Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa on Saturday became the school’s all-time leader in passing touchdowns, then quickly began to climb further up another leaderboard.
The junior’s 31-yard scoring toss to wide receiver Jaylen Waddle in the first quarter against Texas A&M was the 78th touchdown pass of his career, moving him past AJ McCarron (2010-13) into first in Crimson Tide history.
The play was also pivotal in that it tied the score with the host Aggies at 7-7. Tagovailoa would add two more scoring passes in the first half at College Station, Texas, a 47-yarder in the first quarter to receiver DeVonta Smith and a 16-yard strike to running back Najee Harris in the second quarter.
The pass to Smith also put Tagovailoa third in career passing yards at Alabama, moving him past Brodie Croyle, who had 6,382 from 2002-05. McCarron is also first on that list, throwing for 9,019 yards from 2010-13. John Parker Wilson, who played at Alabama from 2005-08, is second on the list at 7,924.
Alabama entered the day 5-0 overall, 2-0 in the SEC and ranked No. 1 in the nation. The Tide led the 24th-ranked Aggies (3-2, 1-1) 24-13 at halftime.
