UGA's Stingy Defense Leads They Way
#4 Georgia Postgame Notes vs. 24 Texas A&M, Nov. 23, 2019
*Stingy Defense Leads They Way: Coming in today, Georgia led the SEC and ranked 2nd nationally in Scoring Defense, allowing just 10.5 points per game and third nationally in rushing defense (75.5 yards per game). After today’s 19-13 win, Georgia improves to 10-1 (7-1 SEC) and held the Aggies to 274 yards of total offense (-1 rushing, 275 passing) on 62 plays. It was the first time since 2011 when a team facing the Bulldogs was held to negative yards rushing. Florida finished with minus 19 in Georgia’s 24-20 win in Jacksonville in 2011.
​Georgia is one of three FBS teams (Clemson, Ohio State) to not allow more than 21 points in a game this season. The Aggies came in averaging 34 points a game and 434.3 yards a game of total offense (175 on the ground). Georgia led 3-0 after the first quarter. It was the 28thscoreless quarter by the Bulldog defense this year. On the opening drive of the 2ndhalf, Georgia forced a turnover on a strip by junior safety Richard LeCounte who also recovered the fumble at the TAMU 18. It led to a 37-yard field goal and a 16-3 edge. Later in the 3rdquarter, the Aggies went for it on 4th-and-1 from the UGA26 and were stopped. Opponents are 6-for-20 (30%) against the Bulldog on 4thdown this year. The Aggies cut it to 16-6 with a 35-yard field goal at the 4:14 mark in the 3rdquarter after having it 1st and 10 at the UGA12. TAMU got its first touchdown with 11:16 left in the contest to close the gap to 19-13, going 10 plays and 75 yards in 3:40.
Georgia’s leading tacklers today were LeCounte with seven along with Monty Rice and Tyson Campbell with five stops apiece. Senior Tyler Clark and sophomore Jordan Davis collected sacks.
*Blankenship Sets School Career Points Record: GraduatePK Rodrigo Blankenship had 13 points and now owns the school record for Career Points with 418 and that ranks second in SEC history (480 by PK Daniel Carlson, Auburn 2014-17). The field goals today covered 41,49,37 and 31 yards. This season, Blankenship is 23-for-26 in field goals including 7-for-9 from the 40-49 range. Also today, he had four touchbacks on five kickoffs. He made a 41-yard field goal for a 3-0 edge with 8:22 left in the first quarter. He added a 49-yarder with 11:36 left in the first half to make it 6-3 and then a PAT with 6:44 left in the half. He set the record with a 37-yarder early in the 3rdquarter for a 16-3 edge. To begin the fourth quarter, he hit a 31-yarder to make it 19-6. He tied his career high with four field goals in a game, the fourth time he’s done that.
*Fromm Directs Offense On Another Rainy Day: Junior QB Jake Fromm improved to 33-6 as a starter including 12-5 versus Top 25 teams in this his 39thconsecutive start. Georgia tallied 260 yards of offense on 59 plays. At the half, he was 4-for-13 for 72 yards and one touchdown and finished the day 11-for-23 for 163 yards and one TD. He directed the game-clinching drive, running out the final 4:26. In the first quarter, the Aggies had outgained Georgia 39-11, but the Bulldogs led 3-0. Fromm was 1-for-7 until midway through the 2ndquarter when he completed a 27-yarder to Tyler Simmons on a 3rd-and-9 in the 2ndquarter. Then, he followed it up with a 22-yard completion to Kearis Jackson. On the same drive on 3rd-and-11, he connected for a 16-yard TD to George Pickens, and after the PAT it was 13-3. Fromm now has 71 career TD passes, which ranks third in school history. Pickens has a team-high five TD catches on the year. The Bulldogs have won their last five games and have no turnovers in that span.
*Swift Rushing Up The Record Book: Junior D’Andre Swift tallied 103 yards on 19 carries for his ninth career game of 100+ yards. He moved up to seventh in Bulldog history for career rushing yards after a 27-yard run in the 2nd quarter. After today, he has 2,797 yards. Swift added four receptions for 29 yards. Senior Brian Herrien had a season-high 41-yard kickoff return that led to a go-ahead field goal in the first half. He finished the game with 30 ushing yards on 10 carries.
*Salute to the Seniors: The senior class closed out their Sanford Stadium career with a 19-13 win today over No. 24 Texas A&M to improve to 42-11. The 42 wins is tied for third most in school history with the 2004 (42-10) and 2018 (42-13) classes.
*A Look At Camarda: Sophomore Jake Camarda boomed punts of 54 and 52 yards in a rainy first quarter. He hast 18 punts of 50+ yards on the year. His fourth punt was a pooch of 27 yards, downed at the TAMU 9. He finished today with six punts for an 44.7 average with two going for 50+ and three Inside the 20. Coming in, he ranked second in SEC action with a 49.4 average.
*For Starters & Game Captains: Graduate DB Jake Reed now has a team-high 40 consecutive starts for the defense while junior QB Jake Fromm leads the offense with 39 consecutive starts. Today’s game captains were Reed and juniors Solomon Kindley and Monty Rice.
*Up Next:Fourth-ranked Georgia (10-1) concludes the regular season against Georgia Tech (3-8) in Atlanta Saturday, Nov. 30 at Noon on ABC.