ATLANTA — Kirby Smart admitted this wasn’t his most talented team on Saturday. Watching Georgia battle its way through the season, that much is clear.

Yet Georgia keeps finding ways to win games. It did so again on Saturday, overcoming incredible adversity to beat Texas 22-19 in overtime to win the SEC Championship.

While there is plenty you can say about this team, its mental fortitude cannot be questioned.

“I’ve had more physically tough, I’ve had more physically talented, but I don’t know that I’ve ever had a more mentally tough team,” Smart said. “They just keep coming and keep coming, and they never say die.I have a lot of respect for the leaders in that room because of what they’ve been through, probably the hardest schedule in the history we’ve ever had. And they endured it, they came out on top, and they fought their way through it.”

Given the epic that Georgia just played in, there are plenty of takeaways from the win. Below are our final grades from the 2024 SEC Championship Game.

Quarterback: B-

Carson Beck gets an incomplete grade after leaving Saturday’s game with a right arm injury. He was 7 of 13 for 56 yards on the evening, hurt once again by drops. Beck did come back in on the final snap of the game to hand the ball off to Trevor Etienne.

Gunner Stockton stepped in and stepped up in Beck’s absence. He gave the Georgia offense some much-needed juice and led the Bulldogs down the field for a touchdown on his first drive.

Stockton did throw a costly interception in the fourth quarter and the Georgia offense wasn’t exactly vertical when he was in the game. But he did enough to put Georgia in a position to win and should be remembered for his warrior-like effort. He finished 12 of 16 for 71 yards and added 8 rushing yards.

Running back: A-

Etienne was questionable all week. His performance on Saturday was undeniable. He had a season-best 94 rushing yards along with both of Georgia’s rushing touchdowns. Playing in this game clearly meant a great deal to him.

Georgia also got positive contributions from Nate Frazier and Cash Jones at the running back spot as well. Frazier was lucky that a fourth-quarter fumble was recovered by Arian Smith.

It was tough-sledding for this group early on but it got better as the game evolved.

Wide receiver: C

Drops were an issue early with Smith having a particularly bad one on Georgia’s first scoring drive. When Stockton entered the game, this group was used less as the Bulldogs leaned more on the efforts of the running backs and tight ends.

Still, Smith found a way to help Georgia in the fourth quarter. In addition to pouncing on Frazier’s fumble, he had a key 9-yard reception on a fake punt attempt that helped kickstart what was Georgia’s final scoring drive of regulation.

At this point, the Georgia wide receiver room is what it is. If the Bulldogs are going to make a deep run in the College Football Playoff, they will need more from this group.

Tight ends: B+

Oscar Delp was huge for Stockton in overtime, pushing his way ahead to earn a key first down. Lawson Luckie made an incredible catch on what was Georgia’s first touchdown drive of the game. Benjamin Yurosek caught 2 passes for 21 yards, though he did whiff on a block on an end-around for Georgia.

This group stepped up when Stockton entered the game. Georgia is going to need this group to continue to be productive moving forward, given the struggles of the wide receiver room.

Offensive line: B

Smart challenged his offensive line at halftime. It worked. After rushing for -2 yards in the first half, the Bulldogs finished with 141 rushing yards on the game. This group get better as the game went on, pushing and bullying the Texas front.

Jared Wilson did have a costly holding penalty that played a part in Stockton’s interception. Beck also got injured after taking a sack on the final play of the first half.

Earnest Greene did return to the lineup after missing the last three games. We’ll see what this group looks like moving forward.

Defensive line: A

Warren Brinson was a force for Georgia, finishing with 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack. Texas could not run the ball at all, finishing with 31 yards on 28 carries. Even removing the sack yardage, Texas running back Quintrevion Wisner had only 51 rushing yards on 19 carries.

Georgia had 15 tackles for loss in the win, the most ever for a Smart defense. Mykel Williams added another 2.0 sacks against the Longhorns, replicating his effort from the first game in Austin. Something about burnt orange brings out the best in Williams. Xzavier McLeod also impressed as a difference-maker for Georgia.

Outside linebackers: A

Georgia’s top three edge rushers are Chaz Chambliss, Jalon Walker and Damon Wilson. All three of them came away with sacks in the win. This group, aided by the fact that Texas was missing star left tackle Kelvin Banks, made things very difficult for Ewers.

Walker had a team-high 3 tackles for loss.

Inside linebackers: A-

Raylen Wilson had 1.5 tackles for loss in the win but this group had an all-around solid day. Georgia played three inside linebackers for stretches of the game, finding a way to get a comboination of Smael Mondon, CJ Allen, Walker and Wilson on the field together.

Mondon, who did not play against Texas the first time, often took the most athletic matchup and played some star. Having him out there made a difference for the Bulldogs.

Secondary: B-

It wasn’t a perfect day for the Bulldogs as Georgia gave up 10 explosive passing plays. Malaki Starks in particular did not have his finest game for Georgia.

But like Williams, Daylen Everette played his best football against Texas. He intercepted Ewers twice and earned MVP honors.

It shouldn’t be lost that freshman KJ Bolden made the biggest tackle of the game for Georgia on third down in overtime to force Texas’ field goal attempt.

Special teams: B+

Peyton Woodring made all of his field goal attempts, something that could not be said for Texas. Smart and Georgia also deserve major kudos for their execution on the fake punt.

Georgia did give up a 26-yard punt return and to make matters worse, Brett Thorson suffered a left knee injury on the play. He did not return and was spotted on crutches and in a brace after the game. Georgia didn’t punt again after that but Charlie Ham entered the game as Georgia’s punter on the fake. Stockton took up the duties as the holder after Beck and Thorson left injured.

Overall: B+

Saturday’s game was not a beauty contest. But this Georgia team, as it has shown all year, is more than capable of winning a brawl. Georgia, without its starting quarterback, found a way to beat what was the No. 2 team in the country on a neutral field.

It was a total team effort for Georgia, one that should be remembered and celebrated for a long time.