ATHENS, Ga. — 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.
[PHOTOS]: Georgia beats Marshall 45-7
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.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
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.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Father of 4 dead after being shot, driven to Atlanta fire station
- This invasive pest is ‘rapidly’ spreading across Georgia
- PHOTOS: Dragon Con Parade brings costumed characters to Atlanta streets
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2025 Cox Media Group
