Gunner Stockton made a costly mistake that could have hurt Georgia

Gunner Stockton once again had another big performance during Georgia's 20-10 win over Auburn. Stockton finished the night completing 24 of 37 passes for 217 yards while also adding 26 rushing yards as well. He unfortunately did not throw a touchdown pass during this game, but he did score the final touchdown with his legs that gave Georgia a 10 point lead.

But this touchdown from Stockton, while it was fun to watch in the moment, could have proven costly as it may have been better for him to go down short of the goal line instead of scoring.

Gunner Stockton must learn from critical mistake

With two minutes to play and Georgia leading Auburn 13-10, Stockton faked a handoff and ran the ball from the 10-yard line and dove into the end zone to give Georgia their game-sealing touchdown. This play will be remembered forever because of how Stockton took flight to put the finishing touches on a big road victory, but in hindsight it would have been better if he didn't score.

Stockton only needed three yards to pick up another first down. If he gave himself up after picking up the first down the game would have been over. Auburn only had one timeout left, so Georgia could have kneeled the ball a couple times and guaranteed a 13-10 victory.

It ultimately ended up not mattering, but Auburn had plenty of time to mount a comeback of their own after this play. All it would have taken was a quick score, onside kick and another fast score to either win the game or force overtime. And in a sport like football, crazier things have happened.

As mentioned it ultimately did not matter that Stockton scored this touchdown, but this is a moment he needs to learn from going forward. During the celebrations on the sideline it looked like Kirby Smart pulled Stockton to the side to let him know what he should do different next time, so hopefully he will learn from this mistake.

But at the end of the day it's hard to call this play a mistake because Georgia still won the game and Stockton was able to flex on Auburn's defense with this impressive touchdown. But maybe next time Stockton will make the smart play and go down instead of giving the opponent a chance to tie or win the game.