Stetson Bennett was in a rough situation after taking a sack early in the fourth quarter of the College Football Playoff National Championship game on Monday. Not only was he sacked for a loss of 11 yards, but then what looked like a forward pass attempt on his part was ruled a fumble, and Alabama defensive back Brian Branch recovered it in the most casual way possible.
But — as Bennett said after Georgia won, 33-18, and claimed its first national championship since 1980 — he wasn’t going to let that questionable blunder on his part decide the game.
So after the No. 3 Bulldogs turned the ball over and Alabama capitalized on the next drive with a touchdown to take an 18-13 lead, Bennett was determined to turn things around.
On Georgia’s next drive, Bennett threw 3-for-3 (with one of his five sacks in there), including connecting with wide receiver Adonai Mitchell for a monster 40-yard touchdown on 2nd-and-18.
WHAT A CATCH 🤩
ADONAI MITCHELL DELIVERED FOR A 40-YARD TD! pic.twitter.com/S86FwsqP1L
— ESPN (@espn) January 11, 2022
Bennett finished with 224 yards and two touchdowns, completing 17-of-26 passes against Alabama.
After going from a walk-on player to a national champion, Bennett explained to ESPN what his mindset was after the sack and fumble, which could have turned disastrous for Georgia. He said:
“I just knew there’s gonna be no way we’re gonna let a turnover like that stop us from from winning a national championship. There’s no way. I wasn’t gonna let that happen. I wasn’t going to be the reason we lost tonight. …
“I had to [get back in the right mindset]. I had to — otherwise, we were gonna lose because they capitalized on that. And I was like, ‘Well, I gotta fix this.'”
"I just love everything about this place and I wanted to win a national championship here."
Stetson Bennett did it for Georgia 🍑🙌 pic.twitter.com/LZEd1TC0aP
— ESPN (@espn) January 11, 2022
Understandably, Bennett was emotional after his team won the national title, and he said he began tearing up once defensive back Kelee Ringo picked off Alabama’s Bryce Young with less than a minute remaining in the game. In fact, Bennett said he was so overcome with emotion that he actually missed Ringo complete the pick-six.
The Georgia quarterback told ESPN:
“It just hit me. I didn’t even watch Kelee score. I thought he went down right when he caught it because as soon as he caught it, I just teared up. Just wasn’t planning on it. I mean, good Lord. Wow.”
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
