Ellington's 5 TD passes rally Georgia State past Furman

ATLANTA -- Dan Ellington threw five touchdown passes and Georgia State rallied from a 17-point second-quarter deficit to defeat FCS-member Furman 48-42 on Saturday.

Ellington completed 29 of 37 passes for 362 yards and no interceptions. His passer rating was 205.2. Furman's Darren Grainger completed 16 of 25 for 323 yards with four TDs and no interceptions. His passer rating was 225.3

Both teams rushed for more than 200 yards and passed for more than 300 as they combined for 1,104 yards of offense.

Grainger threw his first two TD passes and Devin Wynn scored on the ground as the Paladins, ranked No. 11 in the FCS coaches' poll, took a 20-3 lead with 12:55 remaining in the second quarter.

Tra Barnett had an 18-yard TD run and Ellington threw his first TD pass of the game as Georgia State (2-0) closed to within 20-17 at halftime. Ellington threw three more TD passes in the third quarter and the Panthers led 38-28 heading to the fourth.

Ellington connected with Cornelius McCoy on a 44-yard TD throw and Georgia State added Brandon Wright's 38-yard field goal for a 48-35 lead with 7:35 remaining.

Grainger scored on a 12-yard run with 3:26 remaining, but Furman (1-1) went three-and-out on its only subsequent possession.