Tide turns, QB done
Tagovailoa ruled out for season after being carted off field with hip injury
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Tua Tagovailoa sustained a season-ending hip injured being dragged down late in the first half on what was likely his final series of the day in No. 5 Alabama’s 38-7 victory over Mississippi State on Saturday.
Tagovailoa was injured after a scramble when he was tackled from behind by Bulldogs linebacker Leo Lewis. The star quarterback needed help getting to his feet and was carted off the field with 3:01 left in the second quarter.
The junior had been nursing an ankle injury that needed surgery four weeks ago and caused him to miss a game and a half. Alabama coach Nick Saban said the injury Saturday was unrelated to the ankle. Saban called it a “freak injury.”
Saban told ESPN at halftime the plan was to remove Tagovailoa from the game before the series when the quarterback was injured. Alabama was already up 35-7, but it was decided to let Tagovailoa play one possession to get some work in the two-minute drill.
Tagovailoa was flown by helicopter to the St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Birmingham, Alabama, and was ruled out for the season Saturday night.
Tagovailoa had been nursing an ankle injury and Alabama was considering holding him out of this game.
“We can second guess ourselves all we want,” Saban said. “I really don’t make decisions based on players getting hurt.”
The junior needed surgery four weeks ago for a high ankle sprain on his right leg that caused him to miss a game and a half. Saban told ESPN at halftime the plan was to remove Tagovailoa from the game before the series when the quarterback was injury. Alabama was leading 35-7, but it was decided to let Tagovailoa play one more possession to get some work in the two-minute drill.
Tagovailoa was 14 of 18 for 256 yards and two touchdown passes against Mississippi State, giving him 31 TD passes on the season. He was replaced in the second half by Mac Jones, who went 7 for 11 for 94 yards.
The Crimson Tide (9-1, 6-1 Southeastern Conference) were coming off a 46-41 loss to LSU that nudged it out of College Football Playoff position to fifth in the latest selection committee rankings. Now Alabama is facing the daunting task of trying to impress the committee without Tagovailoa, the Heisman Trophy runner-up from last season and a potential top-10 selection in the NFL draft.
Tagovailoa played well against LSU, passing for more than 400 yards, but he was gimpy at times, favoring his right ankle. Saban said Tagovailoa was a game-time decision against Mississippi State. He started and the Tide jumped out to a 14-0 lead on a touchdown run and a touchdown catch by Najee Harris, who finished with four TDs.
Mississippi State (4-6, 2-5) cut the lead to 14-7 on a 1-yard scoring run by Kylin Hill. The Bulldogs must now win out to be bowl eligible.
Harris finished with 88 yards rushing and 51 yards receiving. Jerry Jeudy had seven catches for 114 yards receiving for Alabama.
Tommy Stevens was 12 of 21 passing for Mississippi State and had just 82 yards passing. Stevens did rush for 96 yards on 10 carries.
The Bulldogs’ struggles on offensive continued against Alabama. Mississippi State had just 270 yards of offense and had only 82 yards passing against the Crimson Tide.