College football lost Saturday afternoon. The playoff lost. Fans everywhere lost, aside from those with Pac-12 and Big 12 rooting interests.
Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s dislocated right hip, ending his season and almost certainly his college career, opens up the field for the fourth spot in the playoff. It likely ends the argument for a second SEC team, barring a Georgia upset of LSU in the conference’s title game.
But it hurts the sport, losing a marquee program. It eliminates arguably its biggest star, the player some had projected as the No. 1-overall pick in the NFL draft. It makes Alabama a long shot to continue its streak as the lone program to reach the playoff in each year of its existence. There will be no Clemson-Alabama showdown for another national championship.
That will make some fans happy. It isn’t, however, good for the sport. Alabama, with a healthy Tagovailoa under center, was at least one of the four best teams in the country.
I wrote last week Alabama was going to be the story of the final month of the season, the debate over whether it belonged or not after falling to LSU at home last Saturday. Now, unless new starting quarterback Mac Jones stuns everyone and performs at a level nobody expects him to, it’s hard to see that argument still being there.
Alabama won’t even be favored to beat Auburn in the Iron Bowl on Nov. 30. Instead, provided there are no surprises with the undefeated big three of LSU, Ohio State and Clemson, it will come down to the Pac-12 winner against the Big 12 winner. While it would be ironic to see former Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts and Oklahoma in there instead of the Crimson Tide, the Sooners and their paper mâché defense don’t scream serious title contender.
Look, parity is important. I think having different teams in the playoff is a good thing. But not having Alabama in the playoff is like the MLB postseason without the Yankees. The presence of the team everyone loves to hate is important. It draws eyeballs. It adds interest.
If you gave the members of the playoff committee truth serum, they had to be rooting for an Alabama-LSU rematch in the semifinals. The first matchup drew a 9.7 rating, the highest-rated regular-season college football game in eight years. The game would sell itself. Now, Clemson-Ohio State would be the headliner. Replacing Alabama with Oregon or Oklahoma can’t match the sizzle Tagovailoa and Alabama would’ve produced.
The dream final four is no longer possible. There is no replacing Tua Tagovailoa and Alabama.
Seeing Crimson
There was some blame aimed at Alabama coach Nick Saban for still having Tagovailoa in the game late in the first half against Mississippi State, criticism that was ill-conceived. Saban has been conservative, if anything, with Tagovailoa, frequently getting him out of games sooner rather than later. He wanted him to run a two-minute drill before giving him the rest of the game off. He got hurt. It happens in this sport. There is nobody to blame for the injury, except for the violent nature of the game we all love. When something bad happens, there doesn’t always have to be a scapegoat.