Heisman Trophy Power Rankings, Week 9: Tua’s injury hurts chances
By Dakota Cox
Tua Tagovailoa was coming off of a good performance against Texas A&M, but it was not great. Many expected him to get things going early against Tennessee, a team that has struggled on defense all season. The offense was efficient, but it wasn’t all thanks to Tua. It seemed that the Alabama staff was determined to get the run game going, and it kept Tagovailoa from getting passing touchdowns on the board.
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Tua’s only mistake was an interception deep in Vols territory as he tried to force a completion in the red zone. it was a bad decision where Tua was just trying to do too much on the throw.
Obviously, the thing that hurt Tua’s odds the most was his ankle injury that took him out of this one in the first half. It seems that he will be out for a couple of weeks before returning against LSU. Missing homecoming against Arkansas will not ruin his Heisman odds. In fact, I still think he controls his own destiny.
It all comes down to this: can Tua be completely healthy by the LSU game? He had this injury last season to his other ankle, and it bothered him for the rest of the season. He was also fighting a knee injury, so we’ll have to see how he looks with just the one injury.
If Tua balls out and beats the LSU Tigers, he’s right back as the frontrunner. However, it’s too disrespectful to the other guys to put him there right now. The race is just too good.