Gunner Stockton was the heroic backup in the SEC Championship Game last year, helping Georgia outlast Texas in overtime.
This time around, the junior had a starring role from start to finish as the starter, tossing 3 touchdown passes in Georgia’s dominant 28-7 victory over Alabama and capturing the MVP award for his supreme efforts in Atlanta. Stockton was incredibly efficient, completing 20 of 26 passes on Saturday inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and though he only threw for 156 yards he helped control the pace for the Bulldogs, who repeated as SEC champions thanks to their quarterback who has a knack for coming up big in this spot.
Stockton replaced the injured Carson Beck in this game last year, as the Dawgs defeated Texas in a thriller. He was Georgia’s quarterback in the College Football Playoff last season, too, with Beck out, and that’s exactly where Stockton will be taking his team again this year as it chases its 3rd national championship in 5 years.
After Georgia blocked an Alabama punt in the 1st quarter, Stockton went to work, throwing a 1-yard touchdown pass to Roderick Robinson II to give the Dawgs a 7-0 lead and set the tone for the rest of the day.
Stockton, who has received Heisman Trophy consideration this season, helped Georgia pour it on with a 5-yard TD pass to Dillon Bell in the 2nd quarter that helped the Bulldogs take a commanding 14-0 lead at halftime.
But Stockton wasn’t done. After Alabama finally got on the board in the 4th quarter to pull within 21-7, Stockton put the finishing touches on his performance and Georgia’s, finding Zachariah Branch on a 13-yard scoring connection with 6:51 left.
It wasn’t technically over yet, but for all intents and purposes it was, and Stockton sealed his place in Georgia football lore, this time leading an SEC title game victory from beginning to end. And this time, he got the ultimate reward afterward.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
