Alabama Football: Tua Tagovailoa strengthens position in the Heisman hunt

Not many quarterbacks throw ten passes in a game and improve their Heisman chances. Alabama football QB, Tua Tagovailoa did just that on Saturday.

Going into week six of the college football season, Alabama football quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa was the Heisman favorite of nearly every odds-maker in the nation. On Saturday, Tua solidified his position as the front-runner. How that occurred is somewhat unusual but it was also a statement to the extraordinary talents of the sophomore Crimson Tide QB.

Tua passed for 334 yards and four touchdown passes against Arkansas. Those numbers by themselves are very good but not exceptional. What makes them stand out as a superlative performance is Tua three only 13 passes. Of his three incompletions, one was a throw-away under rush pressure. The 10 completions in the other 12  passes averaged 33.4 yards per completion.

Going into Saturday’s games, Tua was averaging 17.59 yards per completion, good enough for No. 2 in the FBS. At No. 1 was Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray with an18.96 yards average. Tua will blow past Murray in the next update of the NCAA stats.

The other reason Tua lept forward in the Heisman race Saturday was black marks against other top Heisman contenders. Kyler Murray was one of those who harmed his chances Saturday. Murray actually had a great game against Texas. He passed for 304 yards and four touchdowns. He also ran for 90 yards and a touchdown. He threw one interception but his worse failing was his team lost. Heisman contending QBs take disproportionate blame when their team loses.

Will Grier and West Virginia won on Saturday against a bad Kansas team. The 38-22 win will impress no one and Grier threw three interceptions. Ohio State’s QB, Dwayne Haskins had the best game of the other Heisman contenders. Haskins was 33-for-45 against Indiana for 455 yards and six touchdowns. Haskins also threw two interceptions.

Comparing Tua and Haskins six games into the season shows a stark difference. After Saturday, Haskins has thrown 209 passes. Tua has thrown just 101 passes. Dwayne Haskins has 25 touchdown passes. Tua Tagovailoa has 18 touchdown passes. Tua’s completion percentage is 75.2 percent compared to 67.9 percent for Haskins.

Alabama football has not needed Tua as much as most other top QBs have been needed by their teams. Tua is yet to throw a pass in a fourth quarter this season. In a head-to-head comparison between the two Heisman contenders, it is easy to see Tua is the better quarterback. Given his completion percentage, had Tua thrown as many passes as Haskins, his touchdown passes total would far exceed Haskins.

The regular season is only at the halfway point. The Heisman award has not yet been won by anyone. But Tua Tagovailoa is fast making it a one-horse race.