The Georgia Bulldogs are in the hunt for their third straight national championship, and they'll have to win it without Stetson Bennett.

They think Carson Beck is the man to get them back into title contention after Kirby Smart named him the starting quarterback Saturday.

"He’s done the best job," Smart said of the junior. 

"We communicated that earlier in the week to the other quarterbacks, and we’ve kind of been operating that way. The other guys have done a tremendous job in terms of competing, and they’re going to continue to do that."

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Beck had been the favorite to win the job over Brock Vandagriff and Gunner Stockton, considering he was the backup to Stetson, now a Los Angeles Rams quarterback. But Smart said Beck took the opportunity and ran with it.

"Carson is ahead of the other guys in terms of what he understands about the offense," Smart said.

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The head coach said he isn't sure who will get the backup job just yet, but he added he has been "really impressed with the other two quarterbacks throughout camp and how far they’ve come in terms of improvement."

Beck, a Jacksonville, Florida, native, saw action in seven games last year, completing 25 of 36 passing attempts for 310 yards and four touchdowns. In his career, he's 36-for-58 for 486 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions. He even saw time in the national championship during a 65-7 blowout of TCU.

Beck has some big shoes to fill. In his final two seasons with the Bulldogs that both ended in championships, Bennett threw for 6,990 yards and 53 touchdowns and was named the MVP of both national title games.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.