With the SEC West already won, the Alabama Crimson Tide should take every precaution to keep quarterback Tua Tagovailoa healthy versus the Georgia Bulldogs.
Last week saw the Alabama Crimson Tide win the SEC West outright by shutting out the division rival LSU Tigers on the road in Baton Rouge. Alabama is the best team in the nation and will face the SEC East champion Georgia Bulldogs for a trip to the College Football Playoff. For Alabama to win it all, they must have their best player in Heisman Trophy frontrunner Tua Tagovailoa healthy.
In Saturday’s home game versus the SEC West rival Mississippi State Bulldogs, Tagovailoa had to exit the game in the second half with an apparent injury. The No. 16 Bulldogs have an elite pass rush that definitely roughed up Tagovailoa a bit.
He could be seen late in the third quarter and into the fourth quarter on a stationary bike on the Alabama sidelines with a quad injury. With the game very much in Alabama’s control, there is no reason for Alabama head coach Nick Saban to put his star signal caller back out there versus a tough Mississippi State team.
That being said, what if Tagovailoa has a lingering injury? He’s not a very big guy and getting pulverized by an SEC team the caliber of Mississippi State doesn’t bode well for his health in November.
Frankly, Alabama should do everything in its power to make sure Tagovailoa is at 100 percent versus their next game that matters: vs. Georgia in the 2018 SEC Championship Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Dec. 1.
Sure, Alabama still has the Iron Bowl with the arch rival Auburn Tigers let on the slate, plus a cupcake game versus the The Citadel before that. However, it’s more important for Tagovailoa to be healthy than for him to pad his stats on his Heisman campaign. He is only a true sophomore and could totally win college football’s most prestigious trophy next year, even if he doesn’t win it this December.
It would be wise for Saban to play both backup quarterbacks Jalen Hurts and Mac Jones versus The Citadel as much as possible to prevent Tagovailoa from falling apart physically before Alabama’s Playoff push. He opted to use Jones in the second half versus Mississippi State, as Hurts was dealing with an ankle injury himself, but did dress for this conference rivalry game.
While the Alabama defense has been dominant as usual, the Crimson Tide aren’t by far and away the best team in the nation without Tagovailoa under center. They can be beaten by teams like the Clemson Tigers, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and even Georgia if Hurts and Jones have to play extended snaps in championship games.
It only serves Alabama to keep Tagovailoa healthy in the final two weeks of the 2018 college football season. He shouldn’t be playing in the second half of either game versus The Citadel and Auburn.
Next: 30 bucket list items for college football fans
If he is going to play a bunch going forward, just pound the rock with any of the great Alabama running backs Saban has at his disposal. Alabama is elite with Tagovailoa, but may not be so much without him.