Does a National Championship Rest on Stetson's Shoulders?
Georgia starting quarterback Stetson Bennett has been one of the best stories in all of college football upon his arrival in Athens.
Being a former walk-on, transferring to a JUCO, and then returning on scholarship to ultimately win the starting job is by no means an ordinary journey for a college athlete.
Bennett is now on the precipice of playing on the biggest stage of his career and against the Crimson Tide of Alabama, a team he has faced twice as the starter and has yet to come away with a victory. In their previous showdown against Alabama, Bennett went 29-48 for 340 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions in Georgia's 41-24 loss. Not exactly the worst of showings from Bennett, but it certainly was not his best either.
In today's world of college football, many believe that in order to win a national championship one of the most important assets a team must have is elite quarterback play. As a result, many have begun to claim that Bennett being the Bulldog's starting quarterback will hold them back from beating Alabama and hoisting up the national championship trophy. So does Monday's national championship game rest on the shoulders of Stetson Bennett?
In some ways, yes, of course, it does. One of the most important positions on the football field is the quarterback. Their job of leading the offense, commanding the field, and distributing the football plays a pivotal role in the outcome of the game. However, quarterback play is not the only thing that matters when playing for a national championship game, especially against Alabama.
While Georgia only managed to put up seven points in the second half of the SEC Championship Game, their defense gave up 24 points in the second quarter alone which allowed the Tide to go into halftime up seven, never having to look back. Going scoreless in the second half until midway through the fourth quarter is far from ideal, but neither is your defense that allowed 37 points in the previous five games combined giving up 34 points.
In short, taking home the National Championship trophy will take more than just better play from the starting quarterback. Bennett will need to take better care of the ball this time around and help prevent the offense from completely stalling out as they have done in their last two games against Alabama. Doing so also requires assistance from the rest of the offense as well, as the defense keeps the game from turning into a shootout and close for the entirety of the game.
Stetson Bennett will without a doubt have to play one of the better games of his career on Monday in order for Georgia to win the national championship, but he is by no means the only factor that will determine the outcome of this football game. Georgia played an all-around disappointing game against Alabama in their last matchup and it will require a better effort from all players on both sides of the ball to take down the Crimson Tide in the highly anticipated rematch for a national title.
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