Gunner Stockton has been as good as anyone could have realistically hoped so far this season, but a lot of that has to do with the level of competition Georgia's faced. So far this season Stockton has thrown nine touchdowns and only seven incompletions which again is mostly due to the three overmatched opponents he has played this year, but Oklahoma will be a stark reality check.
The Sooners have one of the top defenses in the country. Stockton could've rolled out of bed and still played well the first three weeks of the season, but he will be challenged far more than he has all season against Oklahoma.
Gunner Stockton will finally face a defense that will challenge him against Oklahoma
Oklahoma enters Saturday's matchup struggling a bit. The are 2-1 overall after losing to Michigan and barely squeaking by New Mexico last week with an eight point win. Their struggles however have more to do with their offense than their defense.
Oklahoma so far this season has only given up 23 points. 17 of those came on the road at Michigan which is hardly worth complaining about. Overall the Sooners are No. 4 in the country in scoring defense after giving up just 7.7 points per game, that level of success is something Stockton hasn't faced yet this season.
Tennessee State, Western Kentucky and Arkansas hardly posed a threat to Stockton. Georgia's offense scored a touchdown every time he stepped foot on the field in their first two games, and Georgia was so dominant against Arkansas they he didn't even play the entire game. That however will likely not be the case this weekend.
Oklahoma's defense is more than capable of stopping Stockton and the Georgia offense on any given play. They have the talent and coaching capable of slowing them down even in Athens, so Stockton needs to be ready to face a defense unlike anything he has seen so far this season.
Gunner Stockton's mental toughness will be tested against the Sooners
Stockton not only will be challenged physically against Oklahoma, but he will be challenged mentally. He could basically do whatever he wanted in Georgia's first three games of the season, but Oklahoma won't allow that to happen this week.
Oklahoma will probably have some stretches on defense where they get multiple stops in a row. It wouldn't be surprising if they forced a couple turnovers or sacked Stockton a few times either. It will be interesting to see how Stockton will mentally respond in these moments because so far it has been smooth sailing through three weeks this season.
Oklahoma will likely be one of the most difficult defenses Stockton will face this season. If he continues to dominate on Saturday against the Sooners then he could be trending to one of the best seasons from a quarterback in program history, but if he struggles a little bit that isn't the worst thing in the world either.
If he has moments where Oklahoma's defense is controlling the game that gives him a chance to show how resilient and tough he is, and if he can still lead Georgia to victory that will still say a whole lot about what kind of player and leader he is.
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