Alabama Football: 3 reasons Tide will win 2019 National Championship

3. Alabama has the best possible situation at quarterback

When Jalen Hurts struggled against Georgia in last year’s College Football Playoff national championship, the Crimson Tide were able to turn to freshman sensation Tua Tagovailoa to catalyze the offense.

Tagovailoa made a run at the Heisman this year, but when he struggled in the SEC championship against Georgia and went down with an injury Hurts was still there waiting in the wings to step in and play the hero.

In the Orange Bowl, Tagovailoa did most of the damage against the Sooners defense. The sophomore completed 24 of his 27 passes for 318 yards and four touchdowns, and he added nine yards on the ground against Oklahoma. But the fact remains that Hurts is also right there waiting for his chance to get on the field and wreak havoc.

For most programs, the notion that you have two starting quarterbacks often means that you have no starting quarterbacks. In the case of Alabama, though, it has worked out far better than anticipated when Tagovailoa first supplanted Hurts as the starter this year.

Being able to draw upon two players who already have playing experience in the College Football Playoff national championship game puts Alabama in an enviable position that offers a level of insurance unavailable to their opponent in Santa Clara. Having Hurts opens up the opportunity to get creative with ways to get both quarterbacks on the field, if nothing else.