University of Georgia Athletics
Stockton, Everette Among Heroes Against Texas
December 07, 2024 | Football, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Thanks to a bunch of different Georgia Bulldogs who made critical plays in an SEC Championship Game with razor-thin margins, it was the team in red and black, the team that has played inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium many times before, that raised the trophy at the end of a 22-19 overtime battle with No. 2 Texas on Saturday night.
For the No. 7 Bulldogs, not much has come easy this season. So why should the conference championship game, with a first-round bye in the new 12-team College Football Playoff on the line, be any different?
"I'm so happy for my team and the resilience we've shown," said safety Dan Jackson, one of 10 players with at least three stops against a potent Texas offense. "This is the most resilient team I've ever been on — I stand on that forever. I mean, I'm just so happy with the way we work and the way we finish."
Unlike last week, when Georgia needed eight overtimes to put away Georgia Tech, the Bulldogs finished off the Longhorns (11-2) in the first extra period. Texas, playing for the league title in its first season in the SEC, went ahead 19-16 on Bert Auburn's short field goal. And the game probably doesn't go to overtime if Auburn doesn't miss field-goal attempts of 42 and 51 yards earlier in the game. Georgia also made some of its own luck, with cornerback Daylen Everette, the game's Most Valuable Player, picking off a pair of Ewers passes.
"He's the most deserving player on our team," Jackson said of Everette.
One interception came in a tipped ball, on the first drive of the game, and Georgia couldn't take advantage of it. The second came with 3:36 left in the game and the Bulldogs leading 16-13. Georgia had a chance to put the game away in regulation, but the Longhorns made a big play of their own to get the ball back.
But before we travel down that road, we have to go back to the end of the first half. Georgia may wind up as high as the No. 2 seed in the Playoff, yet the Bulldogs have been outscored 63-55 in the first quarter this season. Texas led 3-0 after a quarter and 6-3 at halftime, making it six times this season that the Bulldogs have trailed after a quarter and five times they've trailed at halftime. Georgia lost at Alabama and at Ole Miss after getting behind early, but it has rallied to win the rest.
Georgia's rally looked a little different on Saturday. Quarterback Carson Beck was sacked and stripped on the final play of the first half and did not start the second. In came redshirt sophomore Gunner Stockton, who had appeared only in lopsided wins over Clemson, Tennessee Tech and UMass.
The Bulldogs were trailing against one of the top teams in the country and they were down their veteran starting quarterback on an offense that has sometimes been explosive this season but had managed just 54 yards on 21 plays in the first 30 minutes against Texas. Enter Stockton.
Leading his first meaningful drive since his senior year at Rabun County High School, the former four-star recruit brought a spark on the opening drive of the third quarter. Trevor Etienne, who later scored the game-winner in overtime, ran for 8 on first down. Two plays later, Stockton hit wideout Arian Smith for 18 yards. A 14-yard completion to tight end Lawson Luckie gave Georgia a first down at the Texas 19.
Stockton followed that with a 9-yard run to the 10, and then Etienne, in his first game back after missing the past three with a rib injury, scored on a 10-yard run to put the Bulldogs up 10-6 with 10:27 left in the third. Georgia's defense had made a lot of big plays in the game, from Everette's two picks to the team's many tackles for loss, but it wasn't until Stockton led the touchdown drive that the Bulldogs had any momentum.
"He's probably played this moment 1,000 times in practice. Tonight, he was able to show the world what he can do," Etienne said of Stockton.
Jackson knows Stockton well. They both like to get out in the woods when they have free time and they're both guys that have worked and worked to be ready when opportunity came their way. What Stockton did Saturday when called upon after Beck went out, finishing 12 of 16 passing for 71 yards and producing a couple of key runs, was no surprise to his good friend.
"We all knew who Gunner was," Jackson said. "He shows up every day at practice and he's a guy who works his freakin' butt off every day. ... I knew he was going to come in and do his thing. He actually used to be a safety back in the day, and I think it showed tonight."
Stockton, who had thrown a bad interception after Georgia got the ball back with a little more than three minutes remaining, took the field in overtime knowing that a field goal would tie it and a touchdown would clinch the SEC championship and a first-round bye.
On first down at the 25, Stockton found tight end Oscar Delp for nine yards. Two plays later, on third-and-3, he hit Delp for four more and a first down. On second-and-8 at the 12, Stockton showed that toughness Jackson spoke of with a hard run up the middle for eight yards. He took a big hit and lost his helmet on the run, which meant he had to leave the field for one play.
Even though the officials deemed that there was no targeting on the play, Stockton had earned Georgia a first down at the 4. On the next play, with Beck back in for Stockton, Etienne got the handoff and scooted up the middle for the game-winning touchdown. It was the second TD of the game for Etienne, who finished with 94 yards rushing and 28 receiving.
After he scored, Etienne said, "Man, then I'm just laying on the ground. I throw the ball up and then everybody's standing over me and picking me up off the ground. The last thing I can remember was everybody just hitting my helmet. ... Man, it's a great feeling."
Georgia coach Kirby Smart, who has now won three SEC titles in his nine seasons at his alma mater (and played in the past four championship games), knows his team better than anyone. And as the on-field celebration continued during the trophy presentation, Smart summed up his squad this season in six words: "This team never, ever says no."
We haven't even mentioned Smith's 9-yard play on a fake punt in the fourth on fourth-and-5 Georgia's 30-yard line, which led to a short Peyton Woodring field goal and a 16-13 lead, or Smart's willingness to call it. Or the defense's incredible 15 tackles for loss, including three from linebacker Jalon Walker, 2.5 from defensive lineman Warren Brinson, and a pair of sacks from end Mykel Williams.
The list could go on and on. And Georgia's season could go on and on. The Bulldogs have some time to rest and get healthy before their Playoffs begin, and they'll head into their third Playoff appearance in four years knowing that they've time and time again made the key plays that had to be made to keep winning. And that's what postseason football is all about.
It doesn't have to be pretty. It just has to work.
Staff Writer
Thanks to a bunch of different Georgia Bulldogs who made critical plays in an SEC Championship Game with razor-thin margins, it was the team in red and black, the team that has played inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium many times before, that raised the trophy at the end of a 22-19 overtime battle with No. 2 Texas on Saturday night.
For the No. 7 Bulldogs, not much has come easy this season. So why should the conference championship game, with a first-round bye in the new 12-team College Football Playoff on the line, be any different?
"I'm so happy for my team and the resilience we've shown," said safety Dan Jackson, one of 10 players with at least three stops against a potent Texas offense. "This is the most resilient team I've ever been on — I stand on that forever. I mean, I'm just so happy with the way we work and the way we finish."
Unlike last week, when Georgia needed eight overtimes to put away Georgia Tech, the Bulldogs finished off the Longhorns (11-2) in the first extra period. Texas, playing for the league title in its first season in the SEC, went ahead 19-16 on Bert Auburn's short field goal. And the game probably doesn't go to overtime if Auburn doesn't miss field-goal attempts of 42 and 51 yards earlier in the game. Georgia also made some of its own luck, with cornerback Daylen Everette, the game's Most Valuable Player, picking off a pair of Ewers passes.
"He's the most deserving player on our team," Jackson said of Everette.
One interception came in a tipped ball, on the first drive of the game, and Georgia couldn't take advantage of it. The second came with 3:36 left in the game and the Bulldogs leading 16-13. Georgia had a chance to put the game away in regulation, but the Longhorns made a big play of their own to get the ball back.
But before we travel down that road, we have to go back to the end of the first half. Georgia may wind up as high as the No. 2 seed in the Playoff, yet the Bulldogs have been outscored 63-55 in the first quarter this season. Texas led 3-0 after a quarter and 6-3 at halftime, making it six times this season that the Bulldogs have trailed after a quarter and five times they've trailed at halftime. Georgia lost at Alabama and at Ole Miss after getting behind early, but it has rallied to win the rest.
Georgia's rally looked a little different on Saturday. Quarterback Carson Beck was sacked and stripped on the final play of the first half and did not start the second. In came redshirt sophomore Gunner Stockton, who had appeared only in lopsided wins over Clemson, Tennessee Tech and UMass.
The Bulldogs were trailing against one of the top teams in the country and they were down their veteran starting quarterback on an offense that has sometimes been explosive this season but had managed just 54 yards on 21 plays in the first 30 minutes against Texas. Enter Stockton.
Leading his first meaningful drive since his senior year at Rabun County High School, the former four-star recruit brought a spark on the opening drive of the third quarter. Trevor Etienne, who later scored the game-winner in overtime, ran for 8 on first down. Two plays later, Stockton hit wideout Arian Smith for 18 yards. A 14-yard completion to tight end Lawson Luckie gave Georgia a first down at the Texas 19.
Stockton followed that with a 9-yard run to the 10, and then Etienne, in his first game back after missing the past three with a rib injury, scored on a 10-yard run to put the Bulldogs up 10-6 with 10:27 left in the third. Georgia's defense had made a lot of big plays in the game, from Everette's two picks to the team's many tackles for loss, but it wasn't until Stockton led the touchdown drive that the Bulldogs had any momentum.
"He's probably played this moment 1,000 times in practice. Tonight, he was able to show the world what he can do," Etienne said of Stockton.
Jackson knows Stockton well. They both like to get out in the woods when they have free time and they're both guys that have worked and worked to be ready when opportunity came their way. What Stockton did Saturday when called upon after Beck went out, finishing 12 of 16 passing for 71 yards and producing a couple of key runs, was no surprise to his good friend.
"We all knew who Gunner was," Jackson said. "He shows up every day at practice and he's a guy who works his freakin' butt off every day. ... I knew he was going to come in and do his thing. He actually used to be a safety back in the day, and I think it showed tonight."
Stockton, who had thrown a bad interception after Georgia got the ball back with a little more than three minutes remaining, took the field in overtime knowing that a field goal would tie it and a touchdown would clinch the SEC championship and a first-round bye.
On first down at the 25, Stockton found tight end Oscar Delp for nine yards. Two plays later, on third-and-3, he hit Delp for four more and a first down. On second-and-8 at the 12, Stockton showed that toughness Jackson spoke of with a hard run up the middle for eight yards. He took a big hit and lost his helmet on the run, which meant he had to leave the field for one play.
Even though the officials deemed that there was no targeting on the play, Stockton had earned Georgia a first down at the 4. On the next play, with Beck back in for Stockton, Etienne got the handoff and scooted up the middle for the game-winning touchdown. It was the second TD of the game for Etienne, who finished with 94 yards rushing and 28 receiving.
After he scored, Etienne said, "Man, then I'm just laying on the ground. I throw the ball up and then everybody's standing over me and picking me up off the ground. The last thing I can remember was everybody just hitting my helmet. ... Man, it's a great feeling."
Georgia coach Kirby Smart, who has now won three SEC titles in his nine seasons at his alma mater (and played in the past four championship games), knows his team better than anyone. And as the on-field celebration continued during the trophy presentation, Smart summed up his squad this season in six words: "This team never, ever says no."
We haven't even mentioned Smith's 9-yard play on a fake punt in the fourth on fourth-and-5 Georgia's 30-yard line, which led to a short Peyton Woodring field goal and a 16-13 lead, or Smart's willingness to call it. Or the defense's incredible 15 tackles for loss, including three from linebacker Jalon Walker, 2.5 from defensive lineman Warren Brinson, and a pair of sacks from end Mykel Williams.
The list could go on and on. And Georgia's season could go on and on. The Bulldogs have some time to rest and get healthy before their Playoffs begin, and they'll head into their third Playoff appearance in four years knowing that they've time and time again made the key plays that had to be made to keep winning. And that's what postseason football is all about.
It doesn't have to be pretty. It just has to work.
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files.
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