Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Tua Tagovailoa injures his ankle against the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday night and has to exit the game.
Late in the first half of the Third Saturday in October, Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Tua Tagovailoa succumbed to an ankle injury on a hit from behind versus the cross-divisional rival Tennessee Volunteers. He had to make his way to the medical tent on the Alabama sideline, giving way to his backup Mac Jones.
Tagovailoa will not play for the rest of the first half. The Alabama medical staff will take a better look at his ankle to see if he can play at any point for the rest of the game. Alabama head coach Nick Saban said his quarterback had a twisted ankle and his status for the rest of the game was undetermined. An answer about Tagovailoa’s status should come shortly after the start of the second half. He struggled with nagging injuries at the end of last year, so expect Alabama to be extremely cautious with him, especially in a game vs. an opponent like Tennessee.
Alabama held a 21-10 lead over rival Tennessee at the time of the injury. Here is what it looked like when it happened. The Heisman front-runner was injured on this tackle. After going to the medical tend, he went to the locker room.
What does this mean for the Crimson Tide if he is unable to go in the second half versus the Volunteers?
Tua leaves the field and heads back to the locker room near the end of the first half. pic.twitter.com/r8FLBkTfUm
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) October 20, 2019
Alabama has won 12 straight games against Tennessee and has not lost to the Volunteers since Alabama head coach Nick Saban has arrived in Tuscaloosa. Jones is a capable backup but lacks the star power and overall dynamism of Tagovailoa.
Expect the Crimson Tide to pound the rock, chew up some clock and play great defense to counterbalance the potential lose of Tagovailoa, whether it is just for the first half or for the rest of the ball game. Alabama needs Tagovailoa if the Crimson Tide want to win a national championship this season.
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