Gary Danielson says CFP should consider recent history if Alabama wins Iron Bowl without Tua Tagovailoa
By Keith Farner
Published:
College football’s postseason has dealt with an injury at quarterback to a noteworthy team before this year’s case with Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa.
It was another blue blood program that suffered injuries to quarterbacks and turned to a third-string. That was Ohio State in 2014 with Cardale Jones after Braxton Miller and J.T. Barrett went down. It’s more of a nod to the team than individual performance by the quarterback.
“I think the narrative here is backward,” Danielson said on the CBS broadcast from Jordan-Hare Stadium, according to AL.com. “They have been saying this is going to hurt Alabama with the voters. I think Alabama remembers back to Cardale Jones for Ohio State.
“If Alabama comes in here and beats Auburn without Tua, they deserve to be No. 4.”
Jones led the Buckeyes to a Big Ten Championship Game win over Wisconsin before beating Alabama 42-35 and Oregon 42-20 en route to the national championship.
“That would be a more impressive thing than before,” Danielson said of the Tide. “Remember J.T. Barrett and Braxton Miller were hurt. So, the team has to get the credit, not just the quarterback.
“Everyone thought Ohio State shouldn’t have been in with Cardale Jones. Look what they did. You have to say the team deserves the nod, whether they get it or not. You can’t eliminate them just because they don’t have Tua.”
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
