Georgia vs. Texas A&M score, takeaways: No. 4 Dawgs defense stands tall to take down Aggies

No. 4 Georgia handled business in league play and now prepares for Georgia Tech and the SEC Championship Game

No. 4 Georgia topped Texas A&M 19-13 on Saturday afternoon at a rain-soaked Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia. The win sends Georgia to 10-1 (7-1 SEC) on the season and keeps its hopes alive for the College Football Playoff. Texas A&M falls to 7-4 (4-3 SEC) in coach Jimbo Fisher's second year at the helm. Fisher is now 2-6 against ranked opponents as coach of the Aggies.

Kicker Rodrigo Blankenship was the most important Georgia player on the field. The senior connected on all four of his field goal attempts and became the leading scorer in program history in the process on Senior Day. Junior running back D'Andre Swift rushed 19 times for 103 yards and set the tone for a Bulldogs offense that struggled to consistently put long drives together. Quarterback Jake Fromm was 11 of 23 for 163 yards and one touchdown in a sloppy game for the passing attack.

The Aggies, on the other hand, weren't able to move at all on the ground. Isaiah Spiller has seven yards on 11 carries, and the Aggies averaged 0.8 sack-adjusted yards per attempt. Quarterback Kellen Mond went 25 of 42 for 275 yards and a touchdown in a losing effort. 

Georgia will wrap up its regular season slate at rival Georgia Tech next weekend before returning to Atlanta the following week for the SEC Championship Game. Texas A&M will close out its regular season against top-ranked LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

What are the biggest takeaways? Let's break it down.

1. Georgia needs to find more: The Bulldogs defense has been stellar all season, and it was more of the same against the Aggies. They gave up just 274 yards (4.4 yards per play) and never really lost control of the game. That's been the script for the entire season, but at some point, it's going to get stale. It's the fifth straight conference game in which the Dawgs have failed to break the 400-yard mark on offense. Fromm has been nothing more than a game manager, and he has struggled to develop consistent chemistry with his wide receivers.

Should they have more in the tank? With this talent, absolutely. Some teams -- like top-ranked LSU -- will run its offense at full-speed no matter the situation. Georgia is either vanilla by choice or by necessity. With one game to go in the regular season, it's safe to assume that it's the latter. What will happen if the defense has a day off in the SEC Championship Game? Can Fromm keep up with the high-flying LSU offense? That's about as likely as Uga hopping out of his air-conditioned dog house and running around the sideline. The Bulldogs are no longer a work-in-progress. They're an unfinished highway overpass with the workers running out of material. 

2. Swift deserves more credit: Cameras caught Swift screaming at Fromm during the waning moments of the game. It's unclear what was said, but it might as well have been, "Jake, help me out a bit, man!" Swift's 103 yards were as tough of a grind as any 100-yard game in college football this season. He did it when everybody in the building knew that he was the only offensive threat dressed in red and black. It was his second straight 100-yard game -- both of which were in games that looked like they belonged in 2009, not 2019. He's the MVP of this Bulldogs team. Sure, a case could possibly be made for linebacker Monty Rice or another star defender. But would their stellar work matter if Swift isn't setting the tone on offense? Nope. This Georgia team would be lost. Swift was a preseason Heisman Trophy candidate, but he will have to settle for being the MVP of a team that is entering rivalry weekend with a shot at its second CFP appearance in three years. 

3. Texas A&M has a way to go: Jimbo Fisher was guaranteed $75 million over 10 years to bring national championships to College Station, Texas. Through two years, that seems like a pipe dream. He is 2-6 vs. ranked opponents while at Texas A&M and winless in four tries this season. He was hired to rebuild it the right way, but it's not like the program was lost in the woods under former coach Kevin Sumlin. Mond has three years of starting under his belt, two of which are in Fisher's quarterback-friendly offense. The offensive line has been hit-or-miss this season, the rushing game has been inconsistent, and a talented wide receiving corps seems to be going to waste in big games until it's too late. 

Will things change in Aggieland under Fisher? It doesn't look likely. At least, not anytime soon. Alabama isn't slowing down anytime soon, Ed Orgeron has LSU cooking at an elite level, and Fisher hasn't even been able to solve the Auburn riddle despite coach Gus Malzahn living on the perpetual hot seat. Texas A&M is the same now as it was under Sumlin -- all sizzle, no steak.

CBS Sports was with you the entire way updating this story with the latest scores, highlights and analysis from the game. You can check those out below.

[Nov 23, 2019 at 6:46 pm ET · Barrett Sallee]

D'Andre Swift was furious with Jake Fromm there. Not sure what that was all about.

[Nov 23, 2019 at 6:37 pm ET · Barrett Sallee]

Probably could have been pass interference.

[Nov 23, 2019 at 6:37 pm ET · Barrett Sallee]

3rd-and-11 ... and Stevenson breaks up the pass. Will Texas A&M get a better shot?

[Nov 23, 2019 at 6:36 pm ET · Barrett Sallee]

Tyler Clark with the big sack on Mond. Georgia needed that in a big way.

[Nov 23, 2019 at 6:34 pm ET · Barrett Sallee]

A&M needs to attack like this. Full attack mode.

[Nov 23, 2019 at 6:30 pm ET · Barrett Sallee]

Hansford with the BIG sack. Texas A&M getting the ball back down six!

[Nov 23, 2019 at 6:23 pm ET · Barrett Sallee]

Ausbon with the 19-yard TD on the crossing route. Mond looked in sync during that drive. The Aggies can get back into this with a key stop this drive.

[Nov 23, 2019 at 6:14 pm ET · Barrett Sallee]

Blankenship with another FG, and now it's 19-6 Bulldogs

[Nov 23, 2019 at 6:02 pm ET · Barrett Sallee]

Fromm to Pickens down the sideline, and now things are starting to cook.

[Nov 23, 2019 at 6:00 pm ET · Barrett Sallee]

Seth Small drills a field goal to make it 16-6. Georgia with a big drive coming up. I expect a heavy dose of D'Andre Swift.

[Nov 23, 2019 at 5:59 pm ET · Barrett Sallee]

Everything seems so hard for Texas A&M today. Nothing is coming easy, and it shows.

[Nov 23, 2019 at 5:59 pm ET · Barrett Sallee]

Pass interference is a moving target in this one.

[Nov 23, 2019 at 5:55 pm ET · Barrett Sallee]

Wydermyer with the big catch on third-and-1. That looked like somebody ran the wrong route. Two players right there to catch it.