After Alabama football’s Tua Tagovailoa left the first half of Saturday’s game with a serious injury, what is the Tide’s outlook for the rest of the season?
After dropping what many dubbed in the lead-up as the “Game of the Century” last Saturday at home against LSU last Saturday in Tuscaloosa, Alabama found itself in a difficult spot.
Sure, it was only a five-point loss to one of college football’s championship contenders, but Alabama was exposed defensively and had a good deal of trouble keeping up offensively for the majority of the football game.
In the two weeks that Alabama had to prepare for LSU, the status of their star QB Tua Tagovailoa was in question. Many expected him to play, but less than a month removed from surgery to remedy a serious high ankle sprain, it was clear that he would be less than 100 percent going into the matchup.
Tua played fine against LSU, throwing for over 400 yards and four touchdown passes. However, a back-breaking interception late in the first half and an un-Tua-like 21-of-40 stat line served as proof positive that he was not fully himself.
After the loss saw the Tide tumble to fifth in the updated playoff rankings, the ever-subjective “eye test” became all the more important for Alabama, especially with a weak resume likely rendering their playoff chances as slim as they’ve ever been under Nick Saban.
The eye test was at play on Saturday against Mississippi State. Poor Joe Moorhead and his Bulldogs never had a chance. An angry Alabama team was going to Starkville, a week removed from a brutal loss to one of its biggest rivals.
Alabama came into the game with plenty to prove, even as a huge favorite. Tua’s play in the first half was stellar, as he was 14-of-18 for 256 yards and two touchdowns. With the Tide up 35-7 late in the second quarter, Tua was driven into the ground and was writhing in agonizing pain.
Armchair quarterbacks all over social media questioned Saban leaving Tua in the game, but once it was revealed that it wasn’t the ankle that he re-injured, rather a hip injury that was the result of being twisted to the ground awkwardly, it could be chalked up as nothing more than bad luck.
It was the second quarter after all, and even with Alabama up big, the eye test mattered more than it ever has for Alabama. Any shot of the playoff, barring total chaos, rests squarely on how “sexy” the wins look for the Tide throughout the rest of the season. As such, Saban leaving Tua in late in the second quarter of a blowout is justified, no matter the result of what appears to be a serious injury.
Saban is sick over it, as was apparent when he came off the field at halftime and explained that the possession in which Tua got hurt was likely going to be his last of the day. Regardless, everyone was sick for Tua and how injury-prone he has become, especially his head coach.
While Saban’s move to leave Tua in may be justified when looking at the big picture, it does beg to question what the outlook may be for the Tide for the rest of the season. Alabama finished off a 38-7 win against Mississippi State and faces Western Carolina next Saturday. Mac Jones will be taking over at quarterback, and he’s fine, but he’s obviously not Tua.
The bigger question comes in the regular season finale in two weeks against Auburn. The Iron Bowl will be played on the road this year at Auburn, who has emerged as a pest in a difficult SEC West. If Alabama wants any chance of making the playoff, the Iron Bowl win is a must, and it becomes paramount that the Crimson Tide do it convincingly.
Auburn plays Georgia on Saturday afternoon, and if the Tigers are able to pull of a win in one of the biggest games of the weekend, Auburn will likely be a top 10 team come the Iron Bowl. Alabama winning that game convincingly, let alone at all, becomes a heck of a lot harder without one of the best quarterbacks in college football at the controls.
We’ll see what the outcome of Tua’s injury is once it eventually becomes known. After all, this could all end up being premature.
However, it does not look good for Alabama’s star quarterback at present, and the Tide’s slim chances of making the playoff appear to be all but gone, perhaps like Tua’s college career.