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Kirby Smart told reporters on Monday that Georgia is preparing for its Sugar Bowl matchup against Notre Dame with the expectation that Gunner Stockton will start at quarterback.
The Bulldogs’ regular starter, Carson Beck, was injured during the SEC Championship Game against Texas and his status for the College Football Playoff has been up in the air ever since. Georgia announced after the SEC title game that Beck and his family were evaluating their options with regard to treatment, and that Beck’s timetable was undetermined. Two weeks later, Kirby Smart said at a press event that nothing had changed.
“The only thing I can update is that they’re still going through those deliberations in terms of the decision-making process time, all the kinds of decisions they have to make as a family,” Smart said.
In the interim, Stockton has handled the bulk of the first-team reps during bowl prep.
“He got lots of reps prior to these practices, but he’s getting much more now,” Smart said. “I do think when you get ready for an opponent like Notre Dame, you need time.”
Through the first 3 quarters of Notre Dame’s 27-17 first-round win over Indiana, the Irish defense held IU quarterback Kurtis Rourke to just 85 passing yards on 15 attempts. They picked off Rourke in the first quarter and had a 20-3 lead going into the fourth. On the season, Notre Dame is the only team in the FBS that has limited opposing quarterbacks to a sub-100 passer rating. Only Texas gives up fewer yards per pass than the Irish (5.6).
When Stockton entered the game against Texas, his mobility helped open up the Georgia offense. Texas eventually adjusted, but Stockton provided a different look than Beck to an unsuspecting Longhorn defense. On Monday, Smart downplayed the notion that Stockton would noticeably alter the offense.
“I think we are who we are in regards to that,” Smart said. “I mean, we played an entire season, offensively. You know, Gunner’s a good athlete. I think Carson is a good athlete. So it’s one of those deals that I don’t know how much that changes things.”
Beck is 24-3 as a starter for Georgia. His numbers were down this year compared to his 2023 output, but he was starting to find a rhythm heading into the conference title game. Texas held Georgia to just 3 points in the first half. Stockton engineered a 10-point third quarter to get the Dawgs back into the game. Beck handed off to Trevor Etienne on the final play of the game after Stockton’s helmet was knocked off and he was forced to leave the game for a play, but Beck seemed unable to raise his throwing arm.
Stockton has 51 career pass attempts for Georgia. He had 16 all season heading into the Texas game. If Beck continues to be unavailable throughout the Playoff run, the Bulldogs’ hopes of winning the National Championship hinge on Stockton having a Cardale Jones-like run. Georgia still has a week to get him as prepared as possible for the defense it’ll face in New Orleans.
“I think the biggest thing is just competition at practice, the situations we put him in, all those things allow him to get better as a quarterback,” Smart said.
Georgia opened as a 1.5-point dog at ESPN Bet, but the line almost immediately flipped to Georgia -1.5. Kickoff on Jan. 1 is set for 8:45 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
