INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana – With the game over and a national championship won, Stetson Bennett hugged head coach Kirby Smart. It finally hit him what he and his Georgia teammates accomplished by beating Alabama Monday night, 33-18.

That’s when tears started to flow.

“That just hit me. I hadn't cried in, I don't know, years, but that just came over me,” Bennett said. “When you put as much time as we do into this thing, blood, sweat, tears, it means something.”

Indeed.

Bennett's story will be told for generations to come. How this gangly, former walk-on from Blackshear did what many doubted he could—quarterback Georgia to a national championship.

In his post-game press conference, Smart was asked what he would have thought five years ago if someone had told him Bennett would lead the Bulldogs to the sport’s holy grail.

“I'd have thought, hell yeah, we won a national championship. I'd have been pumped,” Smart said. “Five years ago, he was delivering passes like Baker Mayfield against the scout team. There's a lot of guys that saw him on that scout team make plays with his feet, his arm whip and decision making, and we were very impressed.”

No doubt, the Bulldog Nation is, too.

Bennett earned MVP honors after completing 17 of 26 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns.

However, he was not taking any credit for himself.

“Well, I mean, first of all, it was the defense who kept us in this game. While we were stumbling over our own feet the entire first half and then starting out in the second half. They won this game for us. We executed a few drives. We could have done so much better,” Bennett said. “But we got the job done whenever we needed to. It hasn't hit me yet. I guess it hit me a little bit on the sideline. But no, I can't articulate it. I'm not that smart.”

It was a performance some doubted would occur.

Especially after the way the game began. Bennett and the rest of Georgia’s offense scuffled for most of the first three quarters before Zamir White ran from one yard out for the first touchdown of the game.

That’s when Bennett went to work, throwing for both of his touchdowns in the fourth quarter to etch his name into Bulldog lore.

A 40-yard touchdown pass to freshman AD Mitchell, followed by a 15-yard toss to tight end Brock Bowers.

“AD went up and made it. He ran a great route. He went up,” said Bennett, whose fourth-quarter fumble led to Alabama taking an 18-13 advantage before leading the Bulldog comeback.

“Yeah, I mean, I knew that once I fumbled the ball, I was not going to be the reason we lost this game. Coach (Todd Monken) dialed up awesome play action,” Bennett said. “We had been running the ball a lot, and I think we went three straight play action and then one deep ball, then we got them to jump offsides, because they'd been timing up the snap a lot.”

Although Bennett will not admit publicly, the victory was no doubt sweet.

Throughout the year, many fans clamored for JT Daniels. But Bennett never flinched. That chip that many thought existed, never did.

Bennett was asked if he planned on doing any celebrating upon returning to Athens.

“I think we might celebrate a little bit tonight here in Indy first,” he said. “But I haven't seen my family yet. I just want to go hug their—they're the ones who have been in my corner the entire time, always supported me. That's what I'm looking forward to right now.”