On September 1, 2018, Tua Tagovailoa made his debut as the starting quarterback for the Alabama Crimson Tide in their season opener against the Louisville Cardinals in Orlando, Florida. He had a great game, completing 12 of his 16 passes for 227 yards and two touchdowns. Alabama won the game convincingly, 51-14, and Tagovailoa was replaced by Jalen Hurts in the third quarter.

After the game, Alabama’s head coach, Nick Saban, announced in his Monday press conference that Tagovailoa would be the starting quarterback for their next game against Arkansas State on September 8. In that game, Tagovailoa continued to impress. He completed 11 of 15 passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed for 47 yards, helping Alabama secure a 62-7 win over Ole Miss.

Tagovailoa’s strong performance continued in the following game against Texas A&M. He threw for 387 yards, with four touchdown passes, and also scored a rushing touchdown, leading Alabama to a 45-23 victory. He showed his accuracy and efficiency again in a game against Louisiana, completing all 8 of his passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns, contributing to a 56-14 win.

The next game was against Arkansas, and Tagovailoa had an outstanding performance. He completed 10 of 13 passes for 334 yards and threw four touchdowns, leading Alabama to a 65-31 victory. His play throughout the season earned him a spot as a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, though he finished second to Oklahoma’s quarterback Kyler Murray. Despite this, Tagovailoa won the Walter Camp Award and the Maxwell Award, both recognizing him as the top college football player of the year.

Later in the season, Tagovailoa suffered a high ankle sprain during the SEC Championship game against Georgia. Despite this injury, he delivered an exceptional performance in the 2018 Orange Bowl against Oklahoma. He completed 24 of 27 passes for 318 yards and four touchdowns without throwing any interceptions. This performance helped Alabama reach their fourth consecutive College Football Playoff National Championship game. For his efforts, he was named the Offensive MVP of the game.

In the 2019 National Championship game, Tagovailoa faced off against Clemson. He completed 22 of 34 passes for 295 yards and two touchdowns but also threw two interceptions. Alabama lost the game 44-16 to Clemson.

Throughout the season, Tagovailoa set a new NCAA FBS passer rating record of 199.4, surpassing the previous record of 198.9 set by Baker Mayfield in 2017. His impressive season solidified his reputation as one of the top quarterbacks in college football.