SHREVEPORT, La. — Brandon Boykin's teammates were giving him all kinds of kudos after his school record-setting kickoff return for a touchdown sparked Georgia's win over Texas A&M in the Independence Bowl.

Boykin wanted none of it, though. To hear him tell it, all he did was run.

"The kick return that I had I really couldn't take credit for that," Boykin said. "The kick was short and my blocking, I felt like it parted just like the Red Sea."

His third kickoff return for a score of the season — an 81-yarder late in the second quarter — was just what the Bulldogs needed to fuel a 44-20 victory yesterday.

Fifty-six seconds later, Georgia blocked a punt, setting up another touchdown, and a game that was supposed to be an offensive showdown turned into yet another contest decided by the unit most folks usually forget about.

"The bottom line is you've got offense, defense and special teams and you hope to win two out of the three phases," Georgia coach Mark Richt said.

"We could've been down 14-0 if it weren't for the special teams and who knows what would've happened after that."

Boykin set the school record and tied the Southeastern Conference mark with his kick return TD, Georgia blocked two kicks and Joe Cox threw his first touchdown pass after a snap sailed over the Texas A&M punter's head in the third quarter.

In all, special teams play led to 24 points for the Georgia, which also got a 49-yard field goal from Blair Walsh.

Instead of trailing going into halftime, Georgia was up 14-7. Cox hit Aron White on touchdown passes of 24 and 2 yards in the second half and the Bulldogs (8-5) scored a bowl record 30 points in the final two quarters for their fourth straight postseason victory.

It was the fourth straight postseason loss for the Aggies (6-7).

TEXAS A&M 0 7 7 6—20

GEORGIA 0 14 10 20—44

SECOND QUARTER

TAM—J.McCoy 15 pass from J.Johnson (Bullock kick), 2:33.

Geo—Boykin 81 kickoff return (Walsh kick), 2:22.

Geo—C.King 2 run (Walsh kick), 1:22.

THIRD QUARTER

TAM—Michael 14 run (Bullock kick), 12:36.

Geo—FG Walsh 49, 9:25.

Geo—A.White 24 pass from Cox (Walsh kick), 7:49.

FOURTH QUARTER

Geo—A.White 2 pass from Cox (Walsh kick), 13:19.

Geo—C.King 1 run (Walsh kick), 9:47.

Geo—Chapas 5 run (kick failed), 4:29.

TAM—Morrow 5 pass from J.Johnson (pass failed), 1:13.

A—49,653.

          TAM Geo

First downs 26 17

Rushes-yards 33-109 40-208

Passing 362 158

Comp-Att-Int 29-59-2 15-28-1

Return Yards 41 95

Punts-Avg. 7-29.4 6-41.5

Fumbles-Lost 3-0 0-0

Penalties-Yards 7-65 6-39

Time of Possession 27:59 32:01

RUSHING—Texas A&M, Michael 15-77, J.Johnson 14-51, Gray 3-5, Team 1-(minus 24). Georgia, Ealey 13-78, C.King 16-60, Chapas 5-43, Munzenmaier 4-20, Cox 1-6, K.Lanier 1-1.

PASSING—Texas A&M, J.Johnson 29-58-2-362, Team 0-1-0-0. Georgia, Cox 15-28-1-158.

RECEIVING—Texas A&M, Fuller 7-102, Morrow 5-65, J.McCoy 4-39, Swope 4-31, Nwachukwu 3-38, Tannehill 2-35, K.Brown 2-7, B.Jackson 1-41, Gray 1-4. Georgia, Green 6-57, Moore 2-34, A.White 2-26, Charles 2-8, C.King 1-32, Chapas 1-4, Ealey 1-(minus 3).