All eyes on Gunner Stockton for Georgia-Notre Dame Sugar Bowl

All eyes are on Gunner Stockton for Georgia’s Sugar Bowl matchup against Notre Dame. The redshirt sophomore quarterback is anticipated to be making his first career start with Carson Beck expected out due to an injury he suffered in the SEC Championship Game.

Stockton, who has been with the Bulldogs the entirety of his career after setting numerous records in the Georgia high school ranks, had played in just seven career contests prior to coming into the conference title game against Texas. It was the first time he stepped foot on the field without a lead or larger than 21 points – actually doing so with the Dawgs down 6-3 at the half. He guided a scoring drive to start the third quarter, one that ended with UGA’s first touchdown of the game, and came through with heroics that helped hoist a trophy when all was said and done.

Now, with weeks to prepare for the Playoff and adjust to differences in the offense with Stockton under center, attention is squarely on him for Georgia’s game against Notre Dame.

“When it comes to Georgia on offense, look, how is Gunner Stockton going to be with three weeks of preparation? It’s one thing to come into a game like he did in the SEC Championship, spark the offense, get a drive going, get a touchdown, everybody’s rallying around him to support the young guy. It’s another thing to know that you’re the man and to know that you have all the pressure and that you have to execute a game plan,” Ben Watson said. “That’s a totally different thing. And so it remains to be seen how he does it. He has the skill set to do so, but it’ll interesting to see how Coach Mike Bobo, Kirby Smart, prepare him for a big game against Notre Dame.”

“I think in terms of the way we talk about Gunner’s utilization, he is a guy that likes to run the football as well. I think you’re going to see Gunner Stockton’s involvement in the game plan, as Mike Bobo showed us a little bit of what he wants to do with him at the beginning of the second half in the SEC title game,” Chris Doering added. “You can look at it two ways, right? There’s more tape on Gunner Stockton than Notre Dame can look at, but there’s also a lot more prep time that Mike Bobo can game plan around Gunner Stockton instead of having to change things up on the fly. So I don’t know if there’s a distinct advantage one way or another. I do know this, though. What a great opportunity it was to see the way that the players rallied around Gunner Stockton. When he came in the ballgame, you saw the other 10 guys in that huddle elevate their play. And I think the challenge is going to be for them to do that again in this one.”

Watson, who played tight end for Georgia in the early 2000s and went on to a career in the NFL, pointed to Lawson Luckie and Oscar Delp, the offensive line and the run game as potential beneficiaries of the move to Stockton. They’ll be challenged to help out the inexperienced signal caller. Because of that, and the skillset Stockton brings to the table as well, he’s not ruling out his alma mater.

“This is a guy that was highly recruited, a guy that’s been very successful in high school and also coming into college. So I think that Georgia fans, myself included, aren’t totally deflated by the fact that we’ve got a guy coming in that we know has the skill set,” Watson. “Now can he do it on the big stage? Because that’s the difference.”

Watson isn’t the only one that still believes the Bulldogs are capable of winning it all with Stockton at the helm. Paul Finebaum shared on Friday morning’s episode of ‘Get Up’ that the absence of Beck doesn’t change how he thinks about Georgia. The extra time to prepare with backup-turned-starter Stockton is huge. Former Florida State quarterback EJ Manuel and Auburn Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton agree too, thinking that Kirby Smart and Georgia might go back to the roots of being a team that relies on the foundation of its defense.

“Georgia still has a great opportunity. They have an excellent defense, man. Going all the way back to little league? Defense still wins championships,” Manuel said. “So, ultimately, look, you bring in your backup quarterback in Gunner Stockton, who is not a scrub by any, means of the word. He’s a good football player, but he’s inexperienced. But I think the defense will still carry this football team, help them win, and have a good opportunity to get to that championship game.”

“I’m left with the question: Are they going to be better without Beck? Which forces the role players to play better. The receivers have to play better. The passing game has to get better. And coming in with Gunner, that’s going to force guys to stand up and make plays,” Newton added. “Defensively, we know what Georgia’s going to be. We know what Kirby is going to get out of those guys, they’re going to attack and stay relentless throughout the whole game. That’s a proven fact. But it goes back to guys standing up and stepping up to the task at hand.”

Georgia-Notre Dame is set for New Year’s Day in New Orleans at 8:45 p.m. ET. The winner of the Sugar Bowl will play the winner of the Penn State-Boise State Fiesta Bowl matchup in the College Football Playoff semifinals at the Orange Bowl January 9th with a spot in the National Championship Game on January 20th in Atlanta on the line.