Georgia thrilled that running game wore down Irish

Georgia photo by Tony Walsh / Georgia junior running back D'Andre Swift had more running room during the second half of last Saturday night's 23-17 triumph over Notre Dame. Swift rushed for 98 yards on a career-high 18 carries.
Georgia photo by Tony Walsh / Georgia junior running back D'Andre Swift had more running room during the second half of last Saturday night's 23-17 triumph over Notre Dame. Swift rushed for 98 yards on a career-high 18 carries.

ATHENS, Ga. - The Georgia Bulldogs averaged a robust 286.7 rushing yards a game and 7.6 yards per carry in their opening routs of Vanderbilt, Murray State and Arkansas State.

Notre Dame arrived at Sanford Stadium last Saturday having struggled against the run, but the Irish looked vastly improved in that area against the Bulldogs. That resulted in nothing coming easily on the ground for Georgia, which was finally forced to go the distance in a 23-17 triumph.

"We did well tonight," Bulldogs junior tailback D'Andre Swift said afterward. "I'm proud of the effort we had. We fought for four quarters."

Swift entered the Notre Dame game averaging a scorching 9.4 yards per carry, but his first three carries against the Irish netted 7 yards. He finished the first half with 33 yards on seven rushes.

Notre Dame led at halftime 10-7, posting a 163-114 advantage in total yardage.

"They were extremely aggressive playing the run, and I think they felt like they had to," Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. "That was their shot. They were playing downhill fast with an extra guy in the box, and we really weren't able to make them pay for that early.

"In the second half, we loosened them up a little bit and opened things up a little bit more. We went with a little more tempo when we had the chance and basically wore them down."

That loosening process began on Georgia's first possession of the second half, when the Bulldogs moved from their 16-yard line to Notre Dame's 48 before having to punt. A 12-yard pass from Jake Fromm to Lawrence Cager was followed by a 6-yard Swift carry and a 10-yard run by backup Brian Herrien.

Herrien had a 16-yard run midway through the third quarter, which was followed by Fromm finding Demetris Robertson for 19 yards and Herrien for 12 on a drive that Rodrigo Blankenship capped with a 31-yard field goal that gave Georgia its first lead at 13-10. Swift had three consecutive carries late in the third quarter that netted 27 yards and ignited a possession that ended with Fromm's 15-yard touchdown toss to Cager early in the fourth quarter.

Georgia outgained Notre Dame in the third quarter 131-19.

"Our conditioning played a major factor as that game went on," Smart said.

The Bulldogs continued to dominate during the first half of the fourth quarter, compiling 95 yards to Notre Dame's 20 and building a 23-10 lead. Georgia had to hold on from there, but had Swift not amassed his 98 hard-fought yards on a career-high 18 carries and had Herrien not added 42 on eight, the Bulldogs might be licking their wounds this week after their first defeat.

"That's what we want to be," Smart said. "We want to be a dominant team in the fourth quarter. We want to break the will of people. We want to be able to take over the line of scrimmage, which at the end of the day we did, because they didn't run the ball on us."

Said right tackle Isaiah Wilson: "I definitely think that's what this team is built for. We do a lot of finishing, and our motto is 'finish now.' We wanted to come out and play all 60 minutes as hard as we could."

White sits out

After rushing 19 times for 141 yards (7.4 per carry) and two touchdowns in Georgia's first three games, redshirt freshman Zamir White did not play against Notre Dame.

"It was just the flow of the game," Smart said in a news conference following Tuesday's practice. "We didn't get many opportunities, and if No. 7 (Swift) is running the ball like he was running the ball, it's hard to give the ball to anybody else. The guy was making people miss and running possessed, and Brian was running hard.

"We want to get Zamir involved, and we need to do that, because he is growing and getting better. He had two of the best blitz pickups I've seen out there today."

Odds and ends

Cornerbacks Tyson Campbell and Eric Stokes and left guard Solomon Kindley did not practice Tuesday, but Smart expects all three to play next week at Tennessee. ... Smart when asked whether he thought Notre Dame players faked injuries last Saturday: "My opinion does not matter whether I think they did or didn't. It has no bearing whatsoever."

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.

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