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Alabama Football: How Missouri beats Tua Tagovailoa on Saturday

By Kevin Mudd

ORLANDO, FL - SEPTEMBER 01: Tua Tagovailoa #13 of the Alabama Crimson Tide fends off a tackler while looking to pass in the first quarter of the game against the Louisville Cardinals at Camping World Stadium on September 1, 2018 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FL - SEPTEMBER 01: Tua Tagovailoa #13 of the Alabama Crimson Tide fends off a tackler while looking to pass in the first quarter of the game against the Louisville Cardinals at Camping World Stadium on September 1, 2018 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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Going into Saturday’s game there is one storyline. How does Missouri slow down the juggernaut of Alabama Football in Tua Tagovailoa?

Everyone in the country is on the Tua Tagovailoa hype train. Many Alabama football fans hopped on during the second half of the National Championship last year, but Tagovailoa’s performance throughout the first six games of this season have left zero people remaining at the station. However, even with hype train in full motion, a question remains. Can the train be stopped?

For Missouri to answer this question Saturday, we must revisit when the hype train started in Atlanta against the Bulldogs in the championship. Georgia forced Tagovailoa to do what no other team this season has been able to yet: throw an interception.

How did Georgia accomplish this feat? With effective pressure and blitzing. Tua Tagovailoa has only been sacked twice this entire season, both of which came against non-conference opponents. Georgia’s most critical sack came on the first play of overtime. The next play Georgia was unable to pressure Tagovailoa enough which allowed for DeVonta Smith’s route to develop for the winning throw.

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The lesson for teams like Missouri is if you allow Tagovailoa to remain in the pocket without pressure, he will put any team in the country away in the first half. That’s right… any team in the country. Tagovailoa has too much talent around him for any defense in the country to cover an extended period of time. Someone will get open and Tua will find them.

So for Missouri to have a chance against the Tide they must get pressure on Tagovailoa throughout the entire game. A task which no team has been able to accomplish this season. They have to force Tagovailoa to make a poor decision as he did in the National Championship.

If Missouri can limit the time Tagovailoa has to make his progressional reads in the routes, then they will limit his overall effectiveness. It is a monumental task. No one in the country has been able to do it so far. However, if Missouri is able to achieve victory in Tuscaloosa, it will only come from unrelenting pressure on Tagovailoa.

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Please comment on whether you believe Missouri’s defensive line is capable of overcoming Alabama’s offensive line. Also, comment on how Alabama football fans will react to Dixieland Delight this Saturday.

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