Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza took home the Heisman Trophy on Friday after guiding the Hoosiers to an undefeated season in 2025. Mendoza did enough to earn IU the top seed in the College Football Playoff. If both Indiana and the Georgia Bulldogs take care of business in their respective brackets, the Dawgs and Hoosiers could meet each other on Jan. 19 in Miami for the national championship. If that’s the case, it’ll be a battle of two of college football’s top quarterbacks, as Georgia’s Gunner Stockton finished seventh in Heisman voting this season.
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Georgia will head to New Orleans to play in the Sugar Bowl on January 1. If they win that game, they will have the possibility of playing two more after that. If they were to win both of those, they would earn their third national championship in the last five years.
Looking ahead to next season, there’s no reason to think Stockton won’t be back under center in Athens. And even though he’ll be the first to tell you the Heisman’s not on his mind, it’d be pretty sweet to be the first Georgia player to win the award since 1982, when Herschel Walker brought it home. The Bulldogs have had four players voted into the Top 10 for the Heisman under Kirby Smart.
- LB Roquan Smith (10th, 2017)
- DT Jordan Davis (9th, 2021)
- QB Stetson Bennett (4th, 2022)
- QB Gunner Stockton (7th, 2025)
Stockton has thrown for 2,691 yards, 23 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions in 13 games this season. He has also added 442 yards rushing with another 8 touchdowns on the ground, and fumbled twice. That’s a total of 3,133 yards, 31 touchdowns, and 7 turnovers
Stockton very well could be in the running to win the Heisman Trophy in 2026. Even if Stockton doesn’t win it, he could be the first Georgia quarterback to be voted into the Top 10 for the award twice since Eric Zeier in 1993-94. Zeier threw for 3,525 yards (first in the SEC), 24 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions in 1993. He then threw for 3,396 yards (first in the SEC), 24 touchdowns (first in the SEC), and 14 interceptions in 1994.
Comparing Stockton to past Georgia Heisman Finalist Stetson Bennett
Stetson Bennett was the last Georgia quarterback to finish in the Top 10 in Heisman voting. He was a Heisman finalist in 2022 after throwing for 4,127 yards, 27 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions. He added 205 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground while fumbling 5 times. That’s a total of 4,332 yards, 37 touchdowns, and 12 turnovers.
Stockton would have to turn up his production by about 92 yards per game in 2026 to catch what Bennett did in 2022. Bennett improved from 204.4 passing yards per game in 2021 to 275.1 in 2022. So it could be possible for Stockton to go from 207.0 passing yards per game in 2025 to 299.0 in 2026. Even more possible is for Stockton to average 277.7 yards passing and 55.3 yards rushing (up from 34 yards a game in 2025) to make up the 92 yards a game.
Heisman criteria
The Heisman is given to a player “whose performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity” and who “epitomizes great ability combined with diligence, performance, and hard work.”
If this quote from Stockton doesn’t exemplify this, I don’t know what does.
“I’ve felt like I played pretty good. Just always gave the team a chance to win,” Stockton said after the Mississippi State game. “I felt like I’m always there. I’m pretty tough. I always keep everybody in the game.”
Regardless of whether or not Stockton wins the Heisman next season, he will undoubtedly have Georgia on the path to compete for another national championship. Just like he has the Bulldogs in the hunt this season. Something Kirby Smart said would be commonplace back in 2022.
“People ask the question, ‘How does it feel to be hunted? We will not be hunted at the University of Georgia,’” Smart said. “I can promise you that.” The hunting we do will be from us going the other direction. We’re not going to sit back and be passive about.”
Earlier in the season, Smart made it clear that he does not believe Gunner himself is too interested winning the trophy:
“The last thing I’m worried about is the Heisman, and I think the last thing he’s worried about is the Heisman,” Smart said. “Gunner’s been awesome for our team. He’s a selfless player. He’s a winner. He cares about his team. He makes great decisions. I think that’s a decision for somebody else. I don’t get into — I’ve never come out and said something like that with our guys. He’s certainly a great player with great players around him.”
