Stetson Bennett recalls difficult times that led to Monday's championship

Stetson Bennett‘s career with the Georgia Bulldogs has been anything but a smooth ride. He began his career in Athens as a walk-on in 2017 and later opted to transfer out of the program the next season. But in 2019, Bennett found his way back to Georgia. From that day on, Bennett has had one goal on his mind: To win a national championship.

Monday’s title game was reflective of Bennett’s career with Georgia. Georgia failed to score a touchdown in the first half, trailing 9-6 at the break. Late in the game, Bennett lost a fumble that eventually led to an Alabama touchdown, giving the Crimson Tide a lead. But Bennett wasn’t done yet, and he led Georgia down the field, scoring the go-ahead touchdown to take a 19-18 lead.

Bennett didn’t let his turnover stop him from achieving his ultimate goal. He said that he wasn’t going to be the reason Georgia lost. And he wasn’t, and they didn’t.

“We all feel the weight of the state of Georgia on our shoulders,” Bennett said after winning the championship. “But when you look back in February, January, March, April, May, when people are focusing on basketball or baseball and we’re running in the stadium at 6.00 a.m. And it sucks, and you’re kind of, like, why do we do this?

“And the reason is for when I fumble on the 10-yard line and we give up a touchdown and we go back and we score two straight drives, that’s the reason. The toughness, the resiliency, the connection, all that stuff, you know, you kind of wonder why.”

Bennett: Everything we went through led us to the national championship

On Monday night, Bennett completed 17 of his 26 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns. He did not throw an interception. While Bennett didn’t play in Georgia’s loss to Alabama in the 2018 title game, the feeling of defeat helped him and the rest of the team do everything in its power to avoid leaving this season with the same disappointment.

“But there’s a method to the madness that Coach Smart and all the coaches, Coach Sinclair and everybody who spent years and years in this industry and that stuff,” Bennett added. “They know how to mold young men.

“And what me and Lew and everybody else, all of the players in this program have went through in the past since the natty has gotten us to this point. You always wonder why are we doing this. And this is why.”

Bennett threw for 2,862 yards with 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions this season. He also had 259 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground. A fifth-year senior, Bennett’s future is currently uncertain. But he did a lot for himself and the program this year, and Monday’s national championship victory is a perfect ending to this season for the Bulldogs.