Texas A&M
Georgia
Aggies Battle, Fall 19-13 to No. 4 Georgia
Nov 23, 2019 | Football
ATHENS, Ga. (AP)--George Pickens scored Georgia's only touchdown, Rodrigo Blankenship booted four field goals and the defense stymied Texas A&M, leading the No. 4 Bulldogs to a 19-13 victory over the 24th-ranked Aggies on Saturday.
Georgia (10-1, 7-1 Southeastern Conference, No. 4 CFP) wrapped up its conference schedule and stayed on course to make a run at the College Football Playoff.
While the Bulldogs struggled offensively, the defense turned in another dominating performance. 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.
But it was a struggle all the way for the Bulldogs, who managed only 260 total yards and didn't seal the victory under D'Andre Swift broke off an 11-yard run on third-and-1 with 2 1/2 minutes remaining.
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).
Athens was hit by heavy rain before the game, and another line of torrential storms struck again 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, Pickens slipped free along the right side of the end zone and hauled in a 16-yard pass from Jake Fromm, pushing the Bulldogs to a 13-3 lead at halftime.
It was not a sign of things to come.
Georgia kept settling for field goals until Texas A&M finally reached the end zone with their most impressive drive 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.
Postgame Notes
ABOUT THE GAME ---
- With the 19-13 loss to the No. 4 Bulldogs, the Aggies fell to 7-4 overall and 4-3 against SEC opponents. All four of Texas A&M's defeats this season have come against teams ranked in the top 15 of the current College Football Playoff ranking – No. 3 Clemson, No. 4 Georgia, No. 5 Alabama and No. 15 Auburn.
- Texas A&M was facing Georgia for the first time since joining the SEC in 2012, and it was the Aggies' first trip to Athens and Sanford Stadium since 1980.
MOND JOINS MANZIEL AS AGGIES' 7,000/1,000 QUARTERBACKS ---
Junior QB Kellen Mond joined 2012 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel as the only players in school history with more 7,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in their careers. With 275 passing and -8 rushing against the Bulldogs, Mond's career totals now stand at 7,192 passing and 1,276 rushing. Manziel, who electrified crowds from 2012-13, passed for 7,820 yards and rushed for 2,169 during his sublime career.
Among active QBs nationally, Mond joins Oklahoma's Jalen Hurts, Texas' Sam Ehlinger and Michigan State's Brian Lewerke as 7,000/1,000 signalcallers. Mond was already one of four Aggies to surpass the 8,000-yard plateau in total offense.
WYDERMEYER KEEPS PRODUCING ---
Freshman TE Jalen Wydermeyer continued to impress with four catches for 40 yards, including three that produced a first down. For the season, the amazing Wydermeyer has generated either a first down or a touchdown on 22 of his 28 catches. Wydermeyer already owns the freshman record for TE touchdown catches with six, which also ranks second among all Texas A&M tight ends (10 by Jace Sternberger in 2018).
AUSBON BECOME NINTH AGGIE WITH 60+ CATCHES IN A SEASON ---
Junior WR Jhamon Ausbon surpassed his season high with nine catches for 96 yards (previous high was 8 vs. Auburn), while also reaching the 60-catch plateau in season receptions. Ausbon is ninth player in school history to reach 60 catches in a season and his 63 grabs currently rank No. 12 in school annals.
NOTABLES ---
- DB Demani Richardson led the Aggies with eight tackles, marking the fourth game this season that the freshman has led or tied for the team lead in tackles.
- Sophomore PK Seth Small was perfect on two field goal attempts, raising his season total to 17-of-20 on FG attempts. Small is now seven points from becoming the 10th Aggie placekicker to hit the 200-point plateau in career points.
- Two of the Aggies' 16 first downs came via unlikely sources – walkon TE Ryan Renick and walkon FB Cagan Baldree.
- The Texas A&M defense forced an opponent punt on initial drive of the game for the fifth straight contest.
GAME CAPTAINS, 12thMAN ---
- Texas A&M's game captains junior LB Buddy Johnson, junior WR Jhamon Ausbon, senior P Braden Mann and senior OL Colton Prater. The Aggies won the toss and deferred their choice to the second half. Georgia received the opening kickoff.
- Junior LB Braden White, from Florence, Ala., was the Aggies' 12th Man for the 11th straight game.
