I believe Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa did enough in the regular season to win the Heisman Trophy.

From where I sit, Tagovailoa’s subpar performance in the Crimson Tide’s 35-28 victory over Georgia in the SEC Championship Game shouldn’t affect his frontrunner status.

I’ve read the analyst’s comments on social media and television that Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray passed Tagovailoa in the Heisman race.

Murray nosed ahead in ESPN’s expert panel with 46 points to Tagovailoa’s 44 and six of the 10 first-place votes. There was more of a gap in The Athletic’s straw poll had a 28-5 margin in first-place votes and 96-71 in total points in favor of Murray.

Wait a minute! The regular season ended Thanksgiving weekend and we’re now in the postseason. Tagovailoa did nothing to lose the Heisman, the sophomore earned it during the regular season.

I know some people outside the state will accuse me of being an “Alabama homer,” but that’s not the case. If Murray was in the lead position and had an off-game against Texas in the Big 12 title game, I’d still have him first.

I’m not taking anything away from Murray, whose skill set will give the Crimson Tide fits in their college playoff contest on Dec. 29 in Miami Gardens, Florida.  I’m looking forward to Murray joining the Oakland Athletics (my favorite baseball team) someday and start earning that $4 million salary.

I find it hard to blame Tagovailoa for having the worst game of his career. Since Tagovailoa’s game-winning touchdown pass to Devonta Smith in overtime to win the national title, Georgia had its sights set on stopping Tagovailoa. The Bulldogs were in full mode to shutdown the Hawaiian native. Georgia basically threw a net around the left-hander.

We all know Tagovailoa left the game with an injured ankle and set the stage for Jalen Hurts’ last-minute heroics to preserve Alabama’s unbeaten season.

I saw some chatter on the internet saying, “It doesn’t matter who plays quarterback at Alabama, they have so much talent. He didn’t play the second half in most of their games. He’s got the best coach and plays on the best team.”

That’s unfair to put those labels on Tagovailoa. He deserves the Heisman.