Seven years after Texas A&M joined the SEC, 39 years after the Aggies last played in Athens and five years before they’ll meet again in College Station, the Aggies and Bulldogs finally will play a conference game. They’ll kickoff at 3:30 p.m. Saturday on CBS.
It just so happens that the game will be meaningful beyond its historical rarity. All games have been for No. 4 Georgia (9-1, 6-1 SEC) since that inexplicable loss to South Carolina on Oct. 12.
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The Bulldogs have punched their ticket to the SEC Championship game, where they’re expected to meet No. 1-ranked LSU on Dec. 7 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. But the Aggies (7-3, 4-2) will have a say in the national championship race. An A&M victory Saturday likely would eliminate Georgia from a College Football Playoff berth. Then the Aggies close the season at LSU next week.
Some considerations as Georgia and Texas A&M meet for the sixth time:
What’s wrong with Fromm?
Don’t look now, but Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm is having the worst season of his career.
It’s all relative, mind you. Most Power 5 teams would love to have the Bulldogs’ junior signal-caller under center. But the struggle this season has been real, especially in November.
Fromm has thrown only three interceptions – all in the same game – but his 16 TD passes are well off the pace of 2018, when he had 30 (with six interceptions), and 2017, when he had 24 and seven. Likewise, Fromm’s quarterback rating is down considerably, from 171.21 last season to 146.02.
All of that has been exaggerated in November. Even with a strong performance against Florida to start the month, Fromm has completed 52.9 percent of his passes at the paltry rate of 6.5 yards per attempt. To his credit, he has thrown for seven touchdowns with no interceptions.
Certainly, the competition has had something to say about that. Florida, Missouri and Auburn are among the nation’s better defenses. But injuries and lack of explosiveness at the receiver position also have contributed.
What about Cager?
The availability of Lawrence Cager has had a direct effect on Fromm’s ability to complete passes.
Like the previous two weeks, coach Kirby Smart said that Cager, the Bulldogs’ leading receiver, has been able to practice and should be available to play Saturday. But just how long he might play is anybody’s guess.
Cager, who is playing with a chronic shoulder injury, lasted just long enough against Auburn on Saturday to make one catch for six yards before he was sidelined in the first quarter. The previous week against Missouri, Cager lasted two quarters, which was long enough for him to haul in six catches for 93 yards. When he last played a whole game, against Florida on Nov. 2, Cager had seven receptions for 132 yards and a touchdown.
‘Dawgs for life’
The Bulldogs will have 20 players represented on the field Saturday for Senior Day.
The group includes six players already holding undergraduate degrees, including star place-kicker Rodrigo Blankenship and safety J.R. Reed. Cager (Miami) and tight end Eli Wolf (Tennessee), who came to UGA this season as graduate transfers, also plan to participate in the ceremony.
It’s uncertain whether senior defensive tackle Julian Rochester will be involved. Smart revealed this week that the Bulldogs are seeking a redshirt for the longtime starter, who has played in two games this season as he is recovering from offseason knee surgery.
Other Senior Day honorees include walk-on quarterback Jess Sutherland, defensive back Tyrique McGhee, linebacker Tae Crowder, walk-on running back Ian Donald-McIntyre, running back Brian Herrien, walk-on defensive back Tyler Beaver, defensive end David Marshall, defensive tackle Tyler Clark, long snapper Steven Nixon, defensive tackle Michail Carter, offensive lineman D’Marcus Hayes, wide receiver Tyler Simmons, tight end Charlie Woerner, defensive end Justin Young and defensive tackle Michael Barnett.
That A&M offense
Texas A&M junior Kellen Mond has a chance to run down one of the Aggies’ great quarterbacks. With 83 yards passing, he would join Johnny Manziel as the only A&M players to pass for 7,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in their careers.
Containing Mond will be a major focus for Georgia’s defense, which enters the game leading the SEC in points allowed (10.5 pg), rushing allowed (75.5 pg) and total defense (267.2 ypg). The Aggies rank third in the league behind LSU and Alabama in scoring (34 ppg) and fourth in total offense (434.3).
Freshman running back Isaiah Spiller leads the Aggies with eight rushing touchdowns. He gained 129 yards on 24 carries, and Codarrian Richardson added 130 on six attempts in a 30-6 win over South Carolina on Saturday.
Georgia allowed its first rushing touchdown of the season in Saturday’s 21-14 win at Auburn.
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About the SEC Championship game
Officially, Georgia doesn’t know who its opponent will be in the SEC Championship game. Most suspect it will be No. 1-ranked LSU, and that will become official if the Tigers (10-0, 6-0) defeat visiting Arkansas on Saturday night.
But while LSU may seem to be on cruise control on its way to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, there has been some trouble in Tiger Town. To start with, there has been grumbling and groaning about the LSU defense, which gave up more than 400 yards rushing and 600 yards overall Saturday to Ole Miss in a 58-37 win in Oxford. While an LSU win never really was in jeopardy, there are growing concerns about the Tigers’ defense.
Under the direction of Dave Aranda, the highest-paid assistant coach in college football ($2.5 million), LSU ranks ninth in the SEC in total defense (367.8 ypg) and scoring allowed (23.8 ppg).
Meanwhile, the Tigers lost starting inside linebacker Michael Divinity reportedly for the rest of the season for an undisclosed team rules violation.
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