Paul Finebaum Names College Football Powerhouse Who Collapsed Last Season originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The 2024 college football season did not end as many teams had hoped, except for the Ohio State Buckeyes, who claimed the national championship.
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The Georgia Bulldogs, one of the teams that made it to the College Football Playoff, fell short of winning another national title. They finished the year with an 11-3 record and are still looking for their first playoff win since their back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022.
This year, they will be relying on Gunner Stockton as their starting quarterback. In his limited playing time, Stockton has thrown for 588 yards, along with three touchdowns and two interceptions. On “The Paul Finebaum Show,” the SEC Network analyst expressed skepticism about Stockton’s ability to improve the team’s performance.
Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Gunner Stockton and Notre Dame Fighting Irish linebacker Jaylen Sneed© Amber Searls-Imagn Images
“The team reacts, the team does this, remember after the SEC Championship Game,” Finebaum said. “Well, I didn’t see a team reacting to Gunner Stockton in the most important moments in the Sugar Bowl. I saw them collapsing.”
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Finebaum has mentioned that he consistently hears how Stockton elevates the team and observes how players react to him on the field.
One significant game that is often discussed is the SEC Championship Game, where Stockton stepped in with the Bulldogs trailing the Texas Longhorns 6-3 just before halftime.
Although his statistics weren’t extraordinary, he played a crucial role in leading the Bulldogs to a 22-19 overtime victory after replacing Carson Beck, who was injured in the first half and would miss the remainder of the season. Stockton made a key eight-yard run on a crucial second-and-eight play from the 12-yard line during overtime. Following that, Trevor Etienne scored the winning touchdown from four yards out.
However, Finebaum is actually referring to the subsequent playoff game against Notre Dame, where Georgia lost 23-10 and struggled offensively for most of the game. He believes the team did not respond positively to Stockton in that game and instead witnessed them falter.
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Stockton completed the game with 20-of-32 for 234 yards and one touchdown. A pivotal moment occurred when he fumbled the ball with just 33 seconds remaining in the first half. He was sacked for a 12-yard loss, and Notre Dame recovered the fumble.
At that point, the Bulldogs were down 6-3. The Fighting Irish scored just one play later and returned the opening kickoff of the second half for another touchdown, extending their lead to 20-3.
Stockton hopes to prove Finebaum wrong and lead Georgia back to the top. The journey begins when the Bulldogs kick off their season against the Marshall Thundering Herd on Aug. 30 at 3:30 p.m. ET.
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 6, 2025, where it first appeared.