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TUSCALOOSA, Al. – Tua Tagovailoa gave a momentary fright to Alabama. Missouri too.
As usual, things went well for the top rated Crimson Tide.
Tagovailoa signed for 265 yards and three touchdowns, but did not return after worsening a right knee injury in the 39-10 win of No. 1 Alabama on Missouri on Saturday night.
The Tide (7-0, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) has escaped another potential league challenger, but the quarterback lost after slipping to the end of a third quarter race.
Tagovailoa went to the medical tent on the edge of the field after modifying a sprain in his right knee. His parents joined him and Jalen Hurts led the rest of the race with a big lead over the Tigers (3-3, 0-3).
The nation's fastest offensive has not let up, and Tagovailoa have not yet made it through the fourth quarter this season.
"Tua could have come back in the game," said Tide coach Nick Saban. "He wanted to come back in the game. I did not think it was worth going back into the game. "
Jerry Jeudy earned 147 yards on three catches, including an 81-yard touchdown by Tagovailoa in the second game. DeVonta Smith had four catches for 100 yards and one touchdown before leaving with an injury after 57 yards in the second quarter.
Saban said Smith had contracted a muscle and could be questionable for the Tennessee game.
For a moment, it was the tightest match in Alabama.
"I really challenged the players for this game," Saban said. "A lot of people are talking about the fact that we have not been in a difficult game, we have not had a lot of adversity. I asked the players, "How will you react in difficult situations during the match?" I think the players have done a very good job in this area. "
Alabama had three assists of less than a minute to reach a 30-10 lead at halftime, starting with Tagovailoa's deep goal on Jeudy. Drew Lock's 20-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Knox at the end of the first quarter reduced it to 13-10 before the tide dominated the rest of the half.
"They have definitely been our biggest test so far," said Damien Harris, the spokesman for Alabama. "We knew that in this game, they were going to challenge us and all week long, our mentality was how we would react when things did not always go as planned."
Tagovailoa had 12 passes out of 22. Hurts was 7 of 8 for 115 yards and also caught a pass.
Lock had 13 points out of 26 for 142 yards with a touchdown. But Saivion Smith, left in place of a wounded Trevon Diggs (broken foot), intercepted his first and last passes. Lock also lost a fumble and was attacked in the end zone by Quinnen Williams for safety reasons before the end of the third quarter.
Alabama dominated Missouri by 564-212 yards in total.
"They came in the second quarter and they make a good football team, as good as the one I have ever faced and as I have never seen it before," said the Missouri coach. Barry Odom. "They are strong in all areas."
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