ATHENS, Ga. – Fourth-ranked Georgia wobbled in the fourth quarter last week before holding on to beat Auburn and clinch the SEC East title, but as stellar as its defense has been of late, the Bulldogs will face quite the challenge at home Saturday against No. 24 Texas A&M. Aggies junior quarterback Kellen Mond has passed for six touchdowns and rushed for four scores during Texas A&M’s four-game winning streak, directing a team which suffered all three of its losses against top-10 squads.
TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: Georgia -13.5
Mond has completed 64 percent of his passes for 2,435 yards and 18 touchdowns, to go along with 400 rushing yards and seven scores, grabbing the attention of Georgia coach Kirby Smart in Monday’s press conference. “We know he can run,” Smart told reporters. “But it’s not like you say this guy is a runner first. He’s a really good passer.” The Bulldogs defense gave up 14 points in a 3:01 span of the fourth quarter but limited Auburn to 84 rushing yards, ranks second in the country in scoring defense (10.5 points) and third in rushing defense (75.5 yards), and has surrendered 31 points across its past four games with two shutouts. “They do a really, really good job,” Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher told reporters Monday in describing the Georgia defense. “As good a defense as we’ve played all year, without a doubt.”
ABOUT TEXAS A&M (7-3, 4-2 SEC)
Mond passed for 221 yards along with a touchdown and rushed for a score in last week’s 30-6 road victory over South Carolina, while sophomore running back Cordarrian Richardson ran for 130 yards and scored two touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving). Freshman running back Isaiah Spiller leads Texas A&M in rushing (796 yards, six yards per carry, eight touchdowns) while junior receiver Jhamon Ausbon has 54 receptions for 744 yards. The Aggies have held three of their past four opponents to 17 points of fewer.
ABOUT GEORGIA (9-1, 6-1)
Junior running back D’Andre Swift moved past 1,000 rushing yards for the second consecutive season against Auburn, finishing with 106 yards on 17 carries. Junior quarterback Jake Fromm only completed 13-of-28 passes for 110 yards, but 51 yards came on a touchdown to freshman receiver Dominick Blaylock as Fromm finished with three touchdown passes. Junior linebacker Monty Rice led the Bulldogs with 10 tackles at Auburn to earn SEC defense player of the week.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Texas A&M freshman WR Ainias Smith is fourth in the SEC in average kickoff return yards (20.1) and fourth in average punt return yards (13.2).
2. Georgia sophomore P Jake Camarda earned SEC special teams player of the week after averaging 50.7 yards on 11 punts against Auburn, including two that traveled more than 60 yards.
3. The Bulldogs and Aggies are meeting as SEC rivals for the first time as Texas A&M’s last trip to Georgia came during the Bulldogs' 1980 national championship season.
PREDICTION: Georgia 31, Texas A&M 21