The Chippewas struggled out of the gate against the lowly Georgia State Panthers on Thursday night, but a 21 point 4th quarter was enough to earn the 27-6 victory. The CMU defense was able to dominate the Panther offense, sacking McLane 8 times and holding the offense to 61 yards. "We obviously struggled offensively tonight, we simply could not get anything going" said Carlson. "Coach Bryant and his defense played a damn good game and they are the reason we were able to get the victory." Bryant was pleased with his defense's effort. "For it being the first game, I don't know if we could have played any better. The boys worked hard all Summer for this and it definitely showed the hard work paid off. When your offense is struggling, it's nice to be able to go out there and help out your teammates and that's what we were able to do tonight."

The Panthers lead 6-0 after the 1st quarter, but two 2nd quarter field goals allowed the Chippewas to go into the half with the score tied 6-6. Both offenses continued to struggle as neither team could get on the scoreboard in the 3rd quarter. A Georgia St. turnover and some big punt returns provided the Chippewas a short field in the 4th quarter. Running Back Saylor Lavallii was able to find the endzone three times and allowed CMU to run away to a 27-6 victory. Lavallii finished with 89 yards on 21 carries and 3 TD's. He also caught 4 passes for 25 yards to lead the team.

It was Senior QB Cody Kater who got the starting nod tonight, but much like last season, he struggled to put together any offense. Kater finished the game 8/16 passing for 73 yards, 1 INT and was sacked 3 times. It was certainly not the type of performance Carlson wanted to see out of his QB. Kater and RS Sophomore Cooper Rush were neck and neck in the Summer, so it won't be surprising to see Rush get the start in week 2. If CMU wants to crash the BCS their QB play will need to be better. They simply can't rely on their defense to win them all of the games.

The Chippewas are 1-0 on the season and will travel to Lafayette, IN to face Purdue on Saturday.