Matthew Stafford went to Athens, Ga., to turn the Georgia Bulldogs into a national contender. His career had its fair share of highs and lows.
However, he set the tone in Athens that many have tried to live up to.
How Matthew Stafford Got to Georgia
Stafford spent the majority of his childhood in Dallas. He went to Highland Park High School where he was the teammate of future MLB star Clayton Kershaw. He led his school to the 2005 UIL 4A State Championship with a 15-0 record. Along the way, he defeated the likes of future NFL stars Ryan Mallet and Jevan Snead.
Stafford threw for over 4,000 yards in his senior season despite missing three contests due to a knee injury. He was named a Parade All-American and regarded as a five-star prospect and considered a better overall recruit over the likes of Tim Tebow, according to 247Sports’ composite rankings. NFL Draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. even considered him a future first-round pick before he even took a snap in college.
All the major schools wanted the top-10 recruit. However, Stafford set his sights on Georgia from the get-go and decided to enroll early in Athens.
The Start of Stafford’s Georgia Journey
Stafford had to wait a little bit to make his debut for the Bulldogs in 2006. He saw action in the first two games before he was named the starter going into the third contest against the UAB Blazers, becoming the first true freshman to start at Georgia since 1998. He was solid, going 10-for-17 passing for 107 yards in a 34-0 win over the Blazers. Georgia won the next two games in close fashion against Colorado and Ole Miss while Stafford split snaps with Joe Cox.
However, the Bulldogs dropped their next two games in the SEC to Tennessee and Vanderbilt. Stafford played in relief of Joe Tereshinski III in both games and was named the permanent starter before a matchup with the Mississippi State Bulldogs. He torched the other Bulldogs, going 20-of-32 for 267 yards and two scores in a close 27-24 victory. He was named the SEC Freshman of the Week.
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The rest of the season was a roller coaster for Stafford and Georgia. They dropped back-to-back games against Florida and Kentucky where he threw for one touchdown to five interceptions. However, the Bulldogs finished on a high note, winning three in a row, all against ranked competition.
The first came against fifth-ranked Auburn on the road by 22 points. Stafford then hit Mohamed Massaquoi for a four-yard score with 1:45 left to knock off their rivals in the 16th-ranked Georgia Tech Yellowjackets, 15-12. Next, in the 2006 Chick-fil-A Bowl, Georgia overcame a 21-3 halftime deficit to 14th-ranked Virginia Tech to pick up a 31-24 win in front of the home-standing Atlanta crowd.
Overall, Stafford finished his freshman campaign with 1,749 passing yards along with seven passing touchdowns, leading the Bulldogs to a 9-4 record. But his 13 interceptions on the year was a cause for concern.
The Rise of Expectations
His sophomore season brought a wealth of optimism and a ton of expectations. Stafford started 2007 off with a bang with a huge win at home over the Oklahoma State Cowboys. He threw for 234 yards and two scores in a 35-14 win over the Cowboys.
The next week was a different story. Stafford struggled in a 16-12 loss to South Carolina at home. He completed just 43.2% of his passes and threw an interception. Georgia rebounded with three straight wins, including the Bulldogs’ last win at Alabama as Stafford hit Mikey Henderson for a 25-yard score on the first play in overtime to pick up the 26-23 win.
The win streak was snapped with a tough loss at Tennessee where Stafford threw for two touchdowns but completed just 48% of his passes. From there, the Bulldogs pulled off a winning streak for the ages.
Georgia won seven in a row, with four of those opponents ranked including Florida (No. 9), Auburn (No. 18), Kentucky (No. 22), and Hawaii (No. 10) in the Sugar Bowl. Stafford completed at least 51% of his passes in all seven games while throwing for nine touchdowns to six interceptions. The Bulldogs finished 11-2 ranked fifth in the country. Stafford wrapped up the year with 2,523 yards and 19 touchdowns passing to 10 interceptions.
Finishing on a High Note
The 2008 season was on the brink for both the Bulldogs and Stafford. Georgia was ranked No. 1 in the preseason AP and Coaches Polls for the first time in school history. They started the campaign with four wins in a row including back-to-back road wins at South Carolina and Arizona State.
Alabama got its revenge in Tuscaloosa, Ala., with a 41-30 win where Stafford threw for 274 yards and two touchdowns, but it was too little too late as the Crimson Tide took a 31-0 lead into the half that was too great to overcome.
Georgia won the next three, exacting its own revenge against the Tennessee Volunteers and then getting back-to-back ranked wins over Vanderbilt (No. 22) and LSU (No. 11). Stafford was at his best, completing at least 55% of his passes during this span. He threw for over 300 yards against the Volunteers.
In his final game against the Florida Gators, Stafford was less than impressive, throwing three interceptions in a 49-10 loss. Georgia won the next two games on the road at Kentucky and Auburn each by four points. Stafford hit future NFL star A.J. Green in the fourth quarter in each contest for a score to give the Bulldogs a pair of key SEC victories.
His farewell in Athens ended on a sour note, though. Stafford played great throwing for a career-high 407 yards and five touchdowns. However, it wasn’t enough as the Bulldogs fell to rival Georgia Tech 45-42. His final game in the red and black was a romp over Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando, Fla. He threw for 250 yards and three touchdowns in a 24-12 win over the Spartans.
Stafford ended 2008 with 3,459 passing yards and 25 touchdowns, both career highs. Georgia finished 10-3 overall and 14th in the final rankings
Overall Legacy
Stafford’s tenure in Athens was largely successful. He was 27-7 as a starter — that mark includes a 15-6 record in the SEC and an impressive 11-4 mark against ranked competition. As of 2024, his career 7,731 passing yards and 51 touchdowns rank seventh in school history in both categories, not to mention the numerous come-from-behind wins and the clutch moments against big-time teams.
But his legacy is complicated, to say the least. All of his losses have the same tone — below 50% passing and several interceptions. Even his good games saw him throwing more picks than scores. His career-high game in his last year against Georgia Tech came in defeat.
He never took the Bulldogs to the SEC Championship Game and never even finished as a first-team All-SEC player. His teams consistently stayed inside the top 15, especially during the 2007 and 2008 seasons, but he could never get them over the mountain.
Despite all the shortcomings, Stafford set the Bulldogs up for a lot of success in the future. From 2009-15 under his head coach Mark Richt, Georgia had four more 10+ win seasons. Stafford’s reinvention of the Bulldogs’ offense set up Aaron Murray to break the school and SEC passing record for yards and touchdowns that still stand to this day.
Stafford was taken first overall by the Detroit Lions in the 2010 NFL Draft. He reshaped that franchise and did the same when he was eventually traded to the Los Angeles Rams, leading them to a Super Bowl during the 2021 NFL season. However, he started the transformation in Athens, setting up the Georgia program for long-term success, one that eventually led to a pair of national championships in 2021 and 2022.
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