Last year, the Georgia Bulldogs were clobbered by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoffs. This year, the tale would end differently.
Last season, Carson Beck was holding the reins of the offense for most of the year. This season, it's Gunner Stockton, and his stats have only blossomed over the last year. In fact, if this year's Stockton was running the show during the Sugar Bowl last season, the game would have gone Georgia's way.
2025 Gunner Stockton could beat 2024 Notre Dame
While you can't compare apples to oranges, you can undeniably compare the stats that Stockton has had this season to the stats that Notre Dame had against him in the Sugar Bowl.
Gunner Stockton stats vs ND in Sugar Bowl
- 62.5 percent completion rate
- 234 passing yards (7.3 per completion)
- 1 passing touchdown
- 0 interceptions
- -23 rushing yards
- 0 rushing touchdowns
Stockton didn't exactly have a bad game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish last season, but he was far from the form he has shown throughout the first 10 games of this year.
What truly held him back from excelling against the Irish was the fact that he lost 23 yards as Notre Dame earned four sacks on him.
Gunner Stockton stats in 2025
- 70.7 percent completion rate
- 226.9 passing yards per game (7.9 per completion)
- 1.9 passing touchdowns per game
- 0.3 interceptions per game
- 35.0 rushing yards per game
- 0.8 rushing touchdowns per game
While his average yards per game are a few less than he had in the quarterfinal last season, his completion rate is exponentially hire and he has averaged nearly two passing touchdowns per game, nearly double what he had in the matchup with Notre Dame.
Not to mention, Stockton has finally found his footing (quite literally), earning 350 total rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns, something he never would have dreamed of against Notre Dame last season.
So, while the Playoff game is in the past, it sure would be nice for Stockton and the Dawgs to get their revenge on the Irish, and the stats show that could very easily happen.