ATHENS – Stetson Bennett’s story just gets better and better.
Georgia improved to 3-0 Saturday night with the former walk-on wonder as quarterback. The junior from Blackshear might’ve had his most impressive performance in his second career start as the No. 3-ranked Bulldogs rallied in the second half for a 44-21 victory over No. 14 Tennessee.
Bennett completed 16 of 27 passes for 238 total yards with two passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown. He still hasn’t committed a turnover.
There were many highlights Saturday, but Bennett’s best work was probably when he led the Bulldogs on a 95-yard touchdown drive spanning the first and second quarters. Bennett finished off the drive with a pair of runs totaling 18 yards, the first resulting in a third-and-long conversion and the second in an eight-yard touchdown. It was Bennett’s first rushing TD of the year and second for his career.
Afterward, Bennett said he’s getting more comfortable with being Georgia’s starting quarterback. So is coach Kirby Smart.
“I think he’s getting better," Smart said. "He’s definitely getting more confidence. He’s understanding coach (Todd) Monken’s system better and better with his eyes and his decision-making. He’s making some plays with his feet. I’d like to see him improve by sliding some. But he’s a competitor, he’s always been that way and we’ve got to continue to help him.”
Both the stakes and the competition will be higher next Saturday when the Bulldogs take their show to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to take on the No. 2 Crimson Tide. In the meantime, here’s what Bennett had to say about the offense’s performance against Tennessee:
On Georgia’s mindset trailing at the half ...
“You feel so bad going into halftime getting stopped on a fourth-and-one on the goal line and the points that we spotted them. … We had to keep our head up. Coach [Todd] Monken, reminded us, ‘hey man they haven’t stopped us yet. We just have to keep going and get that train rolling.’ ”
On his TD run …
“The first run (to set up TD) was just a scramble. I got a good block from George (Pickens) on that side. The second play, Coach Monken was feeling out my legs. My O-line blocked it up well. I guess I got in the end zone; it was pretty close on the pylon. But, it was just two back-to-back runs and I got good blocks.”
On the chemistry between him and WR Kearis Jackson...
“He plays the game hard. He gets open. It is easy to throw him the ball because he catches it. I don’t go looking for him, I don’t really go looking for anybody because I just like to use everyone. But he is open a lot, and he catches my eye and I trust him.”
If he’s feeling more comfortable as starting quarterback …
“Yeah, I’d say I’m more comfortable. I mean, I’ve been throwing to these guys for however many years. I haven’t been with the first team but I still throw after practice and I know how they run routes.”
On facing No. 2 Alabama next week …
“Obviously I haven’t had time to even think about Alabama yet. They’re really good. It’s exciting anytime you get to play somebody you don’t usually play. I guess we’ve played them in Atlanta a little the past few years. It’s exciting, but it’s just another game.”
On jumbo package with Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis as H-backs …
“We didn’t get it in at the end of the half unfortunately. We tricked them on the next one. They thought we were going straight down the middle and Jalen caught a touchdown pass, which was really cool. But I trust those guys. I wouldn’t want to be lined up as a 6 technique on Jordan.”
On being a second-half team …
“I think it’s just because we knew they were beating us because of stuff that we’d done. It wasn’t anything they had done. We’d just shot ourselves in the foot and we knew if we cleaned it up it was going to end up how it did. It’s frustrating that it had to come to that, but hopefully we’ll get that fixed in practice this week.”
On limiting turnovers (beyond bad snaps) …
"It’s a pride thing. We know our defense goes into every week figuring out how they’re going to turn the ball over. We’re like, we need to make sure they don’t get it from us. The snap we had at the beginning was unfortunate. But it’s just a pride thing: Don’t fumble and don’t throw any picks and we’ve got a good chance to win.
On offense’s potential going forward …
“First of all, we beat a really good team in Tennessee. We did all the things we did wrong tonight and we recovered, so that’s good. But it’s exciting because there’s no telling what we could do if we just clean up the little things. That’s all it takes is clean up the little things and play football the way we know how, too.”
On passing well over the middle …
“I don’t know about year’s past but I just trust those guys going over the middle. I know they’ll make plays for me. Coach Monken calls the right plays in the right area. I don’t know, but it’s a big part of the field that we want to take advantage of.”
About the Author
