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10 things we learned following Alabama's Week 7 win over Missouri

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Saban gives update on Tua Tagovailoa's 'tweaked' knee

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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama recorded another blowout win while avoiding a serious injury scare as the Crimson Tide downed Missouri 39-10 in its homecoming game. Here are 10 things we learned.

1. Tagovailoa’s fine

The biggest drama Saturday night came with 11:54 left in the third quarter as Tua Tagovailoa remained on the ground after sliding following a quarterback scramble. Alabama trainers nursed the quarterbacks’ knee before he returned to his feet and gingerly jogged toward the Crimson Tide’s medical tent on the sideline.

Alabama fans waited anxiously as the Heisman hopeful was evaluated in private. Roughly 19 minutes later Tagovailoa emerged from the tent, walking under his own power to the edge of the sideline where he would spend the remainder of the game.

“He wanted to go back in the game. I didn’t think it was worth putting him back in the game,” head coach Nick Saban said. “He kind of tweaked his knee a little bit, the same one he sort of tweaked last week. So we don’t think there’s any issues or problems with it.”

Tagovailoa had been dealing with a sprained right knee this week. The sophomore wore a brace on the knee both during practice and during Saturday’s game. Before leaving, Tagovailoa completed 12 of 22 passes for 265 yards and three touchdowns.

2. Hurts stepped up

Saban foreshadowed a situation like this last month, stating the importance of backup quarterback Jalen Hurts. Not only was the head coach right, Saturday he and Alabama received a bit of reassurance that the team is still in good hands in the event Tagovailoa goes down with a more serious injury in the future.

Replacing Tagovailoa in the third quarter, Hurts completed 7 of 8 passes for 115 yards, earning a quarterback rating of 208.3. The junior dropped in a perfect 29-yard pass to Henry Ruggs III in the fourth quarter to set up a 2-yard touchdown run from Damien Harris two plays later. Hurts also completed a 44-yard pass to Jerry Jeudy earlier in the game.

“He led us to the national championship two years in a row,” Harris said. “He shattered all kind of records. His resume speaks for itself. There’s never any doubt in our minds when he has to go in and play quarterback and plenty of other positions. Jalen is a pretty special talent, a guy that you really only get to play with once in a lifetime. I’m thankful to line up in the backfield with him and do all these kind of things.”

3. So did Saivion Smith

Hurts wasn’t the only replacement to shine on the night. Filling in for Trevon Diggs at starting cornerback, Saivion Smith tallied two interceptions and helped Alabama’s defense hold Missouri to 142 passing yards.

Smith’s first interception came on Missouri’s opening offensive possession as the JUCO transfer helped set up an Alabama field goal to give the Crimson Tide an early 10-0 lead less than two minutes into the game. His second interception came as he kept the Tigers out of the end zone for good, corralling a desperation pass from Drew Lock on fourth-and-4 from the Alabama 8-yard line.

“It was big-time,” linebacker Christian Miller said. “We got faith in all our guys. Somebody goes down, people step up.”

Smith now leads the team with four interceptions through seven games.

4. Defense answers test

A week after surrendering a season-high 31-points to Arkansas, Alabama’s defense answered one of its most significant tests of the season. The Crimson Tide held a Missouri offense that entered the game ranked in the top 10 in the nation to 212 total yards and a season-low 10 points.

"With a lot of new guys playing we tried to disguise some things in the secondary," Saban said, "because they do a lot of Nike, which means they're going to look at the sideline, see what you're in and our guys were doing a good job of changing things. We kind of had orchestrated so they knew exactly how to do what they were doing and I think a couple of times, things changed on them a little bit that might have made them a little bit hesitant.”

Alabama limited Lock to 13 of 26 passing for 142 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions. The Crimson Tide recorded four sacks, including one by Quinnen Williams in the end zone which resulted in a safety.

5. Punting problems

After a 10-quarter hiatus, Skyler DeLong finally returned to action during the third quarter. However, the freshman punter didn’t enjoy much success in his welcome-back moment, shanking a punt for 12 yards.

DeLong’s punt was his first action since a Sept. 22 game against Texas A&M as Alabama didn’t need him in games against Louisiana-Lafayette and Arkansas. The span of inactivity reached a total of 156 minutes. Saturday was DeLong’s fifth appearance, disqualifying him from a potential redshirt this season.

DeLong has averaged 34.4 yards per punt on 16 attempts this season. Alabama ranks 128 out of 130 Division I teams in terms of punting average.

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Photo | USA Today
Photo | USA Today

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