UGA football needs Gunner Stockton to have his Stetson Bennett moment

The Georgia Bulldogs need redshirt sophomore quarterback Gunner Stockton to play the game of his life in the Sugar Bowl vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Stockton, thrust into the starting role in the SEC championship game after Carson Beck went down with an elbow injury, has just 51 pass attempts in his college football career.

For Georgia to win a national championship, the Bulldogs need Stockton to deliver right away. Georgia’s last national championship-winning quarterback, Stetson Bennett, came through in countless College Football Playoff situations for Georgia. The Bulldogs need Stockton to do the same.

Of course, it’s not exactly fair to expect Stockton to lead Georgia to a national title with wins against the nation’s elite in his first three career starts. Stockton is going to need help. Georgia needs to win in the trenches to clinch a championship. The Dawgs can’t expect their back up quarterback to carry them.

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart believes Stockton raises the level of those around him.

“Every player plays harder for him,” Smart said. “Make the players around you better, that’s what you look for in a quarterback. I think he raises the skill level of everybody around him because of who he is. So that’s my reason to think he’s a good quarterback.”

Georgia has an ultra-talented roster and is capable of winning a national championship. Georgia will need Gunner Stockton to avoid the turnovers that have plagued UGA in their two losses this season (seven total turnovers).

So what is a reasonable expectation for Gunner Stockton?

Just look at Stetson Bennett’s first three career starts. Bennett won national titles in 2021 and 2022, but he didn’t do it without learning from what he did in 2020.

October 3, 2020; Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Stetson Bennett in his first career start against the Auburn Tigers. Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Bennett completed 17 of 28 passes for 240 yards and a touchdown in his first career start against Auburn (a 27-6 win). The next week, he completed 16 of 27 passes for 238 yards and three total touchdowns in a 44–21 win over Tennessee.

Things settled down a bit for Bennett in his third career start. Bennett and Georgia lost 41-24 to eventual 2020 national champion Alabama. Bennett and UGA kept pace in the first half before Alabama hit another level in the second half.

Bennett completed 18 of 40 passes for two touchdowns and three interceptions against Alabama. The Alabama game marked the first time in Bennett’s career that he was under fire from the opposing pass rush and forced into obvious passing situations.

Bennett struggled in his next two starts (at Kentucky and against Florida). Bennett ultimately lost the starting job after the Florida game and never started for Georgia again … until September 11, 2021 against UAB. Bennett repeated the starting job and went 27-1 over the final 28 starts of his career en route to two national championships.

The point is, Gunner Stockton has a lot to learn in his first career start. He’s not going to be the 2022 version of Stetson Bennett on Day 1, but he could be the 2020 version of Bennett.

Georgia’s defense must support Stockton. The Bulldogs went 2-3 in the Stetson Bennett era (including 0-3 from 2020-2021) when allowing over 23 points. Georgia went 2-3 in the Carson Beck era when he allowed 23 or more points including 2-2 this season.

Georgia hasn’t lost a game allowing under 23 points since 2019. If Georgia holds Notre Dame under 23 points, then we like UGA and Gunner Stockton’s chances. If more is asked of Stockton, then Georgia will be in trouble.

Georgia’s formula for victory is to allow fewer than 23 points and avoid a multiple interception game from Gunner Stockton. This is how Gunner Stockton will have his Stetson Bennett moment.