The loss of Tua
Tagovailoa for the remainder of the season is a crying shame. I can think of no
Bama player in the modern era who achieved as much, played as brilliantly, and
served so well as the face of the program in such a short period of time.
Whatever faint hope may have flickered for Tua to come back in two weeks and
lead the Tide to victory in the 2019 Iron Bowl was extinguished with a tersely
worded statement from Dr. Lyle Cain late Saturday:
Tua Tagovailoa sustained a right hip
dislocation that was immediately reduced at the stadium. He is undergoing
further testing to determine the best course of treatment. He is expected to
make a full recovery but will miss the remainder of the season.
Whether Tua’s football
career at Alabama has come to an end remains to be seen. He and his family must
work through a complex process to make the best decision for Tua and his
younger brother. For any pundit to offer unsolicited advice, or speculate
publicly based, is irresponsible.
There are two things the
Alabama fan base ought to do. Celebrate the spectacular contributions Tua has
made to the program we love. And encourage this team to finish the season by
playing to the Alabama standard; trust The Process, be the best you can be, focus
on making the right decisions and doing everything the right way.
Because there is no time
like the present to get started, here is how I grade the Mississippi State
game:
Offense: A Alabama
gained 510 total offensive yards [160 net rushing], earned 24 first downs,
converted 6 of 10 third downs, and controlled the ball for 27:57.
Despite playing only the
first half, Tua completed 14 of 18 pass attempts for 256 yards and 2 TD’s. Mac
Jones gained 94 passing yards on 7 completions on 11 attempts. Neither
quarterback gave up an interception.
Jerry Jeudy was the Tide’s
leading receiver with 114 yards on 7 catches. DeVonta Smith added 92 yards on 6
receptions, and Najee Harris gained 51 yards and scored a TD on three
receptions. Jaylen Waddle also caught a TD pass. Six different receivers caught
passes.
Najee Harris continued
his dominance as a play maker with 88 net yards rushing and 3 rushing TDs. His
four touchdowns in the first half tied DeVonta Smith’s school record for
touchdowns in a half. Brian Robinson, Jr. averaged 7.0 yards per carry on 8
rushing plays for a net of 56 yards gained rushing.
The offense made seven
drives that gained 40 or more yards [55, 70, 69, 70, 81, 43, 44] that achieved
4 TDs and a FG. The final two sustained drives were merely second-half clock
killers.
Alabama scored a
touchdown on each of its first five possessions of the game.
Defense: A The
Bulldogs were limited to only 270 yards offense, 11 first downs, and 7 points. State
was able to convert only 3 of 12 third downs, and 1 of 4 fourth down attempts.
The SEC’s leading rusher entering the game, MSU’s Kylin Hill was held to only
35 net yards on 16 carries.
Freshman LB Shane Lee led
all defenders with 10 tackles [2 solo]; he also intercepted a pass on MSU’s
first offensive play of the game. Anfernee Jennings was credited with 8 tackles
[3 solo], and Shyheim Carter logged 7 tackles [4 solo].
In total, the defense inflicted
6 tackles for lost yardage, broke up 4 passes, and hurried the State QB 4
times.
Special Teams
Punting: A Ty
Perine punted twice for an average of 39.5 yards. Neither punt was returned.
Jaylen Waddle returned two MSU punts for a total of 28 yards.
Kickoff: B+ Joseph
Bulovas averaged 41.4 yards per kick. The coverage team allowed the Bulldogs to
gain 60 yards on a total of two returns.
Place Kicking: A Bulovas
was successful from 22 yards on his lone field goal attempt, and was perfect on
PATs. The coaches substituted Mac Jones to hold on place kicks before Tua’s
injury.
Coaching: B+ I
do not attribute any fault for Tua’s injury to the coaching staff. Fans are
free to do otherwise, but they do so with the advantage of hindsight. Tua was
playing well, did not re-injure his ankle, and his previous injury contributed nothing
toward his dislocated hip. Coach Saban explained that Mac Jones was slated to
play the second half and he wanted Tua to get in-game experience running the
two-minute offense before making the switch to Jones. The downgrade from an A-level performance is
due to 7 penalties costing the Tide a combined 86 yards, and keeping alive MSU’s
lone touchdown drive. The participation report lists 59 players who saw action
in the game.
Twenty-one months ago, in
January 2018, the Commissioner’s Long-Suffering Wife and I had the great fortune
to be present in Atlanta’s Mercedes Benz Stadium when Tua Tagovailoa led
Alabama to an improbable comeback win over Georgia to claim the Tide’s 17th
National Championship. I had also seen Tua play earlier in the year when the
Tide visited Nashville to deliver a beating to Vanderbilt Commodores. Tua
entered the game early in the third quarter and dazzled everyone with his skill.
One play in particular stands out in my memory. He was flushed from the pocket,
spun to avoid a sack, ducked to avoid another, spotted DeVonta Smith in the endzone
and, off balance, falling backwards, threw a perfect spiral for another Bama
touchdown.
I was also present for
last season’s SEC Championship Game where Jalen Hurts came off the bench to
rally the Tide for another conference title. A return engagement with the Dawgs
to contest the Conference Championship is the longest of long shots this season,
because LSU holds the tie breaker over Alabama. The Tigers would have to lose
this coming weekend to the hapless Razorbacks to not settle the SEC West.
Meanwhile, the Piggies are busy cleaning out the head coach’s office hoping the
Gus Bus arrives in Fayetteville after Auburn loses the Iron Bowl.
The Jalen Hurts role now passes to Mac Jones,
but he will not have to carry the team alone. Najee Harris has been playing
like a man possessed. The Tide receivers can make plays out of any ball thrown
within their zip code. The Defense knows bad injury luck; it has dealt all season with key
players being hurt.
So, here’s to Tua
Tagovailoa: come what may in your football future, in my opinion you are the
best to ever play quarterback for the Crimson Tide.
And here’s to the team.
It’s time to finish the right way. Fight on .... Fight on .... Fight on, men. Beat the Catamounts ... then the Barn. See you Saturday in Tuscaloosa!
Roll Tide, Y’all.
The Commissioner
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