NO. 4 GEORIGA HOLDS OFF TEXAS A&M.
Bulldogs do just enough in defensive battle as Aggies’ offense held to only minus-1 yard rushing
ATHENS, Ga. — Texas A&M was in its fourth quarter of zero touchdowns Saturday when receiver Jhamon Ausbon hauled in a short pass from Kellen Mond at the Georgia 15-yard line.
Ausbon, his frustrations spilling over, turned toward the end zone late in the No. 4 Bulldogs’ 19-13 victory and then passed on the path of least resistance.
“When I caught the ball, there was nothing that could stop me,” Ausbon said. “I could have scored running to the sidelines, but I just wanted to run into his face.”
Ausbon plowed into Georgia safety J.R. Reed and escaped a couple of other Bulldogs defenders along the way. He had finally punched the Aggies into the end zone. But like all their other fourth-quarter labors, it was too late to pull off the upset.
“There are no moral victories, but man there are some things there that are close,” A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said.
Fisher, as emotional as he’s been in his two seasons at A&M, added: “There’s heart, there’s soul, there’s ability, there’s intelligence. We’re coming. We’re coming.”
The next stop for the Aggies (7-4, 4-3 SEC) is at No. 1 LSU after the Bulldogs (10-1, 7-1) snapped A&M’s four-game win streak. Next Saturday’s game in Baton Rouge, La., will mark the first time in college football annals a team will take on three No. 1 teams in the same season. The Aggies lost at then-No. 1 Clemson on Sept. 7 and at home to then-No. 1 Alabama on Oct. 12.
Georgia, in winning five straight, stayed in the hunt for the Bulldogs’ first national title since 1980 — also the last time A&M visited Athens. The Bulldogs on Saturday led A&M 13-3 halftime, in large part because of the Aggies’ offensive clumsiness. A&M had four penalties in the first two quarters, all on offense, and rushed for minus-9 yards on 14 carries in that span.
“That’s what they do,” Fisher said of the Bulldogs’ stingy rush defense, which entered the game ranked third nationally in allowing 76 yards per game. “We got hot in the (passing) game and that’s what we stayed with, and they didn’t get that much rushing going, either. It was two good (defensive) fronts and two good teams doing a great job in that regard.”
The Aggies played their first road game in more than a month, and it showed in their hesitation and multiple missteps early before a full house, with Georgia fans expectant of a second College Football Playoff appearance in the last three years under coach Kirby Smart.
“It’s just pure joy to be a part of a program like this,” Reed said.
Mond, in fighting through a slow start, finished 25 of 42 for 275 yards passing and a touchdown. The Aggies finished with minus-1 rushing yards after the backpedaling first half.
In 1980 the Aggies lost 42-0 in Athens to running back Herschel Walker and the eventual national champions. This time around, A&M at least avoided a goose egg.
“We kept fighting, and didn’t look at the scoreboard,” Ausbon said. “We kept fighting for those inches, because that’s what it came down to.”
In a game that had thousands of A&M fans howling because of multiple questionable calls by the officials — including a blatant no-call when an A&M defender’s facemask was grabbed that led to Georgia’s first touchdown — Fisher was left answering questions why he decided to punt on fourth-and-11 with less than five minutes remaining.
The Aggies had scored their lone TD on their previous drive, and their defense had kept Georgia out of the end zone the entire second half.
“I thought we could pin them back, and we had three timeouts,” Fisher explained of Braden Mann’s last of seven punts. “Unfortunately at that time, they came out and made two first downs.”
A relieved Georgia squad ran out the clock, and hope pressed on in Sanford Stadium that the Bulldogs might win their first national title in 39 years and third overall.
A&M has never come close to a playoff berth, which is why Kevin Sumlin was fired two years ago this month and replaced by Fisher from Florida State. Fisher has led A&M to a 16-8 mark in almost two seasons.
“We just couldn’t put them away,” Smart said. “Give them credit. They had us on our heels.”