Can Georgia make a run without Carson Beck?

The No. 2 team in the country got the news it was fearing: quarterback Carson Beck's season is over. After suffering a UCL injury in his right elbow during Georgia's SEC Championship victory, Beck underwent surgery on Monday and will miss Georgia's remaining games this season.

The loss of Beck is a huge blow to the Bulldogs, who are looking to win their third National Championship in the last four seasons. To their credit, Georgia was able to win the SEC Championship without Beck for the entire second half and overtime. Gunner Stockton, who took over for Beck and will start the College Football Playoff quarterfinal against Notre Dame, finished the SEC Championship game 12-for-16 with 71 yards and an interception.

Here's the play on which Beck got injured.

A whole lot happened on the final play of the first half. pic.twitter.com/KbTz6SV8wp
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 7, 2024

All is not lost Bulldogs fans. While Stockton's stat line was nothing to be impressed with, he did enough for Georgia to pull off the overtime upset 22-19, leading them on four scoring drives in the second half and overtime.

Georgia has reportedly been preparing to play without Beck since the SEC Championship, having considered his return unlikely. Unfortunately for Georgia, there is still plenty of time for Notre Dame to prepare to play against Stockton. The Sugar Bowl kicks off in 15 days.

While having to play a backup in a playoff game is certainly not ideal, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart is confident he can get Stockton ready for Notre Dame.

“Well, I would say just experience [helps Stockton], right?” Smart told The Athletic's Seth Emerson. “I do think knowing when you get ready for an opponent like Notre Dame, you need time. … We prepared for some of that prior to that because we knew it would be one of two opponents. But I think the biggest thing is just competition and practice. The situations we put him in. All those things allow him to get better as a quarterback.”

As of Tuesday, Georgia is favored by only 1.5 points over Notre Dame, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. The game is still more than two weeks away, and with plenty of time to prepare for Notre Dame, the Georgia coaching staff should get Stockton ready to go.

The biggest thing for Georgia is their defense is healthy. They've been hit or miss recently; playing very well against a good Texas offense, but allowed over 40 points to Georgia Tech in the regular season finale and three touchdowns to 2-9 UMass. Against Tennessee though, Georgia held the Volunteers offense to 17 points. The Sugar Bowl might just come down to which defense shows up for Georgia, not whether or not Gunner Stockton can lead them to victory.