Gunner Stockton Comes in After a Carson Beck Injury and Leads Georgia to an SEC Title

Georgia looked lifeless on offense in the first half of the SEC Championship Game. Carson Beck had completed seven passes for 56 yards and led the Bulldogs to just three points before suffering an injury on the final play of the first half. And then Gunner Stockton happened.

Georgia's backup quarterback, whose only previous game action this season came against Tennessee Tech and UMass, came out to open the second half and looked like he should have been playing the entire year. Stockton led the Bulldogs right down the field for their only touchdown of regulation.

Stockton did throw a bad interception late in the game, but I think you can excuse one mistake from a guy who got thrown in there at halftime of the SEC Championship Game after having not played against a Power Four team all year. The rest of the second half, Stockton looked like a guy Georgia would be perfectly fine going into the College Football Playoff with if it had to. It even seemed after his first drive that UGA might have a potential Tua Tagovailoa/Jalen Hurts situation on its hands regardless of Beck's health status, though I don't think Stockton ended up doing enough to make that a conversation if Beck ends up being fine.

I'm sure his teammates are willing to go to war for him anytime, though, after seeing him be willing to take hits like this:

Texas is obviously still firmly in the Playoff, but it can't feel great about this result. The Longhorns dominated the first half but only went into the locker room with a 6-3 lead and they obviously could have used one more score in regulation. And they have now lost to UGA twice this season with two different quarterbacks for the Dawgs.

I'm sure Texas is hoping for a draw that will avoid Georgia for as long as possible.