Three things Mississippi State football must do to upset Alabama in 2018
By Ethan Lee
Mississippi State’s defense must keep Tua Tagovailoa quiet.
“Ha! Good luck with that one!”
That’s probably what you’re thinking, right? If not, that’s exactly what you should be thinking.
Tua Tagovailoa is a transcendent talent at quarterback. He’s the gold standard for what a quarterback should be and he makes even great quarterbacks look foolish by an unfair comparison. This season, Tagovailoa has completed 68 percent of his passes for 2361 yards and 27 touchdowns.
He’s only thrown a single interception all season.
An offense that historically relies upon an incredibly great running game is instead being powered by a phenomenal passing attack that is nearly impossible to match. Tagovailoa is incredible and the weapons surrounding him are truly spectacular. The Mississippi State football team must find a way to slow him down.
That’s a borderline impossible task and the only team that has come close to achieving it was LSU last weekend in Death Valley. And what did Tagovailoa do to the LSU Tigers?
He simply completed 59.5 percent of his passes for 295 yards, two touchdowns, and a pick. Oh, and he ran for 49 yards and a touchdown as well, despite injury concerns revolving around his knee.
Alabama can beat the Bulldogs in a million different ways. It may not matter even if Mississippi State finds a way to slow Tua Tagovailoa down some. But the Bulldogs have to do something on defense here and this would give State its best chance at winning.