College football season kicks off with a bang
A renewal of the Notre Dame-Michigan rivalry after a four-year hiatus headlines a full slate of games.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – By now the moment is permanently etched into our brains, via endless repetition throughout the long offseason. Especially in Alabama — but really almost anywhere in college football — the phrase “2nd-and-26” immediately conjures up the memories of an almost impossibly dramatic finish to a nation- al championship game:
Overtime. A true freshman quarterback throwing deep. A true freshman receiver hauling it in. Touchdown. Cue the confetti.
And the controversy.
When Tua Tagovailoa tossed that 41yard touchdown pass, his legend was immediately cemented, and Alabama’s even more glorious future was seemingly set. Or at least, the narrative was.
We might not know Alabama’s starter — Tagovailoa or Jalen Hurts? — until he trots onto the field Saturday against Louisville. And that decision might not be final. But there’s not much doubt about the fans’ favorite, or what they expect will happen once Tagovailoa has been given the reins.
But what if 2nd-and-26 had not become one of the all-time great moments in the Crimson Tide’s storied history? What if instead the crucial play in that all-Southeastern Conference showdown for the national title had come one snap earlier, when Tagovailoa was sacked for a 16-yard loss?
“I think it would be a lot more undecided in the people’s minds,” says Ross Pierschbacher, Alabama’s senior center.
“The last thing they would remember would be negative,” nods Jonah Williams, the Tide’s junior left tackle, tagteaming the answer.
“It’d probably be more split,” Pierschbacher continues. “The last thing they know is Tua leading us to the national championship.”
And clearly, the people envision Tua leading the Crimson Tide to more. Despite all those national titles, a “fan happiness index” (whatever that is) created by ESPN suggests Alabama fans rank only fifth nationally in their collective state of satisfaction. Who knows if there’s any credence to the metric, but imagine what it might have reflected if Georgia had won last January rather than Alabama. If that sack on first down had been the critical turning point, what then?
“There’s enough out there (on the quarterback competition), that I don’t need to answer any hypothetical question about ‘what if,’ ” Nick Saban says.
Which is only to say, the coach doesn’t deal in hypotheticals. But of course, he does. We all do. The working hypothesis for Alabama’s coaching staff at halftime of the national championship game — trailing 13-0, with 21 passing yards — was something like: “At least Tua gives us a shot at this.”
The working hypothesis for everyone since then is that not if but when Tagovailoa is named the starter, he’ll give the Crimson Tide a shot to reach an even higher level.
Yeah, it’s an amazing thing to contemplate, considering Alabama’s routine excellence during the dynasty. But it’s also why this season — Alabama ranked No. 1 by everyone, as usual; loaded with talent, as usual; another national championship possible or maybe even probable, as usual — shapes up to be especially fascinating.
Saban replaced both coordinators; he has six new assistants; only one assistant is in the same position he held last season. And all indications are that at some point he’ll replace a quarterback who’s 26-2 as a starter with a sophomore who has played one half and one overtime of meaningful college football — though it was the most meaningful 30-plus minutes anyone could have designed.
Never mind that we don’t actually know how good Tagovailoa is or might become. His performance that night was uneven. The possibility shimmers of something we’ve not seen yet at Alabama: All that talent finally complemented — fully catalyzed! — by a quarterback who’s a dynamic, game-changing playmaker.
Depending on your perspective, the idea is either tantalizing or terrifying.
But inside the program, the potential for controversy has to be at least concerning. They won’t say so — no one ever does — and it’s possible Tagovailoa is named the starter and is immediately so good that no concern is ever warranted. But he’s likely to experience growing pains, to make mistakes that threaten at least occasionally to slow the Tide’s roll. To take sacks like the one in overtime. To throw interceptions like the one in the third quarter. To make poor decisions and take big risks that don’t pan out.
The likeliest outcome if (when) Tagovailoa assumes the job, at least early on, is more of the inconsistency we saw last January. If mistakes somehow cost a loss — we know, but go with us — well, playing Tagovailoa could seem like a big risk that hasn’t panned out. Hurts is limited as a passer, but along with superlative running ability, his chief strength has been his trustworthiness in execution, in avoiding damaging errors.
Several Alabama players insist they’ll be happy with either quarterback.
“Neither one of them is polarizing,” Williams says. “So it’s not like the team would prefer to have one or the other. Both are respected by the team.”
Perhaps more than any other college coach, Saban hates distractions. He calls players who cause trouble “blinking lights.” No one has suggested Hurts fits the definition. He’s been a leader; he handled his demotion in the championship game with grace, both on the sideline and in interviews afterward.
But his comments this month about none of the coaches asking him what was on his mind or how he felt were extraordinary in that, well, no one ever says anything like that in Saban’s buttoned-up program. Was it possibly a warning sign — a check-engine light reflecting potential malfunction in “the Process,” or at least of some level of dysfunction?
“Sometimes not saying anything is much better,” Saban says of Hurts’ comments. “I think it’s one of those things where no matter how it makes you feel when you do something, it can create consequences — I mean, good or bad.”
Did it create any consequences for Hurts or the program?
“No,” Saban says.
It’s notable, though, that no one has heard publicly from either quarterback since. Alabama routinely declined interview requests for both.
If Tagovailoa starts, Alabama will be the favorite to win the national championship. But if Hurts starts, Alabama will be the favorite to win the national championship.
But in the competition and even its aftermath, there is potential for distractions to become obstacles. If only generally, Saban acknowledges concern that controversy could erupt.
“Anything can (become) a problem,” he says, adding, “It’s already been created by people outside of here, right? Maybe it could get worse, I don’t know, but it’s been all the people talked about for the last however many months it’s been.”
Which brings us back to the ad-libs version from last January. If Tagovailoa had not tossed that touchdown pass, if Georgia had instead won the national title, it’s possible, maybe even probable, the alternate ending would have fueled even more desire from fans for change. Despite Tagovailoa’s mistakes, they’d have seen enough to believe he would elevate the Tide’s offense beyond what is possible with Hurts. They’d be even hungrier for change. But that’s also why for Saban the evaluation is far more than what happened on 2nd-and-26.
What we’ve seen so far from Tagovailoa amounts to a snack. Especially the last bite was crazy delicious. No one can be completely sure yet how a full meal would taste.