SEATTLE — A strong first half staked Georgia State to a 14-0 lead at Washington, but the undefeated Huskies scored 45 unanswered points in the second half en route to a 45-14 victory Saturday afternoon at Husky Stadium.
Georgia State took a 14-0 lead into the locker room after quarterback Nick Arbuckle passed for 184 and two touchdowns in the first half.
With the Panthers still (1-3) leading 14-7 late in the third quarter, Washington (4-0) tied the game on Cyler Miles’ 10-yard touchdown pass to Kendyl Taylor.
On the first play of Georgia State’s ensuing possession, Arbuckle hit Avery Sweeting for a short gain. Sweeting appeared to be down at the GSU 25, but the play was ruled a fumble and Washington took over. Four plays later, Miles found Kasen Williams for a 3-yard touchdown, giving the Huskies a 21-14 lead with 2:25 to play in the third quarter.
Georgia State dominated the first half, outgaining the Huskies 231-73. The Panthers ran 48 plays to 27 for Washington and controlled the clock for 21 minutes.
After a scoreless first half, Arbuckle found tight end Keith Rucker for a 2-yard touchdown early in the second quarter and then hit Robert Davis for a 9-yard scoring pass with 47 seconds left in the half. The Davis touchdown capped a 13-play, 91-yard drive that chewed up 6:31 on the clock.
Washington came alive in the third quarter, aided by excellent field position provided by Dante Pettis, who returned four punts for 98 yards. The Huskies started four third-quarter possessions in Georgia State territory.
Arbuckle completed 21-of-33 passes for 194 yards but threw three interceptions, including one tipped ball that was returned by John Timu 35 yards for a score.
Wide receiver Donovan Harden had a season-high seven catches for 64 yards, while Sweeting, Robert Davis and LynQuez Blair had four catches each.
Running back Kyler Neal carried 16 times for 57 yards but missed much of the second half due to injury.
Junior linebacker Joseph Peterson led the Panthers with 14 tackles, including two sacks. Making his first career start at linebacker, Trey Payne had a career-high 13 tackles, one tackle for loss and a forced fumble.
Georgia State is off next week before returning to action with an Oct. 4 game at Sun Belt Conference foe UL Lafayette.
