Gunner Stockton wasted no time putting his name alongside some of Georgia’s biggest quarterback performances.
By halftime against Western Kentucky on Saturday in Athens, Stockton had already thrown five touchdown passes, tying a school record and setting a career high in the Bulldogs’ 49-6 lead at the break. His scoring throws went to five different receivers, and the fifth - a strike to Talyn Taylor in the side of the end zone with 7:44 left in the second quarter - pushed Georgia ahead 42-0 and ended Stockton’s afternoon.
The script looked familiar. Georgia coach Kirby Smart had already done this once this season, pulling Stockton and a string of scoring drives midway through the second quarter of the Bulldogs’ season-opening 63-3 win over Tennessee State. He followed the same formula against the Hilltoppers.
Stockton’s final line was efficient and explosive: 13 of 16 passing for 234 yards, five touchdown passes and a 3-yard scramble. With that half, he joined a short list of Georgia quarterbacks to throw five touchdowns in one half, matching the feat Stetson Bennett IV turned in against UAB in 2021 and Aaron Murray delivered against New Mexico State in 2011.
The Bulldogs’ offense kept rolling after Stockton exited. Ryan Puglisi entered on Georgia’s seventh offensive series and immediately led a 3-play, 16-yard touchdown drive, capped by Landon Roldan’s first career score on a 9-yard end around. That made it 49-0 with 5:51 left in the second quarter.
Puglisi’s next possession went the other direction when he fumbled while carrying the ball, and that turnover set up Western Kentucky’s only points of the half.
Georgia controlled everything around it, outgaining Western Kentucky 343 yards to 63 before halftime. Nate Frazier also added a rushing touchdown in the first 30 minutes.
Stockton’s biggest throws came in different ways. He connected with freshman Craig Dandridge on his deepest completion of the season, a throw that traveled 49 yards through the air and went for 43 yards. He also hit Sacovie White-Helton on a 70-yard touchdown, his longest scoring pass of the season, with White-Helton catching the slant and racing the rest of the way to the end zone as Stockton sprinted downfield to celebrate with him.
The other touchdown passes from Stockton went to Ethan Barbour for 7 yards, Chauncey Bowens for 21 yards and London Humphreys for 3 yards.
Georgia quarterbacks with five-touchdown passing games also include Carson Beck vs. Tennessee Tech in 2024, Stetson Bennett vs.
UAB in 2021, Aaron Murray vs. Nebraska in 2013, Aaron Murray vs.
New Mexico State in 2011, Joe Cox vs. Arkansas in 2009, Matthew Stafford vs.
Georgia Tech in 2008, DJ Shockley vs. Boise State in 2005 and David Greene vs.
LSU in 2004.
In Other News...
Georgia May Have A New Answer Behind Gunner Stockton
Georgias quarterback picture behind Gunner Stockton got a little clearer in the win over Western Kentucky, even if it still looks unsettled for the bigger road ahead. Georgia cycled through multiple backups, but Ryan Puglisi emerged as the more intriguing option after he outplayed Ryan Montgomery and flashed the kind of mobility that can change how a backup job is evaluated.
Puglisi finished with modest passing numbers, but his legs provided the real spark, highlighted by a 70-yard touchdown run. He and Montgomery remain the leading candidates to eventually succeed Stockton, yet the competition also underscored how much Georgia still has to sort out at the position beyond this season. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Is Making A Push Ohio State Fans Wont Like
David Jacobs recent trip to Athens gave Georgia another chance to make its case in one of the most high-profile recruiting battles on the board. The five-star EDGE from Georgia is currently committed to Ohio State, but the Bulldogs have kept pressing for the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2027 class, and simply getting him back on campus was enough to keep the conversation going.
There is still plenty of time left in the cycle, with roughly three months before recruiting starts to move again in earnest, and the race remains far from settled. Georgia appears to have some momentum here, but whether that translates into a real shot at flipping Jacobs is still unclear, which is exactly why this one will linger for Bulldogs fans watching it unfold. [Read more 🡒]
Nick Chubb Just Received A Hometown Honor Georgia Fans Will Love
Nick Chubbs name has already been woven into Georgia football lore, but his latest honor took him back to where it all started. During Cedartown High Schools Legacy Night, the school retired his No. 21 jersey and celebrated Chubb along with eleven other coaches and players who helped shape the programs history.
For Georgia fans, the moment carried the kind of hometown symmetry that fits Chubbs career. The retired NFL running back and Georgia alumnus reflected on growing up in Cedartown and on the path that carried him to becoming one of the most accomplished rushers in school history, trailing only Herschel Walker on Georgias all-time list. [Read more 🡒]