Gunner Stockton and Lawson Luckie delivered strong performances for Georgia in its 43-35 win over Ole Miss.
The two Bulldogs played a key role in the team’s offensive success, totaling a season-high 510 yards against the Rebels on Saturday. Both arguably enjoyed the best games of their careers wearing red and black.
Stockton was named SEC Offensive Player of the Week for his effort. The redshirt junior completed 26 of 31 pass attempts for 289 yards and a career-high four touchdowns, along with 59 rushing yards on 10 carries with a score.
Stockton also completed all 12 pass attempts for 135 yards and three touchdowns in the second half.
“Had some huge scrambles, great throws on time, darts, like the throw to Dillon Bell. Let’s give credit where credit’s due,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said of Stockton. “He’s wired for these types of moments because he’s tough, and his team believes in him. I didn’t get to talk about it, but this kid couldn’t practice on Monday or Tuesday. He literally couldn’t. His oblique, the shots he took [at Auburn]; he was beat up.”
Stockton led Georgia to score on its first eight drives, marking the first time since 2016 that an offense has accomplished this against an AP top-10 opponent. He also became the first quarterback to go 12-for-12 or better in a half against an AP top-five opponent since Cal’s Aaron Rodgers did it in 2004 against then-No. 1 USC.
“That’s just Gunner going out there and being Gunner, man,” Georgia wideout Zachariah Branch said of Stockton’s performance. “We’re just trusting him and just doing our job for him. I always tell people, he’s probably the nicest person I’ve ever met, honestly. He’s a great down-to-earth human, but he’s very competitive.”
Luckie also had a career day for Georgia. The junior tight end caught five passes for 43 yards and three touchdowns, all career highs.
Two of Luckie’s touchdown catches gave the Bulldogs the lead, with the last being for good in the fourth quarter.
“This guy, man, he speaks up at every meeting. He loves the place. His dad played here,” Smart said of Luckie. “He never complains; he doesn’t gripe; he just keeps on working, man. He’s got some of the best toughness in our program, never complains. He probably wasn’t having the year he wanted, but he never pouted. He never complained.”
Luckie’s teammates think very highly of him, too.
“He always pushes dudes to be the best version of themselves, and he goes 1,000 percent every single practice,” Branch said. “He deserves every bit of what he had today, and I’m super excited. That one touchdown, I was telling him on the sideline, when he pointed at his family, I was like, that’s a pretty cool moment right there. So, he deserves all that.”
Smart also noted Stockton and Luckie are friends, which makes their connection in the passing game that much stronger.
“Yeah, they’re great friends, Smart confirmed. “Lawson’s the one who had the quote last year in the Texas game. He [told Stockton], ‘I hope you believe in you as much as I believe in you.’ They’ve got a great rapport with each other. And I think that helped.”