Gunner Stockton gives Georgia one key advantage in the College Football Playoff

“I think it was huge for him,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said of Stockton. “I think it was really huge for the game, you know, at Tennessee, the game at home. I mean, all the games he played this year, he created value through those experiences. Even the second half of the SEC championship (game), man. I mean, he played against — number one, those were huge moments. Those were huge atmospheres.”

Stockton did not win in his CFP debut, but he hardly was the main culprit in a 23-10 loss to Notre Dame. Stockton completed 20 of his 32 pass attempts for 234 yards and a touchdown. He did have a costly fumble just before halftime.

That experience showed Stockton could do the job for Georgia. In his first road start for the Bulldogs this season, he passed for 304 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for another in a 44-41 overtime win against Tennessee.

From there, questions about Stockton’s ability to lead the Georgia offense dissipated. He accounted for five touchdowns each in home wins over ranked Ole Miss and Texas teams.

In this year’s SEC championship game against Alabama, Stockton threw for three touchdowns while also picking up some tough yards on 13 rushing attempts. He accounted for 195 total yards and was voted MVP in a 28-7 win.

“It’s a great feeling to see him get that,” cornerback Daylen Everette said . “Proud of him for everything he’s done this year. Probably one of the toughest kids on the team. Toughest kid I know. Take all the hits, pop right back up. I’m proud of him.”

Stockton was not one of the four players invited to New York as a Heisman Trophy finalist. But few would have thought that were possible this time a season ago. Stockton has already gone from a good story to a great player.

For his next step, Stockton will look to do what he could not a season ago and lead Georgia on a deep CFP run. The Bulldogs do not yet know who they will face in their quarterfinal matchup; they await the winner of Ole Miss-Tulane.

Matchups against either Ohio State or possibly Miami loom after a return trip to New Orleans on Jan. 1. To get there, Stockton will need to improve on what he did last year in this very same spot.

But all the experience he’s gained this year, something he couldn’t have a year ago, has him and Georgia much more suited for success this go around.

“The game in the SEC championship and the game at the Sugar Bowl, they certainly created confidence for him,” Smart said. “How much that transitions to this year, I think, is way more about the games he’s played in this year already.”