College Football
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Georgia 23, Notre Dame 17
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, September 21, 2019
Where: Sanford Stadium, Athens, Georgia
Temperature: 73°
Head Official: Jeff Flanagan
Attendance: 93246

No. 3 Georgia used a strong second half to fend off No. 7 Notre Dame on Saturday night, winning 23-17 in Athens, Ga.

Georgia's defense made the evening a miserable one for Notre Dame (2-1), which dropped its 10th straight game to a ranked foe. The Bulldogs, who had won their first three games by a margin of 148-23, improved to 4-0.

After completing just 11 of 12 passes for just 59 yards in the first half, quarterback Jake Fromm completed 9 of 14 passes for 128 yards and a touchdown after the break. Running back D'Andre Swift rushed 18 times for 98 yards and a score.

Trailing 10-7 at the half, Georgia used field goals of 40 and 31 yards by Rodrigo Blankenship to lead for the first time at 13-10 with 4:21 left in the third quarter.

The Bulldogs added on early in the fourth, with Fromm driving Georgia 82 yards on eight plays by completing 3 of 4 passes for 61 yards. All three completions went to Lawrence Cager, including the capping 15-yard score for a 20-10 lead with 13:19 to play.

Blankenship's third field goal -- a 43-yarder with 6:54 left -- made it 23-10.

But the Irish weren't done, responding on their next possession, with a 75-yard drive in 3:42, as Ian Book's 4-yard pass to Chase Claypool made it 23-17 with 3:12 left.

After a Georgia three-and-out and Jake Camarda's shanked punt following a quick three and out, the Irish had one more chance at their 48 with 2:00 to go. Facing a fourth-and-8, Book -- who finished 29 of 47 for 275 yards with two touchdowns and two picks -- was flushed from the pocket and forced to throw a lob that fell incomplete.

After a scoreless first quarter, Tyler Simmons' fumbled punt set the Irish up at the Georgia 8-yard line. Book tossed to a wide-open tight end Cole Kmet -- who finished with nine grabs for 108 yards -- on fourth-and-goal from the 1 to make it 7-0.

Georgia answered with a 13-play, 75-yard drive capped by Swift's 3-yard run, tying it with 2:27 until the break.

Book then led the Irish 66 yards for a 26-yard field goal by Jonathan Doerer as the first half expired.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
Rushing
Notre Dame   Georgia
Tony Jones Jr. Player D'Andre Swift
9 Attempts 18
21 Yards 98
2.3 Avg Yards 5.4
0 Touchdowns 1
0 Long 0
Receiving
Notre Dame   Georgia
Cole Kmet Player Lawrence Cager
9 Receptions 5
108 Yards 82
12.0 Avg Yards 16.4
1 Touchdowns 1
0 Long 0
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Notre Dame 321 46 275 2 1 0 0.0 1
Georgia 341 154 187 2 3 2 0.0 1