Former Georgia standout makes honest admission about loss to Notre Dame that Bulldogs fans won't like
Following the Georgia Bulldogs' loss to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff, some fans have suggested that the outcome might have been different if injured quarterback Carson Beck had been able to play. Beck suffered an elbow injury in Georgia's win against the Texas Longhorns in the SEC […]
Following the Georgia Bulldogs' loss to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff, some fans have suggested that the outcome might have been different if injured quarterback Carson Beck had been able to play.
Beck suffered an elbow injury in Georgia's win against the Texas Longhorns in the SEC Championship game in December.
Redshirt sophomore Gunner Stockton, a former four-star recruit, started in place of Beck. It was Stockton's first career collegiate start.
Former Georgia wide receiver Tavarres King isn't buying that idea that the game would've turned out differently if Beck had been able to play.
"I think they (Notre Dame) won the game," said King on The Players Lounge. "They played at a high level, they coached at a high level….we weren't playing at a high level. In my opinion, I think they went out and did what they needed to do to win the game.
"But yeah, obviously, we gave them some things. I don't think if Carson Beck would've been the quarterback we would've won the game. I don't think that would've changed anything because guys around Gunner needed to help him. And they didn't. That's been a common theme of this year's Georgia team. Guys not stepping up when they need to."
Losing to Notre Dame is a tough reality to swallow for Georgia fans. Even with a backup quarterback playing, it felt like the Bulldogs would find a way to get past the Irish.
Stockton actually played pretty well, passing for 234 yards, one touchdown, and zero interceptions. There's obviously room to improve, but he looked like a more-than-capable SEC quarterback in the loss to Notre Dame.
Ultimately, King is right that guys around Stockton needed to do more. Drops from wide receivers killed any chance of building momentum at times. And Notre Dame was able to pressure Stockton far too often (he was pressured on 21 of 39 drop backs and sacked four times).
Notre Dame simply played better than Georgia. And while the final score may have been different had Beck played, the final result almost certainly would've been the same.