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Defense shines, No. 4 Georgia prevails 19-13 vs Texas A&M
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) No. 4 Georgia is still on course to make a run at the College Football Playoff.
No thanks to the offense.
The No. 4 Bulldogs managed only one touchdown Saturday, but Rodrigo Blankenship booted four field goals and the defense stymied 24th-ranked Texas A&M for a lackluster 19-13 victory.
Georgia (10-1, 7-1 Southeastern Conference, No. 4 CFP) wrapped up the league schedule with its fifth straight victory, but it was a struggle all the way.
On a wet day between the hedges, the Bulldogs managed only 260 total yards and didn't really seal the victory until D'Andre Swift broke off an 11-yard run on third-and-1 with 2 1/2 minutes remaining.
''No bones about it, we've got to improve,'' coach Kirby Smart said. ''There were things tonight that we missed that were there. That's the frustrating part.''
While the Bulldogs struggled offensively, the defense turned in another dominating performance until the closing minutes, when fatigue set in and the unit had to get by without top cornerback Eric Stokes, who left with an undisclosed injury.
His backup, freshman Tyrique Stevenson, knocked away a pass that forced the Aggies to punt with 4:21 remaining.
They never got it back.
''Those guys are relentless,'' said Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm, who had another tough game. ''I'm really thankful they're on our team.''
Texas A&M (7-4, 4-3) was held to just minus-1 yards rushing and 274 yards overall, one week after piling up 319 yards on the ground in a rout of South Carolina.
In his final game at Sanford Stadium, Blankenship connected on field goals of 41, 49, 37 and 31 yards to become Georgia's career scoring leader with 418 points. He passed Marshall Morgan (407), Billy Bennett (409) and previous leader Blair Walsh (412).
''The history of great kickers that Georgia's had,'' said Blankenship, who gained notoriety for his thick goggles but will be remembered for his uncanny accuracy. ''Just to be among the ranks of those guys is really an honor.''
Blankenship's performance was especially impressive in the sloppy conditions. His 49-yarder came when the rain was at its heaviest.
''It was straight down the middle,'' teammate Richard LeCounte marveled. ''That's special.''
Athens was hit by storms before the game, and another line rolled through in the second quarter, keeping famed mascot Uga X confined to his doghouse.
Then, suddenly, the showers cleared.
So did the cloud over the Georgia offense.
Just after sun broke through the clouds, bathing the towering north stands in light, freshman George Pickens slipped free down the right sideline and hauled in a 16-yard pass from Fromm, pushing the Bulldogs to a 13-3 lead at halftime.
It would be Georgia's only trip to the end zone.
The Bulldogs kept settling for field goals, and Texas A&M finally produced its lone TD of the game. Going 75 yards in 10 plays, the Aggies scored on Kellen Mond's 19-yard touchdown pass to Jhamon Ausbon with 11:16 remaining.
They got no closer.
''I think we showed a lot of guts,'' coach Jimbo Fisher said. ''Unfortunately, there are no moral victories. We're not here for moral victories. We played a great football team very well, but we've got to find that last 2 inches at the top of the mountain.''
FROMM VS SWIFT
Georgia's offensive frustration was epitomized when Fromm failed to audible out of a blitz in the closing minutes and Swift was thrown for a 2-yard loss.
The cameras caught Swift yelling at his quarterback, though everyone shrugged off the incident after the game.
''That's just two competitors who want to compete,'' Fromm said. Added Swift: ''We're always cool. That's football. Nothing is ever going to come between us.''
What someone asked Smart about the dust-up between two of his biggest stars, the coach said, ''It wasn't a dust-up. That's love. That's passion. It was a situation where we were milking the clock, and A&M disguised a blitz and Jake didn't get out of it.''
THE TAKEAWAY
Texas A&M: The Aggies had another chance to prove they can compete with the nation's top teams. Again, they came up short. All four of their losses have been to teams that were ranked in the Top 10 at the time of the game.
Georgia: It's difficult to envision the Bulldogs reaching the four-team playoff with the way their offense is playing. Fromm's struggles are especially concerning. The junior quarterback was 11 of 23 for 163 yards, the third straight game he has failed to complete even 50 percent of his passes. But Swift had some very impressive runs, finishing with 103 yards on 19 carries. Overall, however, the Bulldogs were held to a season-low 97 yards rushing.
UP NEXT
Texas A&M: Completes its season-ending gauntlet by traveling to Baton Rouge to take on No. 1 LSU - the fifth Top 10 opponent the Aggies have faced this season.
Georgia: Makes the short trip to Atlanta for its ''Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate'' rivalry game against Georgia Tech (3-8) to end the regular season. The Bulldogs will be heavily favored to beat the Yellow Jackets for the third year in a row and 16th time in their last 19 meetings.
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Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 His work can be found at https://apnews.com
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More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25
Copyright 2019 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.
Team Stats | ||
---|---|---|
1st Downs | 16 | 12 |
Rushing | 1 | 6 |
Passing | 14 | 6 |
Penalty | 1 | 0 |
3rd Down Conv | 4-15 | 5-15 |
4th Down Conv | 0-1 | 0-0 |
Total Net Yards | 258 | 242 |
Total Plays | 62 | 59 |
Avg Gain | 4.2 | 4.1 |
Net Yards Rushing | -1 | 97 |
Rush Attempts | 20 | 36 |
Avg Rush Yards | -0.1 | 2.7 |
Yards Passing | 275 | 163 |
Comp. - Att. | 25-42 | 11-23 |
Yards Per Pass | 6.2 | 6.3 |
Penalties - Yards | 7-45 | 2-30 |
Touchdowns | 1 | 1 |
Rushing TDs | 0 | 0 |
Passing TDs | 1 | 1 |
Other | 0 | 0 |
Turnovers | 1 | 0 |
Fumbles - Lost | 2-1 | 1-0 |
Int. Thrown | 0 | 0 |
Punts - Avg | 7-42.6 | 6-44.7 |
Return Yards | 28 | 59 |
Punts - Returns | 2-14 | 1-18 |
Kickoffs - Returns | 1-14 | 1-41 |
Int. - Returns | 0-0 | 0-0 |
Safeties | 0 | 0 |
Passing | CP/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
K. Mond
11 QB
|
K. Mond | 25/42 | 275 | 1 | 0 |
Rushing | ATT | YDS | TD | LG |
I. Spiller
28 RB
|
I. Spiller | 11 | 7 | 0 | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||
K. Mond
11 QB
|
K. Mond | 9 | -8 | 0 | 9 |
Receiving | TAR | REC | YDS | TD | LG |
J. Ausbon
2 WR
|
J. Ausbon | 12 | 9 | 96 | 1 | 23 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Q. Davis
1 WR
|
Q. Davis | 8 | 5 | 64 | 0 | 24 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
K. Rogers
13 WR
|
K. Rogers | 8 | 3 | 48 | 0 | 23 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
J. Wydermyer
85 TE
|
J. Wydermyer | 6 | 4 | 40 | 0 | 20 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
R. Renick
46 TE
|
R. Renick | 1 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
I. Spiller
28 RB
|
I. Spiller | 6 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
C. Baldree
43 FB
|
C. Baldree | 1 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
Defense | T-A | SACK | INT |
A. Hines III
19 LB
|
A. Hines III | 7-0 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
D. Richardson
26 DB
|
D. Richardson | 5-3 | 0.5 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
L. O'Neal Jr.
9 DB
|
L. O'Neal Jr. | 5-1 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
D. Leal
8 DL
|
D. Leal | 4-1 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
B. Brown III
5 DL
|
B. Brown III | 3-0 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Bu. Johnson
1 LB
|
Bu. Johnson | 3-0 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
J. Peevy
92 DL
|
J. Peevy | 3-0 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
C. Oliver
21 DB
|
C. Oliver | 2-1 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
J. Madubuike
52 DL
|
J. Madubuike | 2-1 | 0.5 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
A. White Jr.
32 LB
|
A. White Jr. | 1-0 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
D. Renfro
29 DB
|
D. Renfro | 1-1 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
M. Jones
10 DB
|
M. Jones | 1-0 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
M. Clemons
91 DL
|
M. Clemons | 1-0 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
A. Hansford
33 LB
|
A. Hansford | 1-0 | 1.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
T. Fuller
28 DB
|
T. Fuller | 0-1 | 0.0 | 0 |
Kicking | FG | LG | XP | PTS |
S. Small
47 K
|
S. Small | 2/2 | 37 | 1/1 | 7 |
Punting | NO | AVG | IN20 | LG |
B. Mann
34 P
|
B. Mann | 7 | 42.6 | 2 | 59 |
Kickoff Returns | NO | AVG | LG | TD |
J. Preston
5 WR
|
J. Preston | 1 | 14.0 | 14 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
C. Chattman
22 DB
|
C. Chattman | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
Passing | CP/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
J. Fromm
11 QB
|
J. Fromm | 11/23 | 163 | 1 | 0 |
Rushing | ATT | YDS | TD | LG |
D. Swift
7 RB
|
D. Swift | 19 | 103 | 0 | 23 | ||||||||||||||||||||
B. Herrien
35 RB
|
B. Herrien | 10 | 30 | 0 | 13 | ||||||||||||||||||||
K. Jackson
10 WR
|
K. Jackson | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
J. Fromm
11 QB
|
J. Fromm | 3 | -20 | 0 | -1 |
Receiving | TAR | REC | YDS | TD | LG |
G. Pickens
1 WR
|
G. Pickens | 5 | 2 | 57 | 1 | 41 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
D. Swift
7 RB
|
D. Swift | 4 | 4 | 29 | 0 | 20 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
T. Simmons
87 WR
|
T. Simmons | 1 | 1 | 27 | 0 | 27 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
K. Jackson
10 WR
|
K. Jackson | 2 | 1 | 22 | 0 | 22 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
D. Blaylock
8 WR
|
D. Blaylock | 2 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
D. Robertson
16 WR
|
D. Robertson | 5 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
C. Woerner
89 TE
|
C. Woerner | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
B. Herrien
35 RB
|
B. Herrien | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
E. Wolf
17 TE
|
E. Wolf | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Defense | T-A | SACK | INT |
R. LeCounte
2 DB
|
R. LeCounte | 6-1 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
T. Campbell
3 DB
|
T. Campbell | 5-0 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
M. Rice
32 LB
|
M. Rice | 5-0 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
T. Crowder
30 LB
|
T. Crowder | 3-1 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
D. Daniel
14 DB
|
D. Daniel | 3-0 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
D. Wilson
1 DB
|
D. Wilson | 2-0 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
M. Webb
23 DB
|
M. Webb | 2-1 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
T. Clark
52 DL
|
T. Clark | 2-0 | 1.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
J. Reed
20 DB
|
J. Reed | 2-1 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
A. Ojulari
13 LB
|
A. Ojulari | 2-0 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
D. Wyatt
95 DL
|
D. Wyatt | 2-0 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
J. Davis
99 DL
|
J. Davis | 2-0 | 1.0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
J. Wilson
46 DB
|