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BATON ROUGE, La. — Tua Tagovailoa was knocked down but not out. For the third straight game, the Alabama quarterback experienced an injury scare as he was hit hard and low by LSU safety Grant Delpit on the opening drive of Saturday’s game.
Delpit’s hit occurred on a play that was whistled dead for a false start but not before the safety barreled into Tagovailoa’s lower half taking him out for one play. However, unlike in past games, Tagovailoa returned.
The Heisman frontrunner completed 25 of 42 passes for 295 yards and two touchdowns and added a 44-yard touchdown on the ground to lead No. 1 Alabama to a 29-0 win over No. 3 LSU and clinch the SEC West title. The victory was the Crimson Tide’s eighth straight over the Tigers and fourth straight in Death Valley.
Tagovailoa wasted no time rebounding from the hit. The sophomore completed all four of his passes on Alabama’s next possession, including a 15-yard touchdown strike to Henry Ruggs III. Ruggs finished with four receptions for 55 yards and the touchdown before leaving the game with an injury in the second quarter.
Damien Harris led Alabama with 107 rushing yards and a touchdown on 19 carries to break the century mark for the second time this season. Jerry Jeudy led the team in receiving with eight catches for 103 yards, while tight end Irv Smith Jr. totaled 64 yards and a touchdown on four catches. By the end of the game, the Crimson Tide piled up 576 total yards against an LSU defense that entered the game allowing 330.3 yards per game.
Meanwhile, Alabama’s defense stood tall when it was needed most. The Crimson Tide held the Tigers to 196 yards on the night, including just 12 on the ground. Defensive lineman Quinnen Williams continued to tear through opposing offensive lines, tallying 10 tackles and 2.5 sacks on the night.
For the first time this season, Alabama didn’t score on its opening drive. With Tagovailoa sidelined and backup quarterback Jalen Hurts out with an ankle injury, the Crimson Tide marched out redshirt freshman Mac Jones for a third-and-23 from the LSU 27-yard line.
Alabama was flagged for another false start, allowing Tagovailoa the time to return to the field. However, since the Crimson had yet to run a play, he was forced to watch from the sideline. Jones then handed the ball to Harris for a 2-yard loss on an option play which forced Alabama to punt.
Alabama experienced another unwanted first in the second quarter as Tagovailoa was intercepted by LSU safety Todd Harris Jr. Tagovailoa had yet to be picked off on the season before unleashing the 56-yard pass which Harris corralled at the LSU 4-yard line.
However, Tagovailoa once again bounced back from adversity. After Alabama’s defense forced LSU to punt from its own end zone, the Crimson Tide started its next drive at its 46-yard line. From there, Tagovailoa completed a 29-yard pass to Jeudy before hitting Smith for a perfectly placed 25-yard pass in the corner of the end zone.
Alabama will return home to face No. 18 Mississippi State next week.
