Stetson Bennett is an ugly crier. But he played a pretty game on the biggest stage, at the biggest time, to earn the right to cry on national TV.
Bennett went 17/26 for 224 yards and two touchdown passes while leading Georgia to a big 33-18 win over Alabama in the national championship game. He threw an absolute dime on a 40-yard touchdown pass to Adonai Mitchell in the fourth quarter, giving his team the lead for good.
After Kelee Ringo sealed things with a pick-six, all the emotions poured out of Bennett.
“It just hit me. As soon as he caught (the interception), I just teared up. I didn’t plan it,” Bennett said in his postgame interview on ESPN.
The former walk-on quarterback just started to cry happy tears:
From walk-on to national champion at his home state school.
It means everything to Stetson Bennett.#NationalChampionship pic.twitter.com/TaRdSJF8sc
— ESPN (@espn) January 11, 2022
Stetson Bennett crying happy tears after taking down Saban @UnnecRoughness pic.twitter.com/sCitiwlRp3
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) January 11, 2022
Stetson Bennett emotional after UGA takes the late lead pic.twitter.com/6pssdBFnYk
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 11, 2022
Bennett was a 2-star quarterback recruit coming out of high school.
Pretty damn cool pic.twitter.com/SCS7UyMo88
— Ben Frederickson (@Ben_Fred) January 11, 2022
Now he has led his home state team to a national championship, and he played one heck of a game and earned the title. Best of all, he helped Georgia overcome Alabama, the team that kept haunting them.
Keep crying, Stetson. You earned it and deserve it, and your tears show just how much the win meant to you, and just how much you had to overcome to get there.
