Jalen Milroe On Saturday night I ran onto the field one last time in Death Valley. Afterwards alabama football The quarterback ran toward Crimson Tide fans at LSU’s Tiger Stadium after completing his postgame interview with ABC.

The redshirt junior flashed the “LANK” sign he helped make famous last season, then jumped over the purple wall in the end zone, briefly delighting the Crimson Tide faithful. He had previously cleared out the rest of the stadium, 102,283 people and a rogue tiger.

“I’m definitely proud to get the away win,” Milroe said after the 42-13 win. “It’s not an easy task to go on the road at LSU and face a tough opponent and get a victory. So we should definitely appreciate the win.”

If this sounds like a boring quote from a guy who rushed for 185 yards and four touchdowns, that’s because it is. This is what Milroe is like when the cameras are on, the media is perfectly trained, and he never stops talking.

Win or lose, Milroe is the same, never trying to make headlines with his words. He did this in spades with his play on Saturday.

“Jalen was Jalen,” Crimson Tide offensive lineman Tyler Booker said.

LSU had no answer for Milroe. On the game’s first drive, he found a weak spot in the Tiger defense, broke free, and raced 39 yards down the field for his first score.

He added another point from 10 yards out in the second quarter. Another from 19 in the third.

Milroe capped it off with a 72-yard field goal in the fourth, long after LSU’s comeback hopes had grown.

“Obviously, he has a superpower when it comes to running the football,” DeBoer said of Milroe. “You can see him not just as a guy who gets first down, but you can also see him as a guy who finishes in the end zone.”

Suddenly, Milroe is reflecting on the late-season transition to form that will define his 2023. Following Alabama’s losses to Vanderbilt and Tennessee earlier in the campaign, some segments of fans were calling for him to be benched.

Then, with the Crimson Tide facing elimination from the College Football Playoff race, with over seven minutes remaining, he found himself relaxing on the sidelines and watching Ty Simpson take the reins; It wasn’t because of Milroe’s bad play, it was because the play was as good as he was. on.

“If you’re watching the game you’re wondering, ‘What did these guys do for two weeks?’ you think. LSU coach Brian Kelly said afterward. “We had a plan to stop the quarterback. We just couldn’t do it.”

Has Milroe done enough to recapture the Heisman Trophy excitement he had earlier in the season? Maybe.

Has he proven that he can be the best quarterback the SEC has to offer on his best day? Definitely.

“Forgive, never forget,” Milroe said. “I think that’s something we do as a football team. You’re going to have losses, you’re going to have wins. And all your losses can become a lesson. And try to really look at what we have to do so we can do our best.

Suddenly, Milroe and Alabama were in top form heading into a critical stretch of the season. UA was ranked 11th in the latest CFP rankings and will likely need to win to get into the 12-team field.

That seemed unlikely after the loss to Tennessee, where both the Tide and its quarterback looked terrible. Now, with Mercer, Oklahoma and Auburn scheduled to close out the season, the path is clear; Neither LSU team is as talented on paper as the one Alabama dealt.

The dream is still alive. And Milroe can keep it that way.