ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Gunner Stockton enjoyed a promising start to his first full season as No. 5 Georgia's starting quarterback, running for two touchdowns and adding two scoring passes as the Bulldogs rolled past Marshall 45-7 in their season opener on Saturday.
Stockton, a junior, had scoring runs of 13 and 11 yards. He completed 14 of 24 passes for 190 yards and ran for 73 yards.
Zachariah Branch, a transfer from Southern California, had three catches for 95 yards, including a 47-yard touchdown. Stockton added a 2-yard scoring pass to London Humphreys. Backup Ryan Puglisi threw a 23-yard scoring pass to Elyiss Williams.
JacQai Long started at quarterback for Marshall, the defending Sun Belt Conference champion that entered the season with 74 new players. Syracuse transfer Carlos Del Rio-Wilson and Jacksonville State transfer Zion Turner played behind Long.
Georgia led 45-0 before Turner led a touchdown drive capped by Ja'Shon Barbie's 1-yard scoring run.
The takeaway
Marshall: Coach Tony Gibson's quarterback rotation couldn't spark the offense, which managed one first down and 40 total yards in the first half.
Georgia: Stockton provides the dual-threat potential the Bulldogs have lacked since Stetson Bennett led back-to-back national championship teams in 2021-22. Stockton showed creativity in a fake handoff to Chauncey Bowens before keeping for a 13-yard touchdown run.
Up next
Marshall hosts Missouri State next Saturday.
Georgia hosts another nonconference foe in Austin Peay next Saturday.
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