How Jaguars' Trevor Lawrence, Dolphins' Tua Tagovailoa Are Bound Historically

The 2019 College Football Playoff national championship between Clemson and Alabama was the coronation for the Jacksonville Jaguars' Trevor Lawrence and a tough night for the Miami Dolphins' Tua Tagovailoa.

Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) celebrates beating Alabama 44-16 after the College Football Championship game at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California Monday, January 7, 2019.Clemson Alabama / Ken Ruinard / staff

January 7th, 2019.

Could have been eons ago. The last calendar year before COVID. The NFL still played a 16-game season. The first NIL legislation was months away from being introduced. "Transfer portal" was not part of college football vernacular.

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence was just 19 years old and leading the No. 2 Clemson Tigers into Levi Stadium to play the No. 1-ranked, reigning champion Alabama Crimson Tide for the College Football Playoff national championship.

The Tide were led by the Miami Dolphins' Tua Tagovailoa, hero of the previous years' national title game. The Tigers and Crimson Tide had found themselves in this position twice in the previous three seasons. Alabama was in it's fourth-consecutive national championship game.

The first time the Tigers and Crimson Tide met was in the 2016 edition. The Tide won in a thrilling 45-40 contest. The next season, it was the Tigers on top, thanks to late-game heroics from Deshaun Watson 35-31. This would be the rubber match.

The tie-breaker would not come down to the wire like the previous two matchups. It was the night of Lawrence's coronation, his star-is-born moment.

Lawrence went 20 of 32 for 347 yards and three touchdowns, shredding a star-studded Crimson Tide defense (led by first-round pick defensive tackle, now All-Pro Quinnen Williams) en route to a 44-16 victory and perfect 15-0 season.

Worth noting was the performance of Tigers running back and current Jaguars feature back Travis Etienne Jr., whose night consisted of 86 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries.

But a 19-year-old true freshman quarterback dismantling a Nick Saban defense on the biggest of stages? It was enough for the media to anoint the next can't-miss NFL quarterback prospect. One in the lineage of John Elway and Andrew Luck.

The next time the two would meet was two years later in London, England. Lawrence was a rookie first-overall pick and Tagovailoa was in his second season. Their second meeting saw them on teams of drastically different success from their college ones.

Lawrence won the rematch, 23-20, improving to 2-0 against Tagovailoa. Now, Lawrence and Tagovailoa will meet again on Sunday to kick off the 2024 season. For the third time, both play on teams that stand on different ground than the first two.

The first meeting, they played for powerhouses. Rematch, cellar dwellers. The third time around, both play on teams with plenty of flaws but loads of potential. The Jaguars and Dolphins are not considered Super Bowl contenders, but they are both playoff-level teams.

Sunday will determine whether Lawrence improves to 3-0 or Tagovailoa can finally beat the Jaguars' star.

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