Gunner Stockton Excited For Matchup With Crimson Tide

ATLANTA -- The Gunner Stockton era is underway in Athens. After taking over for Carson Beck in the SEC Championship Game last December, Stockton threw for 234 yards and a touchdown in Georgia's College Football Playoff loss to Notre Dame.

Stockton has his work cut out for him with Georgia facing the eighth-hardest schedule in the country this season. Notably, Georgia plays host to Alabama for the first time since 2015, when Stockton, a lifelong Bulldogs fan, was just 12 years old.

" I don't have huge memory about it," Stockton said of that game. "But I remember watching it on TV, and I rewatched it."

Jake Coker, Derrick Henry, and Calvin Ridley led Alabama to a 38-10 win in that game. The two teams have faced off seven times since then: twice in Tuscaloosa, three times in the SEC Championship, and twice in the national championship game. Alabama is 6-1 in those games, with Georgia's lone win coming in the 2021 National Championship.

"(Excited for) the tradition that goes along with that game," Stockton said. "Really, just the tradition and being able to play it at home."

If Stockton is going to get the Bulldogs back in the win column, he'll have to take down Ty Simpson, whom he practiced with at the Manning Passing Academy last month.

"It was just cool talking to him. Just normal college dudes, just having fun," Stockton said. "It was neat because we actually, during high school, went to the Alabama camp together. Just sharing that and talking about it was pretty neat now... He's a great guy."

The Bulldogs and Crimson Tide square off on Sept. 27 at 6:30 p.m. CT in one of the most hotly anticipated games of the season.