SEC & Big Ten Week 4 Roundup: Georgia adds to resume with win over Irish
Seventh-ranked Notre Dame took a 10-7 lead into halftime against No. 3 Georgia on Saturday, but the Bulldogs responded with a 16-0 second half run to claim a 23-17 win in front of a record crowd of 93,246 in Athens.
In the first quarter, the Irish defense held a Bulldogs offense that came in averaging 150 yards in the first quarter to just 34 total yards. The Irish also recovered a muffed punt at the Georgia 8-yard line to set up their first touchdown.
Notre Dame’s halftime lead marked the first time Georgia has trailed at the half at home since a 13-7 win over Auburn in November 2016.
The Bulldogs responded in the second half and turned an Ian Book interception into a game tying 40-yard field goal by kicker Rodrigo Blankenship. Blankenship would then give Georgia the lead later in the third quarter off a 31-yard kick.
Georgia later added to its lead with 13:19 left in the fourth quarter on a 15-yard pass from Jake Fromm to Lawrence Cager and added another field goal with 6:54 left in the game.
A late Notre Dame touchdown made it a one-possession game and a three-and-out gave the Irish a chance to steal a massive road win, but the Bulldogs’ defense held to escape with the victory.
Now let’s check out a few more highlights from an exciting Week 4 in the SEC and Big Ten:
Auburn 28, Texas A&M 20: No. 8 Auburn jumped out to a 21-3 lead and led wire-to-wire, holding the 17th-ranked Aggies to 56 rushing yards on the day. A&M made a late push and cut the gap to eight with 2:12 to play, but a failed onside kick allowed the Tigers to run out the clock.
Mississippi State 28, Kentucky 13: Mississippi State running back Kylin Hill rushed 26 times for 120 yards and three touchdowns, and freshman quarterback Garrett Shrader accounted for 305 yards as the Bulldogs defeated the Wildcats, dropping Kentucky to 0-2 in SEC play.
Cal 28, Ole Miss 20: Ole Miss was mere feet away from tying No. 23 Cal on its final drive, but an Elijah Moore catch and a John Rhys Plumlee sneak were both called short of the goal line as time expired in the fourth.
Wisconsin 35, Michigan 14: Heisman hopeful Jonathan Taylor ran for 203 yards and two touchdowns, including a 72-yarder, while Jack Coan added a career-high two rushing touchdowns in No. 13 Wisconsin’s 35-14 victory over No. 11 Michigan on Saturday.
Michigan State 31, Northwestern 10: Brian Lewerke had three touchdown passes, Elijah Collins added a rushing TD and Michigan State bounced back from a Week 3 loss to Arizona State to defeat Northwestern.
Nebraska 42, Illinois 38: Adrian Martinez passed for 327 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 188 yards as Nebraska overcame three separate 14-point deficits in a 42-38 win over Illinois on Saturday. The Cornhuskers put up 690 yards of total offense on the day compared to 299 for the Illini.