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Gunner Stockton silenced the doubters against Tennessee

No one seemed to have faith that Georgia’s new starting quarterback, Gunner Stockton, was ready to be the Bulldogs’ signal caller. After a slow start to 2025 in which Stockton refused to be aggressive, it looked like Georgia may have a problem on their hands.
However, Georgia and Stockton silenced all doubt after he ripped and completed a deep ball up the sideline on his first throw. That was just the beginning of a 304-yard performance in which he completed clutch throw after clutch throw. Our Travis May broke down the key moments from Stockton that sparked a narrow 44-41 overtime victory over Tennessee on the road.

“While Stockton’s late-game heroics will be what’s remembered, he was slicing and dicing from the opening drive of the game for Georgia. In fact, Stockton’s first offensive play of the game was a beautiful deep dime shot to Colbie Young for 45 yards that he dropped right into the bucket. It was clear he was in the zone right from the start as Georgia scored almost immediately. —Travis May

An early-season road win is enormous for this Georgia team. It’s a confidence builder for a squad that was resetting in key areas. Most importantly, the way that Stockton played painted a picture of how this offense can operate in 2025.
Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo clearly had a better handle on how to activate Stockton over his former counterpart, Carson Beck. The run game was more deliberate, and there were many explosive plays to be had through the air with receivers Colbie Young, London Humphreys, and Zachariah Branch.
Georgia does have defensive issues they’ll need to navigate, as they allowed 371 yards passing to Vols quarterback Joey Aguilar. Considering the circumstance of facing a schematic wizard like Josh Heupel on the road, it does leave room for grace.

Overall, this game should serve as a rallying point for this Georgia program. Many in the national media assumed other programs would rise past this team. So far, they’re showing their perceived weaknesses may be strengths. And Stockton sure as heck isn’t timid like everyone thought.

Notre Dame has a serious problem with a clear source

If you asked Notre Dame fans what would be the cause of a potential 0-2 start this offseason, many would have said the offense. With new offensive linemen, new receivers, and a redshirt freshman quarterback, the offense was bound to lead to a slow start.
However, the root cause of the Fighting Irish’s struggles is a position group that was a strength a year ago, which returned many key starters. Their 41-40 devastating loss came as the result of a 360-yard passing day by Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed. Wide receiver Mario Craver also gashed the Notre Dame secondary for 207 yards on seven receptions.

There is a glaring reason for Notre Dame’s sudden defensive collapse that happened seemingly overnight. With their 2024 defensive coordinator, Al Golden, leaving for the NFL, Marcus Freeman turned to Chris Ash. The former Rutgers head coach and Ohio State defensive coordinator has been a massive disappointment after just two weeks. And our Ryan Roberts didn’t hold back after Saturday’s loss.

“All offseason, the media and fans were fed the line that Ash would be ‘running the Notre Dame defense, not his own.’ Yet, here we are. As we continue to see more and more zone coverage than ever and a lack of aggressiveness on the second level, the illusion that Ash is running ‘the Notre Dame defense’ is nothing more than a farce, complete and utter nonsense. It is fooling no one. Perhaps Ash gets this turned around, maybe even somewhat similarly to how Golden did, but the vibes around the Irish defense are certainly low right now following the performances against the Aggies and Miami Hurricanes.” —Ryan Roberts

An identity shift with the same personnel has completely tanked Notre Dame’s secondary, which was filled with many future NFL players. Freeman is faced with a difficult decision on how the team should adjust after an avoidable rough stretch. He could either assume defensive play calling or turn to one of his assistants, Mike Mickens.
The remaining important question for the Fighting Irish is, are they already out of the College Football Playoff picture? This offseason, the committee emphasized that its decision-making would center more on the strength of the schedule. Although a 0-2 loss to two ranked teams would be looked upon favorably, Notre Dame has limited opportunities to secure a ranked win.
Their best remaining shot likely comes on October 18th at home against their hated rival USC. But if Notre Dame’s secondary looks as bad as this did last week, the Trojans’ elite wide receiver core. A three-loss season and missing the CFP sadly looks like Notre Dame’s reality for 2025.

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