Sep 9, 2017; South Bend, IN, USA; Georgia Bulldogs kicker Rodrigo Blankenship (98) kicks the game winning field goal in the fourth quarter against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium. Photo Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Freshman quarterback Jake Fromm passed for a touchdown and directed two other drives that resulted in Rodrigo Blankenship field goals as No. 15 Georgia edged No. 24 Notre Dame 20-19 on Saturday.
Blankenship kicked a 30-yard field goal with 3:34 remaining in the game for the final margin. He added a 27-yarder in the first quarter as Georgia improved to 2-0.
Notre Dame (1-1) went three-and-out after Blankenship’s go-ahead kick and fumbled with 1:27 remaining in the game after getting the ball back with just under two minutes left. Fighting Irish quarterback Brandon Wimbush rushed for a touchdown while passing for 210 yards. Justin Yoon had field goals of 39, 42, 37 and 28 yards.
Making his first collegiate start after relieving injured Jacob Eason (knee) last week, Fromm passed for 141 yards. He threw an interception and lost a fumble. Sony Michel rushed 13 times for 73 yards and a touchdown to boost the Georgia ground game. Nick Chubb followed with 63 yards on 13 carries.
Josh Adams was Notre Dame’s leading rusher with 53 yards on 19 carries. The Bulldogs outgained the Fighting Irish, 326-265.
Notre Dame moved the ball efficiently on its opening possession, traveling 53 yards on seven plays, capped by Yoon’s 39-yard field goal. The Fighting Irish benefited from a pass interference call on their initial third down of the game. One play later, Wimbush found wide receiver Cam Smith in stride for a 29-yard completion that put the Fighting Irish in Bulldogs territory.
Georgia tied the game in similar fashion shortly thereafter, sandwiching big plays around a pass interference call against the Fighting Irish. A 30-yard Chubb run and a 31-yard completion from Fromm to Terry Godwin helped the Bulldogs move deep into Irish territory. Blankenship evened the score with a 27-yard field goal with 6:36 left in the first quarter.
Notre Dame made it 10-3 when Wimbush scored on a 1-yard run with 12:24 remaining in the second quarter. A Fromm fumble gave the Fighting Irish field position deep in Georgia territory.
That lead also was short-lived, however. The Bulldogs answered on a 5-yard scoring pass from Fromm to Godwin with 6:45 left in the second quarter, tying the game at 10.
Yoon drilled a 42-yard field goal with 4:14 left in the second quarter to give Notre Dame a 13-10 lead heading into halftime.
NOTES: Notre Dame hosted a Southeastern Conference team for the first time since Tennessee visited South Bend on Nov. 5, 2005. The Fighting Irish won 41-21. … Georgia QB Jake Fromm was stepping in for sophomore Jacob Eason, who suffered a sprained left knee in the season-opener. … Ian Book replaced Brandon Wimbush at quarterback for Notre Dame for one play in the second quarter. Wimbush appeared to be adjusting a contact lens in the huddle before exiting. He returned on Notre Dame’s next possession. … Notre Dame honored former wide receiver Tim Brown, winner of the 1987 Heisman Trophy, during a timeout early in the second quarter.
