BREAKING: Georgia Bulldogs QB Stetson Bennett Named Heisman Trophy Finalist
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ATHENS - Georgia Bulldogs QB Stetson Bennett was named as a Heisman Trophy finaist Monday night, according to an ESPN telecast.
Bennett, Kirby Smart and the No. 1 Bulldogs are 13-0 and coming off a 50-30 win over LSU to win the 2022 SEC Championship. Bennett is joined by TCU QB Max Duggan, Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud and USC QB Caleb Williams.
MUST READ: What's in a Name? Georgia Bulldogs QB Stetson Bennett - A Brief History
Bennett and the Bulldogs will take on Stroud and the Buckeyes in the 2022 Peach Bowl on New Year’s Eve. Bennett's 2022 regular season included his throwing for 3,425 yards, 20 touchdowns, six interceptions, 47 rushes for 184 yards and seven touchdowns. The South Georgia native's story is one of the most unlikely in the history of college football.
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Bennett walked on a Georgia for the Bulldogs run during the 2017 season and to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. A year later Bennett transferred to Jones Community College in Mississippi. He considered signing with Louisiana, and other programs before Kirby Smart and company decided to offer him a scholarship heading into the 2019 season.
A year later Bennett was thrust into the spotlight - rallying Georgia back for a road win at Arkansas in the season opener of 2022. He remained the starter for the Bulldogs until getting injured during Georgia's loss in Jacksonville that November.
Former 5-star QB and USC transfer J.T. Daniels took over the rest of the season and into 2021.
But Bennett's Georgia journey was only just starting. Daniels continued to struggle with injury early in 2021. Bennett started the Bulldogs' game against UAB, and gave way to Daniels a game later. Bennett took over for good when Daniels was unable to play against No. 8 Arkansas in Athens.
Bennett never looked back - completing the Bulldogs' first undefeated regular season in nearly 40 years on the way to the program's first national title since 1980 with a win over Nick Saban and No. 1 Alabama.
The Georgia Bulldogs WIN the 2021 NATIONAL TITLE!
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Georgia QB Stetson Bennett
Bennett, a senior quarterback, has completed 269 of 395 passes (68.1%) for 3,425 yards and 20 touchdowns with just six interceptions while rushing for another 184 yards and seven touchdowns. He has led Georgia to a perfect 13-0 regular season and the 2022 SEC title as well as the top seed in the 2022 College Football Playoff. Bennett, who led the Bulldogs to the 2021 national title and has quarterbacked them to 15 straight wins, threw for over 300 yards four times this year and completed at least 70.0% of his passes in a game five times. His 68.1 completion percentage is ranked 13th nationally and his 8.7 yards per attempt are 14th best.
TCU QB Max Duggan
Duggan, a senior quarterback with 41 career starts at TCU, completed 239 of 368 passes (64.9%) for 3,321 yards and 30 touchdowns with just four interceptions. He also rushed for 404 yards and another six scores, leading the Horned Frogs to a 12-1 season and their first-ever berth in the College Football Playoff. Duggan is tied for seventh nationally in yards per attempt (9.0), ninth in quarterback rating (165.48), tied for ninth in points responsible for (2018) and 12th in touchdown passes (30). His 30 TD passes are the third-most in school history. Duggan passed for over 300 yards five times and had three or more TD passes in a game seven times. He ran for over 100 yards twice in a game, including for 116 yards and two scores against Oklahoma and for 110 yards and a touchdown in the Big 12 championship game against Kansas State.
Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud
Stroud, a redshirt sophomore quarterback and second-year starter, completed 235 of 355 passes for 3,340 yards (66.2%) with 37 touchdowns and just six interceptions while leading the Buckeyes to an 11-1 record and a spot in the College Football Playoff. He leads the nation in yards per play (8.75) and quarterback rating (176.25), his 37 TDs are tied for first nationally while his 9.4 yards per attempt are third-best nationally. The Buckeye offense Stroud leads is No. 2 nationally in scoring (44.5). He passed for over 300 yards five times and tossed five or more touchdowns in a game four times, including a season-best six at Michigan State. He is the first quarterback in Big Ten history to have back-to-back 30-touchdown seasons.
USC QB Caleb Williams
Willams, a sophomore quarterback and a first-year USC starter after transferring from Oklahoma, has thrown for 4,075 yards on 296 of 448 passing (66.1%) with a national co-leading 37 touchdown passes against just four interceptions. His passing yards is fourth-most nationally, his quarterback rating (167.94) is fifth-best and his passing yards per game (313.5) is sixth-best. Williams, who led USC to an 11-2 season after the Trojans went 4-8 in 2021, is third nationally in total offense with 4,447 yards with a total that broke USC’s school record (4,225, 2017). He has also rushed for 372 yards (the most at USC in at least 70 years) on 109 carries with a team-best 10 TDs. Williams’ 47 total touchdowns lead the country, as do his 282 points responsible for while his total touchdowns are a school record. He threw for over 300 yards seven times, including twice over 400 yards.
If Bennett were to win, he would be Georgia’s third Heisman winner and its first since Herschel Walker in 1982. If Duggan were to win, he would be TCU’s second Heisman winner and first since Davey O’Brien (1938). If Stroud were to win, he would be Ohio State’s eighth Heisman winner and its first since Troy Smith in 2006. If Williams were to win, he would be USC’s seventh Heisman Trophy winner and first since Matt Leinart (2004).
There have now been 171 players invited to New York as Heisman finalists since the practice was first instituted in 1982.
The 2022 Heisman Trophy ballots went out to 929 electors, which includes 870 members of the media, our 58 living Heisman winners and one overall fan vote presented by Nissan, premier partner of the Heisman Trophy. All ballots were submitted electronically to the independent accountants at Deloitte.