Tag: stetson bennett

Stetson Bennett’s national championship performance remains top mark

Former UGA football QB Stetson Bennett still has the No. 1 national championship performance in the CFP era

Former Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Stetson Bennett still has the highest graded national championship game performance according to Pro Football Focus.

Bennett completed 18 of 25 passes for 304 passing yards and threw four touchdowns and no interceptions in Georgia’s dominant 65-7 national title win over TCU. Bennett also added 39 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns on three carries.

Bennett finished the national championship with a QBR of 99.5. No other quarterback has a highest QBR against a Power Four opponent (includes regular and postseason) over the past three seasons.

PFF graded Bennett’s national championship performance as 94.1, which is significantly higher than any other quarterback.

Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota posted a grade of 90.8 in 2014, which is the second-best mark. LSU Tigers quarterback Joe Burrow has the third-best grade in a national title game at 90.6 in 2019. Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard recorded a 88.6 grade in the Buckeyes’ recent national title win over Notre Dame.

Bennett’s national championship performance against TCU was one for the ages and any other quarterback will have a hard time topping his QBR grade or PFF grade any time soon.

Of course, Bennett’s first national championship victory against Alabama did not have as high of a grade, but that doesn’t matter to Bennett or Georgia fans. What matters is that UGA won two national championships.

Where will the Rams turn at QB if Matthew Stafford retires?

With Matthew Stafford’s future in LA uncertain, who might be the Rams’ next QB if he retires?

This is a big offseason for the Los Angeles Rams for one simple reason: Matthew Stafford’s future is very much up in the air.

After reworking his contract last summer to essentially make it a one-year, $40 million deal for 2024, there’s no guarantee he’ll be back in L.A. as the Rams’ quarterback. In fact, there’s no guarantee he’ll be anyone’s quarterback next season.

Stafford, 36, said after the Rams’ season ended that he still feels like he can play at a high level, but the possibility of retirement looms large. He’ll be 37 in February, has already won a Super Bowl and though he’s still playing well, it wouldn’t surprise anyone if he chose to retire this offseason.

The Rams can entice him to stay by offering a substantial raise in 2025, but even that might not be enough to keep Stafford on the field if he’s set on calling it a career. There’s also the possibility that if the two sides can’t come to terms on a new deal, Stafford will request a trade and play for another team.

It’s hard to imagine the Rams without No. 9 under center next season, but it’s a real possibility – and unfortunately, they don’t exactly have a good backup plan if they can’t keep Stafford in SoCal.

Where might Les Snead and Sean McVay turn if Stafford is out? Free agency is one option, with the draft being another. There’s also the trade market.

The common theme with all three? The Rams won’t find anyone who gives them a better chance to win a Super Bowl than Stafford.

Free agency

Let’s ponder free agency for a minute. Sam Darnold is projected to be the best available quarterback and he could command a sizable contract despite crumbling in his last two games with Minnesota. Justin Fields, Russell Wilson, Zach Wilson and Jameis Winston will all be free agents, too.

Admittedly, it’s hard to get excited about any of those players, given their glaring weaknesses in one area or another.

It’s possible the Rams would make a strong push for Darnold if Stafford retires, knowing he’s the closest thing to a quality starter in this free-agent market. But then again, paying a player like Darnold – with one truly strong season – north of $35 million per year comes with major risks.

NFL draft

How about the draft? Unfortunately for a team like the Rams, this isn’t a good year to need a quarterback. There’s Cam Ward and Shadeur Sanders, who are projected to be top-10 picks, and then a massive drop-off to the third-best quarterback. It’s likely we’ll only see two quarterbacks taken in Round 1 this year, and both will be out of reach for the Rams.

L.A. could take a chance on Jalen Milroe, Will Howard, Quinn Ewers or another mid-to-late-round prospect in hopes that they can be Dak Prescott or Russell Wilson and contribute right away as a rookie. That’s highly unlikely, though.

The draft is a good avenue for the Rams if they want to select a young quarterback to develop behind Stafford or another veteran for a year or two. It probably won’t yield a Day 1 starter, however.

Trade market

When it comes to trading for a veteran, it’s hard to find a logical option. No one expects Dak Prescott to be traded, even with a new (albeit, familiar) coach leading the way. Bryce Young doesn’t seem to be going anywhere after turning things around last season. Could Geno Smith be moved? Possibly, but he comes with his own limitations as a quarterback.

It’s tough to see the Colts trading Anthony Richardson, even after a tough first two years in Indianapolis.

Internal options

Internally, the Rams had two backups to Stafford last season: Jimmy Garoppolo and Stetson Bennett. It’s not out of the question for one of those two to take over at quarterback in 2025, but good luck selling fans on your Super Bowl hopes with either one of them under center. Bennett has yet to play an NFL snap and in the preseason, he looked overwhelmed by the speed of the game. And that was against backups.

Plus, Garoppolo is a pending free agent so the Rams would need to re-sign him.

Cut candidates

Lastly, Los Angeles could wait to see if Aaron Rodgers, Kirk Cousins or Derek Carr is cut. Rodgers had his moments of playing good football last season, as did Cousins and Carr. But with Rodgers and Cousins both nearing retirement, too, they’re by no means long-term solutions. And Carr, who will be 34 this year, is on the wrong side of the 30, too.

All this is to say the Rams are in a tough spot if Stafford decides to retire or request a trade. None of the possible replacements for Stafford will be an upgrade and the Rams would rather not wait for a rookie to develop, given their wide-open Super Bowl window right now.

Their title chances hinge on this decision by Stafford, which McVay hopes to have clarity on “sooner than later.”

For now, they wait.

Matthew Stafford played through extremely painful injury

Former UGA QB Matthew Stafford player through four cracked ribs for the Los Angeles Rams in 2024

The Georgia Bulldogs have produced some tough NFL players. One of them is Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford. According to ESPN’s Sarah Barshop, Stafford said he had been playing through cracked ribs “for some time” during the 2024 NFL season. The media did not learn about Stafford’s injury until after the Rams lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, a team with many former Bulldogs on it, in the divisional round.

Stafford’s wife, Kelly, revealed on her podcast that he cracked four ribs in Week 15’s win over the San Francisco 49ers. Despite the injury, he played through the rest of the season except for the Week 18 game against Seattle where the Rams rested all of their starters.

Stafford is as durable as they come, starting at least 15 games in 12 of his 14 NFL seasons. Part of Stafford’s durability is his willingness to play through injuries.

Stafford will be 37 when the new season starts, making retirement a possibility. Stafford appears to be leaning toward returning next season. Former Georgia Bulldog quarterback Stetson Bennett is the only other Rams quarterback outside of Stafford under contract next season.

Stafford played well against the Eagles, throwing for 324 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions on 44 attempts. However, he was sacked five times and lost a fumble. He was harassed all game long by former Bulldogs Nolan Smith and Jalen Carter.

Carson Beck set to make $3M more than Stetson Bennett

Georgia Bulldogs star quarterback Carson Beck is set to earn nearly four times as much as Stetson Bennett

Former Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Carson Beck transferred to the Miami Hurricanes last week. Beck transferred for several reasons. One reason for Beck’s decision is financial.

Beck is reportedly set to earn $4 million with the Hurricanes. Given Beck was already making $4 million at Georgia, he may be making more with Miami.

Beck entered the transfer portal in a reversal of his initial decision to enter the 2025 NFL draft. The economics of Beck’s return to school makes sense. If he entered the NFL draft, he would probably make less than he will at Miami.

Just look at former two-time national championship winning Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett. Bennett, who was a fourth-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft, will earn $1.03 million in base salary during the 2025 NFL season with the Los Angeles Rams. Bennett and the Rams are slated to play in an NFL wild card game on Monday, Jan. 13 at 8 p.m. ET.

Beck is earning approximately $3 million more than Bennett. Of course, Bennett has endorsement deals outside of football, but the difference in compensation is a major reason Beck chose to return to college football and transfer to Miami. Beck joins his girlfriend, Miami women’s basketball player Hanna Cavinder, at Miami.

Another major factor in Beck’s decision is because is recovering from UCL surgery (elbow). Beck suffered the injury in the first half of Georgia’s SEC championship win over Texas. Beck is expected to make a full recovery before the start of the fall season.

However, his injury certainly affected his NFL draft stock. Now, he’ll be able to heal and earn name, image and likeness licensing money while helping his 2026 NFL draft status.

If Beck ends up as a first-round pick, he’ll make much more money during his first four seasons in the NFL than he would as a mid-round pick.

Beck finished the 2024 college season with 3,485 passing yards, 28 passing touchdowns and 12 interceptions. His quarterback rating of 80.9 is ranked No. 9 in the country.

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Beck had ups and downs with Georgia. In 2024, he struggled with interceptions in SEC play, but led Georgia to the College Football Playoff despite facing a challenging schedule. Beck finishes his UGA career with a 24-3 record as the starter.

Stetson Bennett to have larger role with Los Angeles Rams

Former Georgia QB Stetson Bennett to have a larger role with the Rams in Week 18 NFL tilt

Former Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Stetson Bennett will have a larger role with the Los Angeles Rams in Week 18. Bennett will serve as the Rams’ backup quarterback.

Los Angeles is resting starting quarterback Matthew Stafford since the Rams have already clinched an NFL playoff berth. The Rams will start No. 2 quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo with Stafford out.

Garoppolo will make his first start since Oct. 31, 2023 with the Las Vegas Raiders. Garoppolo will start against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday (Jan. 5) at 4:25 p.m. ET on CBS.

For Bennett, this will be his third time serving as the Rams’ backup quarterback this season. Bennett was Los Angeles’ backup in weeks 1 and 2 while Garoppolo served a two-game performance enhancing drug suspension.

Garoppolo seeks to guide the Rams to victory over Seattle to ensure Los Angeles ends up as the No. 3 seed in the NFC. The Seahawks are eliminated from the playoffs.

Georgia needs Gunner Stockton to have his Stetson Bennett moment

Looking at Stetson Bennett’s first three starts as Gunner Stockton makes his starting debut in the Sugar Bowl.

The Georgia Bulldogs need redshirt sophomore quarterback Gunner Stockton to play the game of his life in the Sugar Bowl against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Stockton, who was thrust into the starting role during the SEC championship game when Carson Beck went down with an elbow injury, has 51 passing attempts in his college football career.

For Georgia to win a national championship, the Bulldogs need Stockton to deliver right away. Georgia’s last national championship-winning quarterback, Stetson Bennett, came through in countless clutch College Football Playoff situations for Georgia. The Bulldogs need Stockton to do the same.

Of course, it is not exactly reasonable to expect Stockton to lead Georgia to a national title with wins against the nation’s elite teams in his first three career starts. Stockton is going to need help. Georgia has to win in the trenches to make a championship run. The Dawgs can’t expect their back-up quarterback to carry them.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart believes Stockton elevates the level of play of those around him.

“All the players play harder for him,” Smart said. “Do you make the players around you better is what you look for in a quarterback. I think he raises the skill level of everybody around him because of who he is. So that’s my reason for believing he’s a good quarterback.”

Georgia has an ultra-talented roster and is capable of winning a national championship. Georgia is going to need Stockton to avoid turnovers, which have plagued UGA in their two losses this season (seven total turnovers).

So what is a reasonable expectation for Gunner Stockton?

Just look at Stetson Bennett’s first three career starts. Bennett won national titles in 2021 and 2022, but he did not accomplish that without learning from what he did in 2020.

Oct. 3, 2020; Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Stetson Bennett in his first career start against the Auburn Tigers. Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Bennett completed 17 of 28 passes for 240 yards and a touchdown in his first career start against Auburn (a 27-6 win). The next week he completed 16 of 27 passes for 238 yards and three total touchdowns in a 44-21 win over Tennessee.

Georgia’s fortunes unraveled a bit in Bennett’s third career start. Bennett and Georgia lost, 41-24, to future 2020 national champion Alabama. Bennett and UGA kept pace in the first half before Alabama hit another gear in the second half.

Bennett completed 18 of 40 passes for two touchdowns and three interceptions against Alabama. The Alabama game marked the first time in Bennett’s career that he had been under fire from the opposing pass rush and forced into obvious passing situations.

Bennett struggled in his next two starts (at Kentucky and versus Florida). Bennett ultimately lost the starting job after the Florida game and didn’t start for Georgia again … until Sept. 11, 2021, against UAB. Bennett retook the starting job and went 27-1 over the last 28 starts of his career en route to two national championships.

The point is Stockton has a lot to learn in his first career start. He’s not going to be the 2022 version of Bennett on Day 1, but he could be the 2020 version of Bennett.

Georgia’s defense has to support Stockton. The Bulldogs went 2-3 in the Bennett era (including 0-3 from 2020-2021) when allowing over 23 points. Georgia went 2-3 in the Beck era when allowing 23 or more points including 2-2 this season.

Georgia has not lost a game when allowing fewer than 23 points since 2019. If Georgia holds Notre Dame under 23 points, we like UGA and Stockton’s chances. If more is asked of Stockton, Georgia will be in trouble.

Georgia’s formula to victory is allowing less than 23 points and avoiding a multiple interception game from Stockton. That’s how Stockton will have his Bennett moment.

Georgia player impacted by the Diego Pavia ruling

The Diego Pavia ruling could impact Georgia Bulldogs senior receiver Colbie Young.

On Dec. 18, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction that gave Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia another year of college eligibility.

Pavia sued the NCAA last month, claiming his junior college experience (he played two years at a junior college in New Mexico) shouldn’t count toward his overall years of eligibility. He claimed it was a violation of antitrust law that unfairly limited his ability to make money from his name, image and likeness.

This ruling could have massive implications on college athletics. Now players can contest having junior college years count toward their eligibility totals, as Pavia did, if the NCAA even bothers trying to enforce that rule any longer.

Georgia’s Colbie Young is one of those players. Similar to Pavia, Young transferred to Georgia with one year of eligibility remaining. However, he started his collegiate career with one year at Lackawanna College, a junior college. He played two seasons for the Miami Hurricanes before transferring to Georgia.

With Georgia, Young played five games before his indefinite suspension from the team following his arrest in October. He is awaiting trial, and it is unlikely he plays in the Sugar Bowl.

Considering Georgia is on the hunt for wide receivers in the transfer portal, getting Young back for another year could be beneficial. Young could also transfer to another receiver-needy team.

Young is one of many players in Georgia’s history who attended junior college before becoming a Bulldog. Devonte Wyatt started at Hutchinson CC before playing with the Bulldogs and becoming a first-round NFL draft selection. Javon Wims is another UGA player who attended a JUCO and was drafted in the NFL.

Of course, Stetson Bennett, who left Georgia in 2017, spent a year at community college in 2018 before returning to the Bulldogs in 2019 and leading the Bulldogs to back-to-back national titles. If this ruling were a few years earlier, he could’ve had another year of eligibility at Georgia and potentially led the Bulldogs to a three-peat in 2023.

This ruling could also affect recruits for Georgia. JUCO prospect Seven Cloud recently committed to Georgia as a member of the 2026 recruiting class. This ruling would make JUCO recruits more valuable in the long run.

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Stetson Bennett, Brock Bowers reunited

Stetson Bennett, Brock Bowers reunited in a familiar place for many Georgia Bulldog fans

Former Georgia Bulldogs legends Stetson Bennett and Brock Bowers were temporarily reunited on Sunday. Bennett and Bowers were on hand as the Los Angeles Rams played the Las Vegas Raiders.

Bowers and Bennett were reunited in a familiar place. Bennett and Bowers were part of Georgia’s 2022 national championship team that defeated TCU, 65-7, in SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. They returned to the venue on Sunday.

Rams quarterback Stetson Bennett was inactive for the game. However, Raiders tight end Brock Bowers was active. Bowers had a game-high 10 receptions for 93 yards in the Raiders’ 20-15 loss to the Rams.

Bowers has 47 receptions for 477 receiving yards and one touchdown this season. Entering Monday night, Bowers leads the NFL in receptions. He has the eighth-most receiving yards of any player in the league and is proving worthy of his first-round draft status.

Here’s when Brock Bowers and Stetson Bennett reunited after the game.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DBXUzNxSFWa/

Bennett and Bowers were two of eight Georgia players in the Rams-Raiders game. Bennett, tackle Warren McClendon, defensive back Derion Kendrick and quarterback Matthew Stafford are on the Rams. Bowers, safety Christopher Smith, defensive lineman John Jenkins and running back Zamir White are on the Raiders.

Former Dawgs have to be loving Georgia’s road win at Texas.

Stetson Bennett loses bet on Georgia-Alabama game

Former Georgia football quarterback Stetson Bennett faced embarrassing consequences after losing a bet on the Georgia-Alabama game

Former Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Stetson Bennett lost a bet with former Alabama Crimson Tide tight end Miller Forristall. Bennett bet that Georgia would defeat Alabama, but the Crimson Tide prevailed in a thrilling 41-34 win.

Bennett and Forristall are teammates on the Los Angeles Rams. In the aftermath of Georgia’s loss, Bennett was forced to wear Alabama attire to the Rams’ facility.

Bennett wore an Alabama hat and collared shirt. There’s honestly been more embarrassing punishments than this one, but Stetson Bennett does not want to wear any Alabama gear.

The Crimson Tide were the final team to beat Bennett in his college career (2021 SEC championship game). The good news for Bennett is he gained revenge on Alabama in the 2021 national championship and went on to win the 2022 national championship (he did not play the Crimson Tide in 2022).

Forristall posted Bennett’s payoff via social media to add to the former Georgia quarterback’s embarrassment.

Bennett remains on the Rams’ 53-man roster after missing most of his rookie season.

Look: Stetson Bennett had to wear Alabama gear after losing a bet to a teammate

Stetson Bennett seemingly lost a bet to a Rams teammate on Saturday’s Georgia-Alabama game and he had to pay the price

Two-time national champion and Rams QB Stetson Bennett’s love for his Georgia Bulldogs knows no bounds. The former Heisman finalist was forced to wear Alabama gear after Georgia’s loss to the Crimson Tide this past Saturday, likely because he lost a bet to Rams tight end Miller Forristall.

Naturally, Forristall shared a photo of Bennett in Alabama apparel for everyone to see.

Forristall played for the Crimson Tide from 2016-2020.

Bennett and Forristall did play each other once in college, a 41-24 win for Alabama. Forristall had three receptions for 29 yards in that game while Bennett had 269 passing yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions.

Forristall would go on to win the national championship that season, the second of his career. Bennett would proceed to win the next two titles.