North Carolina A&T’s trip to Atlanta went wrong almost immediately. The Aggies lost starting quarterback Braxton Thomas to an injury in the first quarter, and the game got away from them from there in a 59-10 loss to Georgia State on Friday night at Center Parc Credit Union Stadium. A&T falls to 0-2 to open the season.

A Costly Injury Early

Thomas, who had just made his season debut a week earlier after missing all of last season and spring practice with an arm injury, attempted two passes before leaving the game. The injury occurred as he was hit during a rollout pass. Head coach Sean Gibbs said afterward that he did not have details on the severity. “I don’t know much about it. I just know they had to sit him out for something. I don’t know how significant it is right now, so I’m not going to speculate on that,” Gibbs said. “But it was significant enough for him not to come back in,” Gibbs added, saying the team expected to learn more by the end of the weekend.

Kevin White Steps In as the Deficit Grows

Backup quarterback Kevin White, last season’s starter, took over and finished 9 of 20 passing for 122 yards and a touchdown, a 61-yard strike to Amonte Rucker, while also carrying the ball 13 times for 27 yards. But by the time White settled in, Georgia State had already built a 21-0 lead. The Panthers led 35-7 at halftime and put up 24 more points in the third quarter alone. A&T’s only touchdown came on White’s pass to Rucker in the second quarter, and the Aggies added a 39-yard field goal from Asher Holland in the fourth quarter for the final margin.

Self-Inflicted Mistakes Piled Up

Gibbs was direct about where he placed the blame. “There wasn’t really a lot of positives, to be honest with you. Obviously they were the better football team tonight, but I felt like we could have played a lot better,” he said. “A lot of the issues were self-inflicted, and I keep preaching that we’ve got to stop doing that.” The numbers backed him up: A&T was penalized nine times for 90 yards, converted just 4 of 15 third downs, and allowed five sacks. Georgia State outgained the Aggies 563 total yards to 209 and finished with 284 rushing yards to A&T’s 84. A&T’s defense did force a Georgia State field goal on one red-zone trip and kept the Panthers without a turnover of their own, but could not slow an offense that scored on eight of its nine possessions before running out the clock in the fourth quarter.

Gibbs said the message to his team afterward was about response, not the scoreboard. “We’re better than that than we showed tonight. We’re not going to make excuses, no matter who we play,” he said. “We’ve got to find a way to regroup and get this thing back on track. We’re not done. It’s still a long season.”

What’s Next

A&T does not get a break in the schedule. Gibbs called next week’s trip to North Carolina Central “the biggest game of the year” for the Aggies, who will look to right the ship on the road against their rival on Sept. 12.