TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is scheduled to have hip surgery in Houston.
Team surgeon Dr. Lyle Cain said in a statement Sunday that Tagovailoa will have surgery on his dislocated right hip Monday. An Alabama spokesman declined to disclose where he was having the surgery citing privacy reasons.
Cain says the medical team “consulted with multiple orthopedic experts across the country, who specialize in hip injuries and surgeries.” He reiterated that they expect Tagovailoa to make a full recovery.
The fifth-ranked Crimson Tide’s star, a potential top pick in April’s NFL draft, was injured while being dragged down by two defenders late in the first half of Saturday’s 38-7 win over Mississippi State.
Tagovailoa had been nursing an ankle injury and Alabama was considering holding him out of this game. Defensive linemen Phidarian Mathis and Raekwon Davis posted a picture with a smiling Tagovailoa in his hospital bed Sunday.
He passed for 418 yards and four touchdowns in a loss to No. 1 LSU less than three weeks after right ankle surgery.
POLL: Georgia edged past Alabama to No. 4 in The Associated Press college football poll after the Bulldogs had a quality road victory and the Crimson Tide lost star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa for the season.
LSU remained No. 1 in the AP Top 25, receiving 54 first-places votes. No. 2 Ohio State (five first-place votes) and No. 3 Clemson (three first-place votes) maintained their spots. Georgia moved up one place after winning 21-14 at Auburn.
The Crimson Tide beat Mississippi State 38-7 on Saturday, but Tagovailoa dislocated his right hip while being tackled late in the second quarter and is done for the year. Alabama fell a spot to fifth.
Minnesota and Baylor both lost for the first time and dropped in the rankings. The 11th-ranked Gophers slipped four spots after losing at Iowa. No. 13 Baylor dropped one after blowing a 28-3 lead at home to Oklahoma.
Iowa jumped four to No. 19 and Oklahoma moved up two spots to No. 8.
OKLAHOMA-BAYLOR: Matt Rhule and his Baylor Bears almost certainly won’t have to wait until next year for another shot at Oklahoma.
Give it about three weeks, when it seems inevitable that they will meet again in the Big 12 championship game. The No. 8 Sooners and No. 13 Bears, both 9-1, are clearly the league’s top two teams this season.
“There is no doubt in our minds that we are one of the better teams in the country,” Rhule said. “Obviously we wish we could have the second half back. … I am sure Oklahoma, they wish they could have the first half back.”
The incredible start that gave Baylor an early 25-point lead ended up setting up the biggest comeback ever for the Sooners. The four-time defending Big 12 champions still have hopes for another playoff appearance after the 34-31 victory on Saturday night.
“Well, that was fun,” Oklahoma Coach Lincoln Riley said.
With two games left in the regular season, the Sooners and Bears share the Big 12 lead at 6-1, ahead of three teams with 4-3 conference records. Iowa State already has lost to both Oklahoma and Baylor.
Texas, already with a loss to the Sooners, plays at Baylor on Saturday. Oklahoma State, which lost at home to Baylor, ends the regular season Nov. 30 hosting Bedlam against its instate rival.
Oklahoma and Baylor will play again Dec. 7 in Arlington, Texas, if both win just one of their last two games. The Sooners, up two spots in the new AP poll on Sunday, host TCU on Saturday.
The Sooners trailed 28-3 early in the second quarter at Baylor and were down 31-10 at halftime.
Jalen Hurts overcame a career-worst three turnovers – two that led to Baylor touchdowns in the first half, and a third when the quarterback fumbled just before running across the goal line in the third quarter when Oklahoma was making its comeback.
Riley slapped Hurts on the back coming off the field after that, and he had a short message.
“I told him that I think we’re moving it well at this point, hold onto the damn ball, score every drive,” Riley said.
Oklahoma’s offense was on the field pretty much all of the second half. The Sooners tied the game at 31 with four consecutive drives after halftime that took at least 11 plays – three touchdowns and Hurts’ fumble that was set up when the Sooners’ defense forced its first turnover in six games. Baylor ran only seven plays in the same span.
Hurts finished with 297 yards passing and four touchdowns, even with standout receiver CeeDee Lamb missing the game because of an undisclosed medical issue. The graduate transfer from Alabama also ran for 114 yards.
Baylor had the ball for less than 6 minutes after halftime and had only 16 plays, the last when Charlie Brewer’s pass was intercepted after the Bears got to Oklahoma’s 40 in the final minute.
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