Well, the playoffs saw yet another blueblood exit in a heartbreaking loss after the Sugar Bowl. Kirby Smart lost to an Ole Miss that entered the game as an underdog but fought with vengeance. Despite being on the losing side, Gunner Stockton certainly made quite an impactful mark.

The Georgia QB ends the season on a tough but positive note as a first-time starter. He fought tooth and nail to keep the Bulldogs in the game, fighting for the win. His performance had former Georgia QB Aaron Murray in awe of his perseverance.

“Gunner made some incredible plays. Everything we know of Gunner Stockton, we saw in this game. The toughness, the running, the willingness to not go down,” Murray said in the January 2 episode of the Mac & Murray CFB Show.

“There was just a level of awesome playmaking ability from Gunner Stockton, but then there were also moments of inconsistency from Gunner Stockton. You just didn’t know what you were going to get.”

Stockton did practically everything he could. He had a brilliant first half, running the ball himself to score those two touchdowns. He was making big plays as well, connecting with 7 players for passes that covered more than 15 yards. Stockton also found ways to get creative—he dove headfirst for 6 yards, which earned the Bulldogs a first down. The play that made him a legend, however, was his 26-yard throw to Cash Jones in the second quarter. It came after he was thrown to the ground by LB Tahj Chambers.

But in the second half, Georgia’s offense wasn’t showing the same level of heroism. The Rebels’ defense was able to break through much more easily and batted away a lot of Stockton’s passes. Then, the doomed 4th-down conversion play came in the 4th quarter. The “misfired” snap caught Gunner Stockton off guard, who was strip-sacked by Rebels LB Suntarine Perkins. A valiant effort came down to a crushing end for the QB who’s gone beyond what was expected of him this season.

Georgia seemed to give it away towards the end, despite Stockton displaying his ability to turn the game around during these times. But at the end of the day, the Rebels got to outshine a dominant UGA anyway. No matter how one looks at Ole Miss this season, they made their case to be in the playoffs in the Sugar Bowl.

Despite Gunner Stockton’s fight, Trinidad Chambliss was the real star

Very few thought Ole Miss had it in them to defeat a team as elite as Georgia. The skeptics thought Pete Golding was handed an easier chance against Tulane, which definitely wasn’t the competition the Bulldogs would give them. But the Rebels learned from their past mistakes and showed up big time against Georgia.

“As well as I try and hold back the tears of this loss, Ole Miss deserved it,” Murray said. “Ole Miss was the better football team in this game.”

The star of the show was Trinidad Chambliss, hands down. He passed for a season-high 362 yards and brought in 2 scores. Stockton was creative, but so was Chambliss. In the fourth quarter, he ran backwards for 28 yards before finding Kewan Lacy. Throughout the night, he escaped Georgia defenders and showed college football that he’s someone who can win the big games.

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The Rebels put in a team effort from start to finish. Trey Wallace connected on 9 of Chambliss’ passes for 156 yards. Ole Miss averaged 7.9 yards per pass. Lacy himself was a brilliant contributor to the rushing attack, bringing home 98 yards.

Golding and Charlie Weis Jr. deployed a balanced offense, rather than favoring either the pass or run game. On defense, Zxavian Thomas troubled the Georgia offense by hauling in 10 total tackles. Along with Perkins, Ole Miss’s Kam Franklin was also able to sack Stockton. This was an Ole Miss that matched Georgia at every point.

Gunner Stockton hasn’t yet announced his plans for next year. But he will still go down as a legendary Georgia QB, in spite of the brutal end to his 2025. But after the Sugar Bowl, there should also be no doubts about Ole Miss and its campaign for a National Championship.