The very first start of Gunner Stockton’s career was in the College Football Playoff. No one is able to say that in the history of college football.
Stockton was forced into action last year after starting quarterback Carson Beck went down with an injury on the final play of the first half of the SEC title game. After helping Georgia to a 22-19 win over Texas in the second half of that game, Stockton was tasked with leading the Bulldogs into the postseason.
Of course, that game didn’t go Stockton and the Bulldogs' way. He completed 20 of 32 passes for 234 yards and a touchdown, but also lost a fumble on a sack towards the end of the first half.
It set in motion a scoring spurt of 17 points in 54 seconds of game time as Notre Dame capitalized with a touchdown on the next play and then returned a kickoff for a touchdown to open the second half.
Georgia couldn’t overcome what had quickly turned into a 20-3 deficit and lost that game 23-10. Stockton did some good things in his starting debut, but it was mostly forgotten as the Bulldogs fell short and their season ended.
Gunner Stockton's experience has already paid dividends
Stockton then stepped into the full-time starting role ahead of the 2025 season and has grown tremendously throughout the year. He has completed over 70 percent of his passes for 2,691 yards, 35 touchdowns and just five interceptions while also adding 442 yards and eight scores on the ground.
Signature performances against Ole Miss and Tennessee where Georgia needed Stockton to step up are proof of that growth, and so is the fact that he finished seventh in Heisman Trophy voting this season.
So, Stockton is a good player and one of the better quarterbacks in this year’s College Football Playoff field. But he also has something else over the rest of the crop because he’s the only quarterback to have started a playoff game before.
Gunner Stockton's CFP experience is second to none
There are other very good quarterbacks in this playoff field, like Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza (Indiana), Heisman finalist Julian Sayin (Ohio State), Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss, Oregon’s Dante Moore, Texas A&M’s Marcel Reed, Texas Tech’s Behren Morton and yes, even Miami’s Carson Beck, a beloved figure by all Georgia fans.
But Stockton has seen more big games than any of them, and that matters when every game from here on out is do-or-die.
It is still unknown who Georgia will play in its return to the Sugar Bowl quarterfinal. Ole Miss may be a safe bet considering they’ve already beaten their first round opponent Tulane by 32 points this year. Or maybe Tulane pulls off the upset. Either way, it’ll be between a team Georgia has already seen or one it vastly outranks in resources.
Stockton’s big game experience is a big deal, especially when he’s played pretty well in all of the ones he’s been in. And that should serve him and the Bulldogs well as they gear up for what they hope can be a national title run.