It was a night for the ages — well for Dawgs fans anyway.
You will recall that your Big Red Car made the following prediction:
Turned out to be an astute call. Well played, Big Red Car.
There is, however, much more to the story. Let me lay it out for y’all.
Of course, No. 3 Alabama had beaten No. 1 Georgia like a rented mule on the last day of the month just a month earlier in the SEC conference championship game (final score Alabama 41 – Georgia 24, but it had been a thrashing) and Alabama had the Heisman Trophy winner starting at quarterback against a walk-on nobody named Stetson Bennett.
But there is a reason why they play the game — because winners learn from their mistakes.
I will not replay the game for you, but the Heisman Trophy winner got whipped, Nicky Satan got whipped, and in that game, the Georgia Bulldogs emerged victorious with elan and esprit de corps.
The nobody quarterback, Stetson Bennett, rose to the occasion after a rocky start and drove the marlin spike through the heart of Alabama and its Heisman Trophy winning QB.
There is much to learn from this happenstance — you, too, can fight on through adversity and arrive at the winner’s circle.
1. Stetson Bennett had arrived at Georgia as a walk on in 2017 while starting freshman QB Jake Fromm led Georgia to the National Championship game which they lost.
Bennett did not even get into a single game all season.
2. Georgia recruited 5-star QB Justin Fields in 2018, so Bennett transferred to Jones County Junior College to improve his game.
3. At Jones County, Bennett threw for 1,840 yards and 16 touchdowns and was ready to return to Division I football. He never lost the dream.
4. Bennett was headed to Louisiana, but Justin Fields transferred to Ohio State and Georgia needed a quarterback.
5. Georgia offered Bennett a scholarship and the chance to be the second string quarterback on a good team. He took it.
6. In 2019, Bennett backed up Jake Fromm and had 2 TDs and 1 INT plus one rushing TD.
7. Bennett entered the 2020 season as the backup to D’Wan Mathis who only got the job when the designated starter, Jamie Newman decided not to play.
Bennett won the starting job when Mathis played poorly.
8. Later that same year, hot dog USC QB JT Daniels transferred to Georgia and pushed Bennett back onto the bench.
9. At the beginning of the 2021 season, Daniels went down with an injury and Bennett replaced him. In that game (versus Auburn, a big game), Bennett unloaded for five touchdowns, tying the Georgia record for most touchdowns by a QB.
All the time, that talent had been warming the bench and all Stetson Bennett needed was a chance, a shot.
10. Last night, Stetson Bennett stood in the winner’s circle as the quarterback of the 14-1 Georgia Bulldogs, National Champions, having beaten and taken vengeance against the Alabama Crimson Tide and their Heisman winner who had shellacked them a month earlier.
That, dear reader, is a story of grit, perseverance, believing in oneself, and determination. That was America. That is why we play every game to the end.
After being named the Offensive Player of the Game, Stetson Bennett said, “I hope it gives someone a little hope. Keep your mouth shut, work hard. Life is tough. Work through it.”
Gooooooooooooooooooooooooo Dawgs!
