TUSCALOOSA — Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa set a school record by accounting for six touchdowns in the Tide’s 52-21 win over Auburn on Saturday.
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The No. 5-ranked Georgia football program is up next for Tagovailoa in the SEC Championship Game at 4 p.m. on Saturday in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Tagovailoa came off the bench to beat the Bulldogs in the College Football Playoff title game last January, 26-23 in overtime.
The Heisman Trophy favorite said that while he has grown since that breakout moment against Georgia, there’s still room for more improvement.
“I’d say there’s a good amount of improvement, and there’s still a lot of improvement to be made, decision-making, where to go, and where to throw hot,” Tua said after passing for five touchdowns and rushing for another in the win over the Tigers.
“But with the coaches we have, I’m really grateful, and they put us in the best position to have success as an offense.”
The Alabama sophomore from Hawaii is 189-of-269 passing for 3,189 yards and 36 touchdowns with just two interceptions.
Tagovailoa didn’t say much about how facing Georgia next Saturday might be different than the title game meeting, citing the “24-hour rule” where players enjoy the victory at hand.
“That was last year, for me, I just want to enjoy this win with my team, with that 24-hour rule” Tagovailoa said. “Coming back into the office on Monday, we’ll focus on Georgia.”
Tagovailoa also set the single-season record for touchdown responsibility, accounting for 41 this season (36 passing, five rushing) to surpass the previous mark of 36 set by Jalen Hurts in 2016.
Road to Atlanta
- Part 1: Special teams, Georgia has the edge
- Part 2: Rush defense, Alabama has the edge
- Part 3: Pass defense, Georgia has the edge
- Part 4: Rush offense is even between UGA, Bama
- Part 5: Pass offense, Alabama has the edge
