INGLEWOOD, Calif.– Stetson Bennett does not fit the NFL profile.
Georgia’s 25-year old fifth year senior quarterback is 5-11 1/2, 185 pounds and has the look of an overachieving college player who is nowhere to be found on the mock drafts.
But don’t bet against this former walk on.
Bennett, who has a feel for the big moment stepped up in big way again last night, completing 18 of 25 passes for 304 yards and four TDs and ran for two more scores before leaving the game with 13:21 to play as the top- ranked 14-0 SEC Bulldogs buried third-ranked TCU, 65-7, to become the first team to win back to back national championships in the CFP era that started in 2014.
There was little question who should win the offensive MVP on this shining night for Georgia football. Heck, Bennett put one of the best individual performances in the history of the College Football Playoff championship game, tying LSU quarterback Joe Burrow in 2020 for points accounted for and he could have made a strong case for the Heisman if they had postponed the voting until after the season.
The Georgia fans rose and gave Bennett a standing ovation in his final college game. “That was special,” he said. “It’s something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”
Bennett hugged his head coach Kirby Smart. He was at a loss for words when he was interviewed by ESPN. I don’t know. Champions of the whole damn world, man,” Bennett said.
Bennett set the tone when he threw two touchdown passes in the first quarter as the Dawgs put up a record 17 points and Georgia poured it on from there, setting a national championship game record with 38 points in the first half.
I was personally hoping for a more competitive game, but it looks like we might have watched the best game of these playoffs last week when Georgia rallied to defeat Ohio State, 42-41, in the national semi-finals at the Peach Bowl.
Bennett was a big part of that win, winning the MVP after leading the Dawgs back from the abyss when they were down 11 in the fourth quarter.
He threw a 75 yard touchdown pass to Arian Smith and another 15-yard score to Adonal Mitchell for the game winning TD with 58 seconds to play.
The Dawgs had to sweat it out after CJ Stroud led Ohio State on a drive to the Georgia 30 yard line, setting up a 50 yard field goal attempt by Noah Ruggles on the final play of the game.
But Ruggles shanked the kick and Georgia survived a near death experience.
Smart said after that great escape his team would have to play better in this game.
They obvious listened and Smart kissed the trophy in appreciation of his players’ brilliant effort. .
Ironically, Bennett almost wasn’t around for this crowning moment. He had no real offers out of high school and walked on at Georgia, his parents’ alma mater. Bennett didn’t last long in his first go round, transferring to Jones Junior College after not taking a snap the entire season and seeing Justin Fields, a five star prospect, sign with the Dawgs.
Bennett played in 12 games and threw for 16 touchdowns and 1,840 yards. After that season, he entered the transfer portal for a second time. He was about to sign with Louisiana but wound up returning to Georgia. The Bulldogs needed a backup quarterback after Fields transferred to Ohio State and offered Bennett a scholarship. He accepted and became the Dawgs’ second straight quarterback to Jake Fromm in the 2019 season, most notably appearing in the SEC title game after Fromm went down with an injury.
Headed into his junior season, Bennett started the year as a backup to D’Wan Mathis. He became a starter after poor play by Mathis but fell back in the depth chart when USC transfer JT Daniels took the starting job.
Bennett began the season as a backup to Daniels. He moved into the starting spot after Daniels went down with an oblique injury against UAB and was trusted with the starting job the rest of the season as he led the Dawgs to a 12-0 record, finishing with 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
On Dec. 4, 2021, Bennett threw for three touchdowns in a 41-24 loss to Alabama in the SEC title game. He was criticized after the loss, leading many to believe Daniels should get the start against Michigan in the national semi-finals in the Orange Bowl.
But Bennett made believers out of Georgia fans when he led the Dawgs to a victory in the 2022 College Football Playoff Championship game rematch against Alabama in Indianapolis and was named MVP after Georgia won its first national title since1980.
Bennett had a huge season this year, passing for 23 touchdowns and rushing for eight year to finish fourth in the Heisman voting.
He and the Dawgs toyed with TCU in the title game before 72,628 witnesses, which had the same look as Nebraska’s 62-24 victory over Florida in the 1996 national title game at the Fiesta Bowl.
The Dawgs, who piled up yards total offense, dominated the overmatched Big 12 regular season champs (13-2) on both ends of the field before Smart called off the Dawgs. They piled up 589 yards total offense and 30 first downs. TCU had just 188 and nine first downs. Tight end Brock Bowers showed by he won the Mackey Award, making seven catches for 152 yards and one touchdown. Georgia ‘s beast of a defense limited TCU to rushing and Heisman runner-up Max Duggan to just 154 yards passing.
“We put it all out there against Michigan. We were down 10-7 in this game, then made some uncharacteristic mistakes,” TCU coach Sonny Dykes said. “We’ll sit down as a staff tomorrow and figure out what went wrong, then make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
The SEC owns this CFP title game, winning six of nine titles. The South, if you include Clemson, has won eight.
And there is no reason to believe anything will change in the near future.
College football is a regional sport.
