On its first trip to Georgia since 1980, No. 24 Texas A&M fell to No. 4 Georgia 19-13. Here’s what we learned.
Rushing has its worst game of the season
A&M struggled on the ground against the Bulldogs with a negative rushing total on Saturday. Only two players had carries in the game, with freshman running back Isaiah Spiller and junior quarterback Kellen Mond combining for minus-1 rushing yards. Spiller had seven yards on 11 carries, but Mond’s minus-8 rushing yards on nine carries left the Aggies relying on the pass.
“[Run defense is] what they do; they did a good job of it,” A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said. “They didn’t get to rush it too much either. Two good fronts and two good teams doing a good job in that regard. When two good football teams go at it sometimes that’s the way it’s played.”
Rainy day
On-and-off showers in the first half affected both teams’ production. In the first quarter, Georgia was 1-of-6 passing for seven yards, while A&M fared slightly better, going 4-of-6 for 38 yards. Both teams were in negative rushing yardage until their last drives of the first quarter. A&M managed just one yard on the ground in the first quarter, while Georgia had four rushing yards.
“It was hard to get our balance, for the receivers for sure,” junior wide receiver Jhamon Ausbon said.
Georgia’s big second quarter put game out of Aggies’ reach
The Bulldogs struggled in the first quarter, garnering only 11 yards of total offense. But by halftime, Georgia had 133 yards. After taking the lead with a field goal in the first quarter, the Bulldogs extended their lead to 13-3 with another field goal and a 16-yard touchdown pass to George Pickens. Georgia had three big catches on seven attempts for 65 yards through the air and 57 rushing yards on 10 carries in the second quarter. The defense held A&M to only 34 yards of offense in the second quarter, 44 through the air with a loss of 10 yards on the ground.
“At the end of the day you can’t let anything get you down,” sophomore linebacker Anthony Hines said. “While you’re in the game, you have to keep on playing. We just kept our heads down and tried to keep on grinding. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the outcome that we wanted.”