ATHENS — The rain seemed ominous for Georgia. The last time looked like this on game day, Georgia didn't score until its eighth possession. And Texas A&M is a better opponent than Kentucky, so you couldn't blame Bulldogs backers if the precipitation caused them some consternation.
It turned out the rain wasn't an issue for Georgia's offense, at least not after a sloppy start. Instead, it was the same things as always. Georgia's offense got better, but was never great, and it lacked a finishing punch. The Bulldogs still won 19-13 because their defense dominated.
That's Georgia football in 2019. There's no reason to think it will change at this late date. Georgia's defense may be the best in FBS. The Bulldogs won the SEC East and are in contention for the College Football Playoff because, with one exception, they win with elite defense and offense that's just good enough.
The big question is if that recipe will work against LSU in the SEC championship game. And if it does, what's the chances the Bulldogs can do it two more times in the College Football Playoff? That's why it would have reassuring for Georgia to pile up points against the three good teams they played over the past four weeks.
Instead, the Bulldogs had to hang on against Florida while scoring 10 points after halftime. Their offense sputtered late at Auburn and their defense wore down. The same thing happened against Texas A&M, which held Georgia to two field goals over its final six full possessions.
The Aggies trailed 16-3 early in the third quarter. They were down 19-6 early in the fourth. Kellen Mond's 19-yard pass to Jhamon Ausbon got Texas A&M within 19-13 with 11:16 to go. Another Bulldogs punt gave the Aggies the ball at their 10-yard line, and they made it to Georgia's 42-yard line before Tyler Clark sacked Mond for a 10-yard loss on first down to scuttle a promising drive.
Georgia got the ball back on a punt at its 10-yard line with 4:26 to go. The Bulldogs at least needed to run out so much of the clock that the Aggies wouldn't have much time if they got the ball back. They pulled it off.
Brian Herrien plunged two yards on third-and-one. D'Andre Swift loss two yards running on the next play, before Fromm found Dominick Blaylockfor an 11-yard gain. Swift ran around left end for 11 yards for another first down and two more Swift runs were enough to finally finish off the visitors.
That's how it goes for the Bulldogs. Good competition has been one mitigating factor for their pedestrian offense. They've played just two bad FBS teams all season (Vanderbilt and Arkansas State). They've played two elite defensive units, Florida and Auburn, and a bunch of good ones. That's not the case for fellow payoff contenders Ohio State and (especially) Clemson.
Texas A&M defense isn't great at any one thing but is solid all around. That's enough to give Georgia's offense trouble. The steady rain at kickoff only added to the feeling that the Bulldogs could be in for a tussle.
The weather didn't prompt Georgia offensive coordinator James Coley to play it safe. The Bulldogs took some shots downfield early. Fromm just couldn't connect. He was 1-for-6 passing in the first quarter with a pair of misses on potential big plays.
Maybe the wet ball played a role. Fromm wore a glove on his throwing hand to begin the game. He didn't wear it against Kentucky, when he completed nine passes on 12 tries for 35 yards. Typically, a wearing a glove means gaining some grip and losing some feel.
Fromm completed his first pass, a short throw to tight end Charlie Woerner. His next pass was a wayward attempt on third down intended for George Pickens. It was an uncharacteristically by Fromm, looked at his gloved hand after the play.
Later, Fromm missed Brian Herrien running free down the right sideline on third down. Georgia settled for a field goal. The Bulldogs had good field position again to start their next drive. Coley decided to try for a big play, and it was there, but Fromm's pass on a flea flicker was too long. The Bulldogs ended up punting.
But maybe it wasn't the glove. Fromm was wearing it again during Georgia's first touchdown drive of the game. It was his sharpest sequence of the game.
Fromm floated a pass to Tyler Simmons on a fade route near the left sideline. He dropped in another nice ball to Jackson on a fade to the other side. He snapped a pass to Pickens for a 16-yard score. The Bulldogs led 13-3 despite managing just one good drive, which is a benefit of being so good on defense.
The rain started to let up during that drive. It would stop completely not long after that. The sun even peaked out from behind the clouds for a a moment. Fromm stuck with the glove for the rest of the half. He didn't use it after halftime.
By then, it was clear that Texas A&M wouldn't get much against Georgia's defense. Hardly any opponent does. But UGA's offense is just OK. That's enough to doubt whether the Bulldogs really are a championship team.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
