Alabama Football: Top 5 moments of Tua Tagovailoa’s Tide career

2. Long touchdown run vs. LSU

While the hype for the 2019 Alabama-LSU matchup was more than likely bigger than the 2018 hype, it was seen as the Tiger’s best chance at beating the Crimson Tide since the 2011 “Game of the Century.”

Going into Death Valley as the No. 1 team in the country, LSU was No. 4, the highest-ranked matchup between the two schools since 2012. At the time, Tagovailoa was seen as the Heisman favorite, despite hurting his knee three weeks prior against Missouri.

The narrative at the time was that Tagovailoa was finally going to see a real defense in LSU and struggle throughout the game. That turned out to be true at the beginning of the game as Tua threw his first interception of the year in the second quarter. Leading 16-0 at halftime, the Alabama offense was quiet for what the country was used to seeing from them.

In their second drive of the second half, the Crimson Tide were passed midfield, but coming up on a third-and-8. After surveying the field for downfield options, Tagovailoa took off, out-running the LSU defense for a 45-yard touchdown, bad knee and all. The score made it a three-score game, ending the Tigers’ chances of upsetting Alabama.

Had Tua won the Heisman in 2018, this would have been his Heisman moment. Not only did he go on the road to beat a top-five team, but he silenced all of the doubters who thought he would not be able to play at the same elite level against tougher competition.