Gunner Stockton Leaves Georgia Legend Unimpressed As Kirby Smart’s Woes Deepen in Blunt Revelation

The Georgia Bulldogs took the field against Austin Peay last weekend. And while the scoreboard showed a solid 28-6 win, the offense sputtered. The Bulldogs showed up against Austin Peay on a day when the weather was pretty much playing referee. The first half was sluggish, for sure. Georgia had a lead, but only 14-3 at halftime, which is about as close as they’ve played an FCS opponent since 2016.

And right at the end of the first half, the Bulldogs were sitting on the 1-yard line with the chance to score a touchdown. But ended up going five plays without crossing into the end zone. Quarterback Gunner Stockton was throwing mostly short, safe passes. And that deep-throw spark just wasn’t there. That lack of explosiveness didn’t go unnoticed. Former Georgia All-American and three-time All-SEC standout David Pollack, speaking on a recent podcast, zeroed in on the Bulldogs’ struggles with passing. Pollack pointed out that the team hasn’t looked as sharp as its ranking suggests.

“I got some opinions that Georgia fans aren’t going to like,” Pollack stated on the See Ball Get Ball podcast. “Nate Frazier touching the ball and fumbling right away was not a good start. Offensive line, the right side of the line is absolutely a mess now because it’s mangled. I mean, you just you’re down your right side of the line in a couple of games. That’s not good. The passing attack does not look good. It does not look in sync. The weapons look fine, but the connection and seeing it with Gunner, seeing it and delivering it, is not there yet.”

 Okay, let’s get at it. Gunner Stockton, the man under center, wasn’t careless with the ball. He completed 76% of his passes for 227 yards. But it wasn’t about his completion rate, but the kind of mistakes he made that cost Georgia. Right before halftime, with the Bulldogs perched on Austin Peay’s 1-yard line, ready to punch it in. Instead? The offense stumbles through five plays that just go nowhere. Nate Frazier tries to bulldoze the line but gets stuffed. Stockton threw a couple of passes that just didn’t connect. There was one pass to tight end Zachariah Branch in the end zone that should’ve been a touchdown. But Branch couldn’t hold on. Then another to Cash Jones that could almost turn into a touchdown, but ends with a scary misconnection. Then a penalty gives them another chance, but Stockton’s next pass to Sacovie White-Helton was off.

Finally, on the last play before half, Chauncey Bowens trips over his own feet and falls short of the goal line. Not exactly the way you want your two-minute drill to go. On top of that, the offensive line was shaky. It missed key players like Earnest Greene and Juan Gaston. And fumbling was an issue with Frazier and London Humphreys. The passing game lacked any big, explosive plays, with the longest pass only 19 yards. The running gave some relief, though. “The running game looks good,” Pollack stated. “I think you got a bunch of backs that you can keep fresh that you can rotate that will be really good. And you can use Gunner in that aspect. You can use Branch in that aspect.” Georgia finished the game with 190 rushing yards.

Chauncey Bowens and Nate Frazier powered the offense on the ground. Bowens ran 11 times for 56 yards, showing toughness and fighting for extra yards after contact. Frazier did his part, too—despite the fumble, he carried 14 times for 69 yards and punched in two scores. Together, they formed the backbone of the offense. A standout moment illustrating the effectiveness of the run game was the 99-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter, capped by a Frazier touchdown. But even Stockton showed that he can be used effectively in short-yardage or surprise running plays to keep defenses off balance. And even Branch has all the pieces required to orchestrate a solid run game in the future.

Kirby Smart needs to fill these holes as early as possible before facing Tennessee for the week 3 matchup.

Fans who stayed brought the energy

The expectations were sky-high for the home opener against Austin Peay. But things didn’t quite go as smoothly as planned, not just on the field, but in the stands too. At the start of the game day, the crowd energy didn’t quite match what Georgia fans are known for—their loud cheers. Sanford Stadium, which usually packs in 93,033 fans (on average), had plenty of empty seats by the second half, and folks started heading for the exits earlier than usual. Now, Coach Kirby Smart wasn’t shy about expressing his feelings.

“If our fans want to be great and different, then they’ll do it,” said Smart. His comments didn’t exactly sit well with some of the fanbase, who felt a little unappreciated for their support. Then the hit came from Mother Nature. Heavy rain and lightning forced a nearly two-hour rain delay. Fans who stuck it out through the delay brought serious energy and noise after the stadium almost emptied. And that’s when Kirby Smart did a 180. “Yeah, I want to first thank our fans for being able to adjust on the fly like we had to do today,” Smart said.

“But especially thank you for the fans that stuck around after the rain delay. I thought there was a lot of energy for the stadium… You know, not being full after the rain delay. But the energy in the stands was awesome.” Smart pointed to a key play after the delay. A quick three-and-out by the defense, followed by a long touchdown drive by the offense. The momentum swing was fueled in part by the crowd’s resurgence. He admitted he could feel the energy shift and knew it was a big boost for his team.