hopefully to come.