Just over halfway through the 2025 football season, we’re seeing one of the weirdest, wildest seasons since the fabled days of 2007. Florida State beat Alabama in week one before then imploding like rebar-less
concrete. Vanderbilt is ranked in the top 10 with a possible Heisman candidate at quarterback. Indiana is the second-ranked team in America and seems to be on a collision course with Ohio State. Georgia is winning shootouts thanks to a gunslinger-y offense and a suspect defense. You know, normal stuff.
Yesterday, GlimmerTwin did a great job of pointing out a few growth areas for this team. He’s right that we still have a lot to tidy up if this team is to achieve its highest goals. But I’m going to take a minute here to celebrate some of the stuff that’s going right and share one of my favorite bye week traditions.
Gunner Stockton Appreciation Post
In my preseason analysis, I noted that quarterback was the biggest question facing the 2025 edition of the Georgia Bulldogs. Midway through the season, I think we can feel pretty good about our quarterback situation.
If Gunner Stockton were an airline pilot, he would announce an on-time arrival while flames were shooting out of the engine. If he were your doctor, you’d feel at ease while he was telling you about your Super Ebola diagnosis. If he’d been the captain of the Event Horizon, its maiden voyage would’ve been a pleasure cruise. My point is, he’s unflappable. That confidence is palpable in the way he plays.
Statistically, Stockton’s passing numbers are in the middle of the pack for the SEC; he’s ninth both in yardage (1,553) and passing touchdowns (10). But he’s also in the top 25 rushers in the conference with 279 yards, and he’s third in rushing touchdowns with seven. Most importantly, he takes excellent care of the football, with just one interception and one fumble so far this year. Also, for comparison, through seven games in 2024, Carson Beck had thrown eight picks and fumbled once.
These elements of his game work synergistically. Stockton’s running ability means he doesn’t have to take risks by forcing the ball into tight coverage. He’s patient and evasive enough to make time for his receivers to get open, and he’s also capable of threading the needle when he has to. The downside here is that he does have a tendency to hang onto the ball too long when he might be better served to bail and run. Still, Stockton is chief among the reasons the team is on track for another playoff bid. The offense is averaging 33.7 points per game under his leadership.
Stockton’s emergence is good because the defense seems to have crashed mid-software update. Did you ever take a class in college where you just showed up for the midterm and the final? That’s the way Georgia’s defense plays. Last week, after letting Ole Miss score on their first five drives, they buckled down and only allowed 14 yards in the fourth quarter, opening the door for the offense to win the game. Even though they’re only surrendering 19.5 points per game, they utterly vanish for long stretches.
Viewed one way, this lack of consistency is wildly frustrating. Viewed another, however, they play best when it matters most. This year’s group of Dawgs makes me think of the old football cliches about mental toughness and knowing how to win. But there’s some truth to it. Dan Rubenstein, one of the co-hosts of the great Solid Verbal podcast, points out that winning is a skill. It’s something you have to be good at. Whatever the struggles of this team, they seem to know how to close the door on an opponent. For an example of the opposite, just look at Auburn.
I don’t have a crystal ball, but nobody left on the schedule strikes particular fear into your heart. Florida used the bye week to say bye to Billy Napier and is probably just playing out the string. Mississippi State is feisty, and it won’t be fun to play them in the Chicken Wire Capital of America, but there’s still a huge talent gap. Texas seems to have a broken offense, Charlotte should be a scrimmage, and I won’t worry about Tech in Atlanta until I see any reason to do so.
Playing with fire on defense for long stretches is hardly a recipe for success. But I will reiterate that the talent is there, and I trust Smart and the staff to solve defensive issues in-season. If the offense loses steam, we’re in trouble. But Georgia has a solid quarterback and the ability to win in a shootout. Teams have driven further on less gas.
A Bye Week Tradition
Speaking of recipes, allow me to share a very successful one with you: my oxtail stew. I started making this several years ago during the bye week, and it’s become a family tradition for football season. I host about a dozen people for the annual Bye Week Feast of the Oxtails.
The Day Before You Cook
I make my own stock, saving the bones from a year’s worth of steak nights. The day before I make the stew, I simmer all the bones in a stock pot for eight hours with a couple of bay leaves and a can of tomato paste. Let it sit overnight and then skim the fat off the next day before you use it.
Generously season the oxtails with salt and pepper overnight.
Ingredients
3 lbs. thin-sliced oxtails*
5 carrots
2 celery ribs
1 large onion
1-2 shallots (Shallots are what make restaurant food taste like restaurant food. That and a ton of butter.)
1 can butter beans
1-3 cloves garlic (depending on your taste)
1 can Rotel (I like the hatch pepper blend)
1 scotch bonnet pepper (or more if you prefer spicier food)
Olive oil
Beef Stock (either the stuff you made or a couple boxes of store-bought)
Bouquet garni**
Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper
Green onions for garnish
Instructions
To make the stew, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large stockpot on the stove as you bring the oxtails up to room temperature. Sear them in batches on each side until you get good color — they’re ready when they release from the bottom of the pot. Once they’re all seared, set aside.
Add a little more olive oil to the pot and throw in the chopped onion and shallots, sauteeing them until they’re soft in the oil mixture. Once they soften (about 5-7 minutes), add the garlic and sautee until fragrant, about a minute. Next, add the carrots and celery and sautee a couple more minutes.
Once the vegetables are all softened, add the oxtails back into your stockpot along with the beef stock, a cup of Martin’s, the scotch bonnet pepper, the butter beans, the Rotel, and a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce. If you prefer a sweeter stock, you might also add a cup of red wine into the mix here. Throw in the bouquet garni and bring to a simmer.
Let it simmer on low for two to three hours, until the oxtails are fork-tender. The actual cook time varies depending on how thick-cut your meat is.
I like to serve it over yellow rice, but you could also try egg noodles or roasted gold potatoes as a base. I also recommend a crusty baguette on the side to sop up the liquid from the stew. Garnish with the green onions, and chow down while envisioning driving the Gators out of Jacksonville in a week.
*I also usually add a couple of thicker-cut ones because they’re fattier and give a more robust flavor, but the thinner ones cook better and are easier to eat. Lots of supermarkets carry them, but you should also be able to find them at any butcher shop.
**I tie together some more bay leaves, thyme, and parsley with some twine and throw it into the pot.
***Hat tip to my dear friend and former UGA grad school colleague John Wright for turning me on to Martin’s, one of the best barbecue sauces in the world. It’s made in Swainsboro, GA, and it’s a great marinade and condiment. It’s particularly good as a garnish for sausage balls and to add some zest to your collard greens.
