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UGADad20
✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate
Dude, you get your feelings hurt way too easy. When you implied I would "pounce" on GS I was puzzled (not offended) . I don't see anything that I said about GS that was overly critical (of him or you). We just have not seen him perform at the level needed to take this team to a championship. Yet. We may. IDK. But we haven't.
The INT vs TX was a bad play. UGA had a chance to put the game away in regulation and he made a bad play. Based on the little we have seen of GS, while he has been at UGA, he looks like he has pretty good up side for CFB. But he has also looked like a QB in need of more seasoning and experience. To take the lead now, with the season at stake, is not the ideal scenario to find out where GS is now as a player. But that is where UGA is. THANKFULLY, GS has been in practice for 3 years. The probability for success would be even less if GS had to go in as a true freshman. He should know the O well and have enough reps in the O to be able to execute plays. The rest will be how he, and everyone on the team, executes in a big game under pressure.
GS has probably been a running QB since he was in pee wee football. His comfort level, at QB, should be at a high level. Personally I am torn. We have seen CBeck play at a high level last year and at times this year. We have seen him play at his ceiling and we have seen him play at his floor. If UGA gets CBeck's ceiling it can win a championship. But the intensity, "leadership"(?) and RUNNING ability GS brings to the position is exciting. And encouraging.
Like it or not this is the hand UGA was dealt (don't get me started on the Hail Mary call vs TX). When you look at the UGA QB position UGA might be in the best position of any team in the playoffs to lose a starting QB. What other team has a guy sitting on the bench that has been in the system 3 years?
The one thing that CKS never wants is QB controversy. We have seen it in the way he has handled his QB's over the years. Well he has a boatload now. In an ideal world, CBeck balled out in '24 and left for the NFL w/a championship. The '25 QB competition is brutal with the top choice taking the reins. Now all of that is up in the air for this playoff and the '25 season.
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navydawg
✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate
I offered an apology and you slapped it right back in my face. So I had allot to say in response but I’m not gonna go down that road. From here on out I’ll stay out of your space meaning I won’t respond on any comments you make on here. And I’d be appreciative if you stay out of mine. Thank You.
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UGADad20
✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate
@navydawg you saw the play. GS got pressured, scrambled to his right and when the guy got in his face he threw the ball up for grabs. There wasn't a UGA receiver within 10 yards. That ain't the coaches.
I know GS is yoir boy. But it sounds like you are already making excuses for his play.
You bring up SBIV. You are right. He beat the odds. But it took him 6 years of being pressured by CKS to break him of his recklessness. What are the odds GS does it in his 1st start? In a playoff pressure cooker? This game will go a long way to determining who the QB will be for UGA next season.
There is no doubt the team will unite behind him and CKS will have the team (those that can play) ready to play well.
As I said it will be interesting to watch how well GS plays, how well he is prepared , how good a gameplan his coaches prepare, how much his teammates rise to the occasion.
This UGA team is not as strong aa recent teams. Blame NIL and the TP. And BB going pro. ND looked good especially their QB running and.passing. How does ND measure up to an SEC team? Idk. Either way UGA has a good chance to win provided the most important player , QB, does not play poorly.
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navydawg
✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate
@UGADad20 No Kirby won’t throw Gunner under the bus he never did with Beck and that’s good. But Unless they had given Gunner authority to change the play at the LOS which at that juncture they probably Hadn’t then No it IS on the Coaches. So I doubt Kirby lied . Now going into these playoffs they might well have given him that authority at This point.
Any QB can be dangerous to their own team with allot of turnovers that’s a given for even veteran QBs. He could do that I hope not but yeah that’s possible. But it’s also possible he could make some great plays.
I agree with you about this years team as compared to the last three. Still through pure resilience they’ve only lost two games, Both on the road vs top 10-15 teams. I can’t remember but Bama was in the top five if memory serves. The Ole Miss loss was embarrassing. No covering that.
I doubt seriously that Gunner sees himself as a Hero. In HS he by and large played Above the competition he faced. He broke HS records many of which have not yet been broken. He’s very young at the position this will be his first career Start, in the Playoffs, vs a pretty good ND team, so Like Beck Did and Admitted he did about mid season This year, yeah he might get caught up thinking he has to win it all. That is NOT a character flaw, it’s just a highly competitive young man with a huge desire to Win. We both agree that it’s the Coaches job to weed that out of him. Though in Gunners case they have a whole Three Weeks to do that.
Gunner hasn’t exclusively practiced with the Ones Offense all that time, in fact a sizable portion has been with the Twos. I read where Kirby said that way back probably summer camp or something. So the fact remains Gunner has had Very Little time in Real Games where it’s much more meaningful.
All I’m Really trying to say is two things::
1)Unless Gunner is utterly s t u p I d with ball, NOT just excited IF the Dawgs lose SHAME on Any Dawgs fan low enough to bash on the young man. He probably Will make mistakes, he’s a human being and he’s going into a HUGE game with ALL eyes on him and Expected to Win with Reality very little Quality preparation. I thought his composure was Excellent vs TX though in the SECCG a Huge game. TX is imo every bit as good if not better than ND.2)Every thing in football and life doesn’t always fit into statistical data boxes. Reality can be bent against the odds some times. You cited Stetson Bennett. He is the poster child for what I’m saying. Purely from a Stats standpoint and QB pedigree standpoint the odds were absolutely and heavily Against him being able to Help ( he didn’t do it on his own and Neither can Gunner) his Team reach the lofty goals they did. But in HIS mind he Believed and had Faith that he could. And his Teammates also Believed and had Faith. And the Reality is They Did !!
YES it’s a Big stretch to just win this game vs ND less alone go to and win the Natty. But you’ve watched these Dawgs like I have and you know as I know Never Underestimate These Dawgs. NEVER.
Lastly I want to retract and apologize about the “ your pouncing on Gunner” comment. I shouldn’t have said that. And I apologize. I am Exceedingly Confident in this though, Gunner Stockton will give everything he humanly has to Help the Dawgs win. Be assured of that. Now if the Team will unite around him, and I think they will, the Dawgs have a decent shot at winning vs ND. I’m gonna have Faith in him and then till the last tick of the clock. Go Dawgs !!
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UGADad20
✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate
Of course CKS is going to say "it was the coaches fault". 1) he is not going to throw GS under the bus and 2) UGA's season depends 100% on GS playing up to or close to his potential. With the season riding on GS's driving the bus, CKS is not going to say anything about him except to pump up his confidence. When the coaches are on one page and the QB is on another page it is on the QB.
GS has an opportunity to be a dangerous QB. For both teams. His running ability and mobility in the pocket opens up a whole different section of the playbook. He can also be dangerous to UGA if he isn't trying to protect the ball and not make mistakes.
Not going to "pounce" on anyone if/when UGA loses. For most of this year it was pretty obvious that UGA would not win a championship unless a lot of players made pretty big leaps in their production/execution/development.
We really haven't seen that from many players this year. We have actually seen more regression. OL regressed. WR's regressed. CBeck regressed (not unrelated). All three levels of the D regressed from last year. Regression could be schedule related. Tougher competition. But the '24 UGA did not come as close to dominating as the previous 3 teams did.
Now if GS goes out there and tries to play like he did in HS, trying to do too much, playing Hero ball, trying to win the game on every play and turns the ball over or makes more than a couple mistakes he will shoulder a lot of the blame should UGA lose. That is the nature of the QB position. How much has he learned this year? Can his play elevate the team around him or does he still try to win the game on every play?
As you said GS has not had much time to prepare (or experience playing SEC level ball). That in itself drops his probability for success. BUT he has been "in the system" for 3 years and he has been practicing against a pretty good D. Hope and faith are great but the reality is that he hasn't done it before at this level. I don't "expect" him be able to do it now.
Reminds me of the preseason comments. UGA O and D will be better than last year. UGA should have 10-12 1st team All-SEC players. BRob is the next Chubb. JHall is the next JCarter. I could go on.
Until it happens you just don't know. Would all UGA fans like to see GS play like a bigger, stronger (more accurate) SBIV (6th year)? Of course. But expecting it is a reach. We will learn a lot about CKS and CMB's ability to coach up the QB position on 1/1/25.
You predict "another" storybook finish after what SBIV provided you 2X just 2 years ago? Man that is a big ask from GS and this team.
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navydawg
✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate
Kirby said the INT that Gunner threw was on the Coaches. Said they weren’t on the same page. I’m Very sorry that Beck went down with injury. But it sounds like you’ve made up your mind about Gunner pre-game, which is extremely unfair.
You talk about him “ not forcing it”. Well he hasn’t had allot of opportunities to even Throw it less alone force it !! It’s Not Gunners fault that Kirby has a tendency to not let the backups in until games are only seconds left. Gunner probably Will make mistakes. But I thought he did Very well helping the Dawgs get their first and only TD against a very stout TX defense. TX is I believe every bit as good of a team as ND. Gunner was literally thrown in the fire in a Huge game. Beck had in Both cases all season to prepare for the SECCG with NO disrespect toward Beck.
So are you primed to pounce on Gunner if the Dawgs lose ? Is it asking to much to cut the young man a tad of slack ? You Know football, you’re pretty intelligent about the game, and you’ve watched the Dawgs. You know dawg gone well that Gunner has had very very limited opportunities. Lastly go back and look at the FSU stats if you please, Gunner did really well with the time he was given. And you saw or should have he did very well with the time he was given in the SECCG.
Win or lose I’m extremely confident he will give every fiber of his being in the effort. If we do lose I think it’d be grossly unfair to put all the blame on Gunner. Three weeks to prepare for a game of this magnitude is microscopic and with your level of football IQ you know that.
And all those QBs you cite as doing so well how much time did They have to prepare ? It seems though very small at least I hope so there’s a segment of our fanbase that seems like their almost mad at Gunner that Beck got hurt. Gunner is a good kid, and like Beck he has patiently waited his time for the job. It’s not his fault that Beck went out due to injury.
You tend to be very objective and critical about everything with the Dawgs, and that’s OK, there’s certainly plenty of room for that. But there’s one thing that doesn’t fit into all those check sheet boxes, it’s called Faith. And Yes there have been countless times that all the check sheet boxes say that No Way a team or an individual should win, but through Faith they did !! So as Oddball from the movie Kelly’s Heroes would say “Have a little faith Baby “ !! 😀
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UGADad20
✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate
Indiana is not UGA. That being said ND is built more like an SEC team. Good size on the OL and DL. The ND QB played well. He played like UGA fans hoped CBeck would've played this year. Accurate passer, dangerous runner. Add in a couple of good RB's.
UGA's offense's problem this year has been getting WR separation. ND's pass D is a top rated pass D in the country. THAT will make GStockton's day even more difficult. UGA running game must be effective. OL must open holes and give GS all the time he needs plus 2 seconds to find his outlets. Time for CKS and CMB to dust off all those TE receiving plays they have been sitting on all year.
EVERYTHING in the UGA O is on the table for this game. Use it all. Anything that moves GS around should be used. RPO, sliding pocket, sprint out, QB runs, scrambles, misdirection throwbacks and TE safety valves should all be incorporated this week. UGA could catch ND off guard with a bomb or 3. GS throws a better deep ball than CBeck.
"not worried about Gunner at all". I am. The winning teams have all had high level QB play in RD 1. ND QB played well. OSU QB had his all time greatest game (I didn't think he had it in him). Ewers solid. Even Klubnik played well and still lost. GS has not done it with consistency on this level. Iameleava was inconsistent with accuracy and couldn't keep his team in the game.
Can CKS reprogram GS in 3 weeks to not force it? It will take a total team effort to advance to the next level. Especially on O with a dominant OL and error free execution. Should be interesting to watch. How GS plays in this game (and any subsequent games) will dictate what type of QB UGA adds from the TP in the off season.
@navydawg 26 players opted out of the FSU/UGA game. This included 10 on defense including Rd 1 DE Jared Verse.
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SufferinginAtlanta
✭✭✭ Junior
Not worried about Gunner at all. Only worried what happens if he takes another brutal hit.
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Vetdawg
✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate
if we have a healthy line on both sides of the ball, should be fine.
Frazier for ND will be a problem
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navydawg
✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate
Last night was NDs first top ten opponent. The same top ten team that was utterly exposed by Ohio St. So the Hoosiers made ND look Very good. Perhaps better than they really are ? We’ll see on Jan 1st. Go Dawgs !!
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navydawg
✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate
Last year in the bowl game FSU still had allot of their Defense from regular season it was their O players mainly that hit the TP right before the game.
Gunner was 6 of 10 for 96 yds and had 46 more yards with his legs. But here’s the interesting part Carson had a long pass of 35 yds. Gunner had a long of 31 only five yds less than Carson.
Now I know it’s only HS but go to the UGA official site and read Gunner’s bio. Some of the records he set are Still unbroken !! And I’ll tell you now when you go and look your gonna be pleasantly surprised by what he did with his Arm in addition to his legs. Again I realize it’s only HS but still.
Oh and the INT he threw vs TX Kirby said that was on the Coaches, said they were on the wrong page on that play. Gunner is gonna be severely tested, and Yes he’s probably gonna make mistakes, but I honestly Believe this young man has that “It” factor and he’s gonna make us proud !!
I Also believe ND hasn’t seen a run game like Etienne, Frazier, Cash Jones and Hopefully R. Robinson maybe/hopefully even Branson Robinson will be bringing !! And hopefully Phillips and Bowen will be ready to.
I don’t see the Irish running through our Dawgs like they did the Hoosiers. Lastly we have Woodring our not so secret weapon. Go Dawgs !! -
reddawg1
✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate
It's hard to compare the Ga Tech/Notre Dame game with the Tech/UGA game because Haynes King was injured and I don't think he played. However, ND did hold Tech to around 65 yards rushing, we gave up 265! Ga Tech held the ball around 15 more minutes than we did. ND held the ball 9 more minutes than Tech did!
I saw a pretty good defense by ND last night that all but stymied the 2nd scoring team in the nation.
Notre Dame wants to maul you up front. THey averaged 228 yards rushing per game. THey got 190 last night against the best ranked run defense.
We're nowhere near anyone in run defense, pass defense or in scoring, averaging a measly 33 points a game with a 1st or 2nd round NFL draft QB. HUh?
We all know Bobo's propensity for not getting much out of his offense in the 1st half. He will try to bully Notre Dame with alot of running. Lots of sideways passes . But what if Notre Dame is the bully? Is everyone ready to put the game on Gunner's shoulders as what happened with Carson so many times this year when we got down in the first half and had to throw caution to the wind inthe 2nd half?
We better hope and pray that the adage about "well they haven't played anyone" is true.
I'm hoping we show up and can run enough to set up some play action, or that Gunner can move the chains somewhat with his legs. Maybe hitting on enough chunk plays to keep the defense honest.
Certainy wouldn't expect a high scoring affair. Looking to win 21-17.
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benzone
✭✭✭ Junior
@UGA66 Counterpoints.
- Notre Dame has been running the RPO and other spread option principles for 15 years themselves while playing against mostly Big 10 and ACC teams that rely heavily on it. Meaning ND knows the RPO like the back of their hands. UGA doing it isn't going to fool ND. It is only going to work consistently against ND if UGA executes it at a high level with personnel that was recruited for it and has been coached up in it. Which UGA doesn’t have.
- Notre Dame knows that UGA is going to do this. It is the obvious thing to do with a mobile backup QB getting his first real playing time on a team with no star players at WR, RB or TE. Marcus Freeman was thinking "We are going to see a lot of RPO in the Sugar Bowl" the instant the playoff brackets went live. That they were also playing an RPO QB with Indiana in the first round made things even easier.
Instead of an RPO heavy gameplan that will fool no one and won't be executed well enough to be effective without fooling people, UGA should stick with their regular offense. Notre Dame won't be as effective covering UGA's TEs and WRs as Texas, plus UGA should have some success running the ball. That plus a defense that will generate sacks and turnovers will be more than enough.
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UGA66
✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate
UGA66
Fromm has a good handle on this…RPO the heck out of ND..keep them off balance. Gunner can run! ND knows this and will have to keep this in mind every play! This will open up the pass game. I like Gunner in this situation. He should ball out
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UGA66
✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate
Fromm has a good handle on this…RPO the heck out of ND..keep them off balance. Gunner can run! ND knows this and will have to keep this in mind every play! This will open up the pass game. I like Gunner in this situation. He should ball out
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BornADawg
✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate
I’ve never thought of Beck as a leader simply by his body language when things are not going well. Leaders never hang their heads but rather stay engaged and keep their teammates engaged as well. This is what I expect to see from Gunner. If so, this team is going to rally around him and impose their will on ND. Gunner doesn’t necessarily need to be the man but a leader of men. Go Dawgs!
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benzone
✭✭✭ Junior
@truthteller After watching that game, Notre Dame has no shot at Georgia. Indiana is a bunch of mid-major transfers plus holdovers from a 3-9 team, yet the difference between them and ND last night was really only about 4-5 plays that ND made and Indiana didn't. And this was with a month off and 3 weeks to prepare. While that 98 yard TD run was fun to watch, I spent most of it thinking that the runner wasn't actually going particularly fast nor was the downfield blocking anything special. Meaning Dan Jackson chases him down from behind from the other side of the field after 20 yards tops. And if Malaki Starks is on the same side of the field he doesn't even get 10 yards. Yes, UGA needs to do a minimum of due diligence for this game, but they can win by keeping things vanilla and while keeping an eye out for who they are likely going to play in the semifinal round. That Georgia Tech was hammered by 3 scores by this same ND team really does show that Tech put all their effort this season into trying to beat Georgia. That same effort would have beaten the ND team that we saw last night.
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GoodOlDawg
✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate
“I can’t wait to see what (Georgia offensive coordinator Mike) Bobo and the offense cooks up here,” Fromm said.
I’m not sure how Fromm’s NFL career is going, but I believe he has a very bright future as an OC. He would be a great fit for UGA one day!
GO DAWGS!
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truthteller
✭✭✭✭ Senior
I'm excited to see what Stockton brings to this game with weeks of preparation. I think it will be a classic RPO offense with plenty of running plays designed to wear down the Irish defense. I think Stockton will make the throws when he needs to - but the focus will be on staying a head of the chains and avoiding any 3rd and long situations. Beck was not a consistent long ball passer so it's not like we are going to be missing that aspect of the offense. Gunner can chunk the ball anyway, so that is still an option. But the ability to extend plays cannot be underestimated and I think he will be able to do that. Now, if only our defense comes to play and helps out our new QB by creating turnovers and short fields for the offense, we will have this thing cooking. Our D has to avoid what happened to Indiana with the runs from the ND rbs on the outside. Their rb is a speedy one. Dawgs by 2 TDs!
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navydawg
✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate
I’ve got a good feeling allot of Dawgs fans are gonna be pleasantly surprised with Gunner. And rival fans are gonna be in shock. Go Dawgs !!