Welcome to the seventh edition for the junior season of The Hangover, where I recap the previous weekend in college football. This week, The Hangover comes to you from Starkville, Mississippi, and Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where I first saw LSU whoop up on Mississippi State and then drove back to Bryant-Denny to catch the final three quarters of Alabama and Tennessee on Saturday night. There is a ton to parse through from this past weekend, so let’s dive in!
Will Tua Tagovailoa be ready for LSU? That’s the question that started circulating the internet once Alabama back-up quarterback Mac Jones entered the game in the second quarter on Saturday night. That’s the query that entered the minds of every football fan in America when video surfaced of Tua supposedly entering an ambulance to go to the hospital. How badly is Tua hurt, and will his injury impact the likely 1 vs. 2 match-up set between the Tide and the Tigers on November 9th?
According to reports, Tagovailoa suffered a high-ankle sprain and will be out 1-2 weeks after a procedure yesterday. That means Alabama’s star quarterback will for sure be out this upcoming weekend against Arkansas, which means Jones will get his first career start.
This obviously isn’t the first time Tagovailoa has struggled with ankle injuries. Last year against Missouri, Tua got dinged up and proceeded to fight through the pain the rest of the regular season. Then, it was the same ankle that knocked him out of the SEC Championship game against Georgia later that year.
Tua has been healthy all season so far, but this injury raises a few questions. First: is Tagovailoa injury-prone? You hate to throw the term around, but he’s been less than 100% for the majority of his playing career for the Crimson Tide. What does that say about Tua’s durability?
Then, of course, there’s the question of the LSU game. Alabama and LSU look pretty even with Tua on the field. With Mac Jones, the advantage definitely goes the way of the Bayou Bengals. Signs from the Alabama media machine seem to point to a return by November 9th, but some reports counter that. Aaron Suttles of The Athletic has said that a source close to the program says the injury is “serious,” and a Sporting News story gave a quote from a doctor in Texas that said, “a two-week recovery time is about as fast as I’ve heard of anybody trying to get back on the field with a true high-ankle injury.”
Either way, Tua Injury Watch is now in full swing. The health of Alabama’s Heisman-contending quarterback is now the biggest story in college football, and all eyes from around the country will be on this story until a firm timetable is set.
More Week Eight Thoughts
-Wisconsin’s shocking loss to Illinois 24-23 on Saturday brings up a lot of questions about the Badgers. Was this simply Wisconsin overlooking the Fighting Illini with a clash against Ohio State looming? Why did the Badgers throw it 32 times with quarterback Jack Coan, the most passing attempts this season by eight? In fact, after some research, we discovered Wisconsin has only attempted 30 or more passes in five games the last three seasons. The record in those games: 1-4. We’re not totally sure what went into some of the play-calling decisions for the Badgers, but one thing is for sure–the margin of error is gone, and a loss on Saturday in Columbus knocks Wisconsin out of the playoff race and puts them even further behind the eight-ball in the Big Ten West (more on that in a minute).
-After seeing LSU in-person on Saturday, I’m fully behind the Tigers this year. Joe Burrow is incredibly impressive, and there is so much talent at receiver that it’s hard to see any team (Alabama included) slowing down this offense. Moreover, I was pretty taken by the defense on Saturday, which shut down the Bulldogs for the majority of the game. It’s hard to watch LSU and not think you’re looking at the best team in the country.
-The “Ohio State second quarter” trend is really quite incredible. After 24 more points in that 15-minute period on Friday against Northwestern, the Buckeyes are now outscoring teams 158-20 in that stanza. It’s a 190-36 mark in the other three quarters combined.
-Another fascinating trend this season is the lack of success for newly-ranked teams in the AP Top 25 going on the road immediately following an entrance in the polls. Those squads are now 3-7 on the season, with Missouri becoming the latest victim on Saturday against Vanderbilt in a befuddling 21-14 loss. No opportunities for that kind of game this weekend, but this is a stat we’ll be watching the rest of the way.
-Tons of credit to Minnesota and PJ Fleck. The Gophers are now 7-0 after trouncing Rutgers 42-7 this weekend and currently hold the top spot in the Big Ten West. Next up is struggling Maryland at home before #6 Penn State travels to Minneapolis for what may be the biggest home game in Minnesota school history.
-Last week, we delivered the official list of teams still eligible to make the College Football Playoff according to trends of past seasons. This week, we say happy trails to Michigan, Arizona State, Boise State, and Missouri, which means there are now 17 teams vying for a chance to make the CFP Four. With six of those 17 going on the road in Week Nine, expect the list to get a little bit smaller come next week.
Gray’s Top Ten
- LSU
- Alabama
- Ohio State
- Clemson
- Oklahoma
- Penn State
- Florida
- Notre Dame
- Auburn
- Oregon
After watching LSU up close, I’ve moved up the Tigers to number one. This offense is incredible, and the defense keeps getting better. Alabama falls to number two after some struggles with Tennessee. Ohio State falls to three, but I think LSU, Alabama, and Ohio State are far and away the three best teams in the country right now. Clemson and Oklahoma stay at four and five. Penn State jumps up to six after the win against Michigan, and Florida moves up to seven after getting past a scrappy South Carolina squad. I’ve moved up Notre Dame to eight because I think they’d beat the two teams behind them. Auburn goes to LSU this weekend, so we’ll find out if Bo Nix has progressed at all since the loss to LSU. Finally, Oregon moves into the top ten. The Ducks just keep winning, and I think there’s still an outside shot they make the playoff.
Coach of the Week
Let’s hear it for Derek Mason. Last week, we lamented that the Vanderbilt head coach might be on the way out. Mason, of course, responded with a home upset over Missouri and these postgame comments:
Does this mean Vanderbilt is about to reel off five-straight wins and get to a bowl game? No, of course not. However, this does feel similar to Missouri head coach Barry Odom’s press conference rant from a few years ago when he said he was the “man for the job.” Since that speech, Missouri is 19-10 overall and Odom has solid job security. Can Mason conjure up the same kind of magic? Maybe so, if he team can keep playing like they did this past weekend.
Idiot of the Week
I have no real qualms about coaching in the Kansas-Texas game from Saturday, but the contest itself was downright stupid fun. The Longhorns and the Jayhawks were tied at 24 through three quarters, and then reeled off a combined 50 points in the final 15 minutes. Simply incredible.
150 Corner
Last week, we highlighted unranked teams upsetting opponents with national championship aspirations, and Illinois added one more game to the list. This week, let’s see if we can conjure up something again. Auburn and LSU have played some incredible games over the years, and the Battle of the Tigers will continue this weekend in Baton Rouge. Here are some of the best games between these two:
Random Rankings
We here at RR HQ have seen some incredible Alabama softball moments in the year 2019 thanks to our job as half of the radio duo on the Crimson Tide Sports Network, but not much tops seeing Team 23 honored on Saturday night during the Alabama-Tennessee game. With that moment included, here are some of the best Alabama softball moments from this past year (yes, this is a more niche Random Rankings, but we had to put these in somewhere this season). Oh, and all of these plays are with our radio calls.
1. Alabama walks-off Oklahoma in the Women’s College World Series
2. Bailey Hemphill’s Grand Slam against Arizona State
3. Beating Florida 15-3 at the Women’s College World Series
4. Receiving SEC Championship Rings on Saturday
5. Third Inning Magic against Texas in Super Regionals and the Final Out
SEC Power Rankings
As we get closer and closer to the final month of the regular season, the SEC continues to look jumbled behind the top five. Here’s how The Hangover sees things stacking up in the conference where it just means more.
- LSU (LW: 2)
- Alabama (1)
- Florida (3)
- Georgia (4)
- Auburn (6)
- South Carolina (7)
- Missouri (5)
- Texas A&M (9)
- Kentucky (8)
- Ole Miss (10)
- Tennessee (11)
- Mississippi State (12)
- Vanderbilt (14)
- Arkansas (13)
So Who’s Ready for Next Week?
Here’s what’s on tap for a solid week nine:
#16 SMU at Houston, 6:30 CT on ESPN (Thursday)
#13 Wisconsin at #3 Ohio State, 11 am CT on FOX
#5 Oklahoma at Kansas State, 11 am CT on ABC
#9 Auburn at #2 LSU, 2:30 CT on CBS
#6 Penn State at Michigan State, 2:30 CT on ABC
#15 Texas at TCU, 2:30 CT on FOX
Arkansas at #1 Alabama, 6 CT on ESPN
#8 Notre Dame at #19 Michigan, 6:30 CT on ABC
Washington State at #11 Oregon, 9:30 CT on ESPN
That’s it for this edition of The Hangover! We’ll be in Baton Rouge this week for Auburn-LSU. Until next week, football fans!