Tua Tagovailoa Shines as No. 2 Alabama Destroys Ole Miss; DeVonta Smith 5 TDs

The Alabama Crimson Tide continued their hot start to 2019 with an easy 59-31 victory over the Mississippi Rebels at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday. 

Ole Miss landed an early haymaker by scoring 10 straight points in the first quarter to take a 10-7 lead. It marked the first time that the nation's No. 2 team trailed in a game this season. 

Tua Tagovailoa quickly got Alabama back on track with a seven-yard touchdown run on the ensuing drive to kick off a 31-point second quarter. The reigning SEC champions are now 5-0 for the fourth straight season. 

Ole Miss is now 2-3 and has lost back-to-back games against ranked opponents. The Rebels came up short in their upset bid against Cal last week.

Notable Game Stats

• QB Tua Tagovailoa (Alabama): 26-of-36, 418 yards, seven touchdowns (one rushing)
• WR DeVonta Smith (Alabama): 11 receptions, 274 yards, five touchdowns
• WR Jerry Jeudy (Alabama): eight receptions, 84 yards
• TE Miller Forristall (Alabama):two receptions, 40 yards, one touchdowns 
• QB John Rhys Plumlee (Mississippi): 10-of-28, 141 yards, two touchdowns, one interception; 25 carries, 109 yards, one touchdown
• WR Jonathan Mingo (Mississippi): three receptions, 74 yards, one touchdown

Tagovailoa, 'Bama Offense Can't Be Stopped

It's getting hard to come up with adjectives to describe the way Tagovailoa is playing this season and how impressive Alabama's offense looks every single week as a result. 

Saturday was the second time in five games the Crimson Tide scored at least 38 points in the first half. DeVonta Smith had the best statistical game of his career in the first 30 minutes:

Coming into this week, Smith had 263 yards and three touchdowns in four games. The junior wideout surpassed that touchdown total with 1:23 remaining in the second quarter, setting a new school record in the process:

Smith wasn't the only one rewriting Alabama's record books. Tagovailoa's rushing touchdown in the second quarter gave him the school record for most touchdowns:

To put in perspective how impressive Tagovailoa's 86 total touchdowns is, he set the record in just 28 games. AJ McCarron, the previous record-holder, played in 53 games over four years. 

The Crimson Tide do a great job of protecting their star quarterback, but he also proved he can adjust on the fly to make plays when needed:

After finishing second in last year's Heisman voting and setting virtually every single-season Alabama passing record, Tagovailoa has found ways to get better in 2019. The junior sensation entered Saturday with a higher completion percentage (77.7), more yards per attempt (11.6) and a higher rating (225.3) than he had last season. 

Tagovailoa's ability to elevate Alabama's offense into the stratosphere already has Miami Dolphins fans dreaming about how their team might handle the 2020 NFL draft:

It's not a bad plan for the Dolphins if things work out that way. After all, before Tagovailoa arrived in Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide were known for being a defensive juggernaut that relied on their power-running game to create points on offense. 

Now, Alabama still has a defense that entered this week allowing an average of 10.8 points per game, while the offense has scored at least 42 points in all five games.

The Crimson Tide's schedule will get more difficult down the stretch, particularly in November with games against LSU (Nov. 9) and at Auburn (Nov. 30), but there seems little doubt right now that they are the best team in the nation because of how unstoppable this offense is. 

What's Next?

Mississippi will return to Oxford when it hosts Vanderbilt at Vaught–Hemingway Stadium on Oct. 5. Alabama will take next week off before going on the road for a marquee showdown against No. 23 Texas A&M on Oct. 12.