Kirby Smart Forced to Rely on Gunnar Stockton After Defending Georgia QB for Lackluster Performance

It was supposed to be another classic Kirby Smart Georgia beatdown, the kind where fans are filing out by halftime and ESPN’s cameras start hunting for storylines in the third quarter. Instead, Bulldog Nation sat through a messy, weather-delayed 28–6 win over Austin Peay that left more questions than answers. Georgia still walked out undefeated, but the vibe? Flat. The scoreboard? Embarrassing. And the quarterback play? Let’s just say Gunnar Stockton does not look like Carson Beck does in Miami.

The numbers tell one story, but the eye test screams another. Stockton finished 26-of-34 for 227 yards, didn’t turn the ball over, and hit a tidy 76% of his passes. On paper, that’s efficiency. In reality, the ball rarely traveled beyond the line of scrimmage. His longest completion was just 19 yards. Most of the offense looked like glorified handoffs dressed up as screens. Georgia piled up 421 total yards but only 28 points against an FCS team. That disconnect had Bulldog fans’ worried.

Insiders like Rusty Mansell aren’t sugarcoating it either. On his Dawgs HQ podcast, he admitted: “These are big boy a– decisions. Do I think it’s Gunnar’s no matter what? No… but right now they’re fully vested in this kid because they’ve seen enough to think this guy’s giving us our best chance to win.” Translation: the leash isn’t infinite, but the Bulldogs are riding with him because turnovers from a raw backup like Ryan Puglisi would be a bigger problem. But come September and October, it is possible that Gunner might not be QB1.

Stockton’s conservative style feels like a safety net. He avoided turnovers, sure, but he also avoided risk. He rarely throws the ball down the field. Georgia’s offense sputtered with drive-killing mistakes, and for a team that wants to hoist another trophy, “game-manager energy” won’t cut it. The ground game, powered by Nate Frazier and Chauncey Bowens with 2 TDs apiece, did the heavy lifting. The passing game? It looked scared of its own shadow.

Defensively, Georgia did what Georgia does. Austin Peay mustered only 196 total yards and never sniffed the red zone. Linebacker CJ Allen played like a heat-seeking missile with seven tackles and a sack. But relying on defense and the run game alone feels like a dangerous way to walk into SEC play.

The awkward truth is that even though Stockton isn’t tanking games, he’s not elevating them either. And in the SEC, surviving isn’t the same as contending. With Tennessee up next and Alabama looming after, the Dawgs can’t hide behind dink-and-dunks forever. Smart’s got no choice but to keep rolling with Stockton, but if he doesn’t open the playbook and push it downfield, Georgia’s title chase might collapse before it ever really takes off.

Kirby Smart Backs Gunnar Stockton

Nobody within the Bulldogs program is framing Week 2 as a win to brag about. The Dawgs looked stuck in second gear. Stockton shouldered most of the criticism. His 6.7 yards per attempt was painfully pedestrian, with an average throw depth of just 3.2 yards. Those numbers barely fly against Austin Peay, let alone when Bama rolls into Athens.

Smart, of course, came to his quarterback’s defense. “We did a lot of throwing periods with rush and pressure pass periods in practice… He did a really nice job all week. He’s just got to continue to grow and get better,” the coach explained post-game. It was the classic Kirby mix of reassurance and demand. Protecting his QB while making it clear the leash is short.

The problem? Practice praise isn’t showing up on Saturdays. For two weeks now, Stockton’s been living off easy throws, with defenses sagging off and daring him to go deep. Smart even admitted, “We’ve got to find ways to be explosive. You’ve got to be able to throw the ball downfield and take shots.” That’s not just coach-speak. That’s a warning label taped to Stockton’s jersey.

Yes, there were drops. Yes, the weather delay messed with rhythm. But that doesn’t erase the bigger truth: Georgia’s passing game looks timid, and SEC defenses don’t hand out free cushions like Austin Peay did. Bulldog fans can live with efficiency, but they can’t stomach fear. Stockton’s first real test comes against Tennessee’s up tempo attack, and if he doesn’t start stretching the field, the Dawgs risk playing catch-up instead of playing bully-ball. Smart can keep defending him, but at some point, the scoreboard will speak louder than the coach.