Alabama football: Tua Tagovailoa has his Heisman moment in Death Valley showdown with LSU
By Marq Burnett
Published:
BATON ROUGE, La. — Injured knee be damned; Tua Tagovailoa was going to do whatever it took to win this game.
If you were looking for a Heisman Trophy moment, Tagovailoa gave the college football world that and more in No. 1 Alabama’s 29-0 win over No. 3 LSU on Saturday night.
Backed up on third-and-8 in the third quarter, Tagovailoa didn’t see anyone open, so he decided to do it himself. He broke through the line and sprinted past any would-be LSU defenders for a 44-yard touchdown and the knockout blow. Tagovailoa said he felt his knee give during the run, but nothing was going to stop him.
“I was going off of momentum after that,” Tagovailoa said of his knee. “I think I was galloping to the touchdown.”
LSU’s pedestrian offense could muster nothing against a swarming Alabama defense that stuffed the Tigers’ run game, holding LSU to 12 rushing yards, and harassing quarterback Joe Burrow all night, sacking him 5 times.
“We really wanted to make a statement in this game,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “A lot of people talk about our schedule. We have a lot of respect for LSU and their team, but I think we played a pretty complete game on both sides of the ball.”
Tagovailoa wasn’t perfect (59 percent completion rate), but he showed something with the raucous Death Valley crowd roaring at him and LSU’s vaunted defense making him uncomfortable. He showed the poise and moxie while under duress that we all saw in the National Championship Game victory last season. Tagovailoa passed for 295 yards and 2 touchdowns while rushing for another score. Saban said Tagovailoa played “really well.”
Let’s be honest here: Alabama hadn’t been tested all season, and Tagovailoa hadn’t sniffed a fourth quarter. (He played the entire game against LSU.)
But the Tigers were good enough on defense to at least make it interesting. Only Tagovailoa and this offense have enough counterpunches to win even when they’re not performing at their peak.
Alabama didn’t score on its opening possession, and they had only six points after the opening quarter. Tagovailoa also threw his first interception of the year, a throw he said he never should have made.
But the Crimson Tide slowly but surely wore the Tigers down and hit on big plays when available.
In a word, Tagovailoa’s second-quarter touchdown pass to tight end Irv Smith Jr. in the back of the end zone was perfect. You cannot throw and catch a ball any better than Tagovailoa and Smith did on that play, which was well covered.
Tagovailoa had another near-perfect throw down the sideline to freshman wide receiver Jaylen Waddle for a big first down as well.
Everyone wanted to see how the sophomore sensation would respond against adversity in a hostile environment. Under the brightest lights in the biggest game of the college season, Tagovailoa may have done enough to wrap up the Heisman Trophy.
“He’s a great player,” LSU coach Ed Orgeron said Saturday night. “He made some tremendous plays tonight. … He’s one of the best players I’ve seen. I give him credit.”
Veteran Alabama beat reporter Marq Burnett covers the Crimson Tide for Saturday Down South.
