The 2026 season has been extremely easy for Gunner Stockton so far. He is yet to step foot on the field during the second half of any game because Georgia has been so dominant, but that will likely change this week when Georgia hits the road for their SEC opener at Arkansas.
Arkansas will test Georgia and Stockton far more than Tennessee State or Western Kentucky did. The Bulldogs are still favored by over three scores, but the Razorbacks still present the biggest challenge for Stockton so far this season.
Georgia's first road game and Power Four opponent isn't as scary for Gunner Stockton this year
Arkansas is the first Power Four opponent Georgia and Stockton will face this season. They are a significant step up in competition from what Georgia's seen already this season, even if they are off to a slow start this year.
Arkansas is 1-1 after a narrow win over North Alabama in week one and a blowout loss at Utah on Saturday. These two results should make Georgia confident entering this game, but the Razorbacks will still be the most talented team Georgia has faced this season so they will have to be ready to adjust to going against players more on their level.
This game also marks the first road game of the season for Georgia. Stockton thankfully has played in front of difficult road environments already in his career, but it could be a little bit of an adjustment since it's his first time this season. This matchup thankfully isn't at night and instead has a strangely early start time that should benefit Georgia and Stockton.
While it usually is a big deal when Georgia plays their first road game and Power Four opponent in a season this year is different because of Arkansas' struggles and Stockton's experience as a starter.
Gunner Stockton's conditioning will be tested against Arkansas
Stockton likely won't be thrown off by the level Arkansas plays at since they will be much worse than other teams he has faced throughout his career. He however could see his conditioning tested against Arkansas.
So far this season Stockton hasn't played in the second half of either of Georgia's games. Georgia did this on purpose because they were up by so much and wanted to keep him healthy, but his conditioning might suffer as a result.
Kirby Smart spoke to this saying that he is pushing his team early in the week at practice to keep their conditioning up, but you can only do so much in practice to be adequately conditioned for a game. Practicing will never be the same as playing a real opponent, so Stockton could be challenged if he ends up having to play deep into this game.
The good news for him is that there's a chance he won't have to play the entire game. Georgia is favored by over three scores so there's a chance they blow Arkansas out and Stockton can come out of the game early again. It's unlikely that he'll be pulled in the first half though, and even if Georgia is up by a lot it makes sense to keep him in the game since their schedule gets far more difficult after this week to the point where he'll have to play all 60 minutes.
Arkansas is Stockton's toughest test so far this season, but they still don't present a significant challenge. This should be another smooth win for Georgia as they gear up for another step up in competition they will start facing in week four when Oklahoma comes to Athens.
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