There weren't too many things that went well for Georgia football during their Sugar Bowl loss to Notre Dame, but quarterback Gunner Stockton was one bright spot.
To be fair, Stockton did not have an overly impressive game, but he played pretty solid for his first collegiate start on the biggest stage the sport has to offer. Stockton finished Thursday's College Football Playoff quarterfinal completing 20 of 32 passes for 234 yards and a touchdown. This performance may not have been good enough to win the game, but it is something Stockton will be able to build from this offseason as he fights for the starting job next fall.
Kirby Smart was asked after the game about how he felt Stockton played, and he too saw some positives from Stockton's performance as well.
"Gunner did some good things," Smart said via 247sports.com. "Any time you don't have pass pro, it's tough. He had some tough moments out there. When it's your backside and you can't see it coming, it's tough. I thought he tucked it down and ran. He got us out of a couple sacks with his feet and legs, threw the ball away. Did some good things there. But obviously it wasn't enough with the two turnovers, and we've got to be better for sure."
Stockton needed more help on offense
As mentioned, this performance from Stockton wasn't good enough to will Georgia to victory, but if a few other things went Georgia's way then UGA still could've won this game. For starters, Georgia had two brutal turnovers that impacted the game. One was a fumble from running back Trevor Etienne in the red zone. If this fumble doesn't happen then that could have been seven more points for Georgia.
Stockton also lost a fumble late in the first half that Notre Dame converted into a touchdown. However, it’s hard to blame Stockton for that turnover since he was blindsided within seconds of taking the snap. But this is a 14 point swing if these two plays go Georgia's way, which theoretically would have been enough for Georgia to win.
Obviously this means nothing because this isn't how the game played out, but it shows just how close Georgia was to beating Notre Dame during Stockton's first career start.
It remains to be seen if Stockton will win the starting job next fall, but if he does then Georgia fans should have a lot of confidence in him after this performance.