FRESHMAN QB LEADS BAMA TO TITLE
Frosh QB Tagovailoa’s OT TD pass lifts Alabama to national title
ATLANTA — Back in September, Tua Tagovailoa made headlines for the wrong reason.
The Alabama freshman quarterback was at the center of some controversy that he didn’t even start.
On a message board after a 4110 Crimson Tide win, an Alabama fan wanted to discuss the Hawaiian native. “He seems like a smart kid, so I’m wandering (sic) how his transition to the states has been as far as communication goes? Are we doing anything different like special playbooks or relying on signals more when he’s in the game? I thought I saw him point to receivers a couple of times and defenses might catch on if he’s pointing to who he’s going to throw the ball to. The only time I’ve been out of the country is when I was shipped to Nam and I was as confused as a yankee learning to square dance.”
Well, Tagovailoa’s communication skills were fine on the wee hours of Tuesday morning when he threw a 41-yard game winning TD to DeVonta Smith in overtime to defeat the Georgia Bulldogs, 26-23 in the College Football Playoff national football championship game. “I took a shot downfield,” Tagovailoa said. “And he caught it.”
The freshman quarterback took over for starter Jalen Hurts after a first half that featured a dismal offensive performance by the Crimson Tide. Trialing 13-0, while only mustering 94 total yards, Nick Saban rolled the dice and threw the true freshman in the fire. Tagovailoa responded by leading Alabama to their first touchdown on his second series. Things kept rolling after that, as Alabama scored all 26 of their points in the second half with Tagovailoa under center. The last came when Tagovailoa threw the touchdown to Smith after giving up a 16-yard sack. The win means that Saban remains undefeated against his former coordinators, and improves to an impressive 13-1 record in Atlanta. Saban made history, winning his sixth national title. Saban now joins Bear Bryant as the only coaches with six championships. “This is great win for our players and I’ve never been happier in my life,” Saban said. The game did not start out like a nailbiter. After Alabama missed a field goal in the first quarter, Georgia slowly began to find an offensive rhythm, driving downfield twice, getting just far enough for kicker Rodrigo Blankenship to make a pair of field goals for a 6-0 lead. At the same, the Crimson Tide offense was struggling, looking uncharacteristically flustered. When Georgia finally finished a drive, Mecole Hardman running for a 1-yard touchdown, the Bulldogs took a 13-0 into halftime and Alabama needed a change. A big one. “We have to do something,” Saban said at halftime. “We just can’t move the ball effectively.”
Things turned around in the second half with both teams trading punches like heavyweight boxers. Tagovailoa guided the Crimson Tide to a touchdown. Georgia
quarterback Jake Fromm — also a freshman — answered with an 80-yard touchdown pass to Hardman. But the Georgia offense would go dormant after that, allowing Alabama to chip away at the lead.
Andy Pappanastos rebounded for his earlier miss, making a couple of field-goal attempts. Alabama drove downfield again with time running out in regulation and Tagovailoa passed to Calvin Ridley to tie the score at 20-20. The Tide actually had a chance to win before overtime but Pappanastos hooked another attempt.
Georgia looked to have some magic with Blankenship’s 51-yard field goal. But the lead would be short-lived.
After taking a sack, Tagovailoa made good on Saban’s decision to switch quarterbacks.
“Who would have ever thought I’d be here at this moment,” the freshman said. — The LA Times contributed to this report