Jalen Milroe Puts on Season-Best Clinic in Crimson Tide's Road Rout of LSU

Jalen Milroe bounced back in a major way Saturday following some road struggles earlier in the 2024 season.

Nov 9, 2024; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe (4) tosses the football to the referee after scoring a touchdown against the LSU Tigers during the second half at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

BATON ROUGE, La.— Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe has proven himself more than capable in games against LSU before, outdueling reigning Heisman winner Jayden Daniels in Tuscaloosa last season. On Saturday night, though, Milroe needed to make a statement after struggling in the No. 11 Crimson Tide's last road game against Tennessee.

To the tune of 185 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 12 carries (with a long of 72) and a further 109 yards through the air on 12-for-18 passing, he more than delivered. Alabama routed No. 15 LSU (6-3, 3-2 SEC) 42-13 in a game that effectively eliminated the losing team from contention for the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff.

"I'm definitely proud to get the win on the road. It's not an easy task to go on the road and play a tough opponent in LSU and get a victory," Milroe said. "Our goal going into this week was a win, despite anything. Whether it was a home game, away game, was to win. I'm proud of the guys for their grit, the determination, and all the guys collectively coming together as one unit."

The lights were bright for a nighttime kickoff with a rainy backdrop at Tiger Stadium. Alabama was 0-2 in SEC road games, leaving first-year head coach Kalen DeBoer still without a win in that category entering a November rivalry game which has a penchant for coming down to the wire. LSU lost its most recent game prior to Saturday, but like Alabama, had had a week to rest and prepare for an adversary whose season was on the ropes. To the disappointment of Brian Kelly's squad, that adversary's quarterback left the building with a new school record for single season rushing touchdowns by a quarterback.

"What we thought would be an exciting evening turned out to be a disappointing evening," Kelly said. "We have a scheme to stop the quarterback. We did not get that done. So, I take responsibility for it... We own it together and we have got to get it fixed."

Milroe also had four rushing touchdowns against the Tigers in 2023, a game with do-or-die implications in the SEC West (that particular divisional picture is now but a relic in the artistic landscape of college football). DeBoer wasn't on the Alabama sideline for that contest, but he had a succinct assessment for what he saw from his quarterback in the 2024 iteration of the Crimson Tide's rivalry against LSU.

"Obviously, he's got a superpower when it comes to running the football," DeBoer said. "You can see him not just be a guy that gets first downs but finishes in the end zone."

Alabama (7-2, 4-2 SEC) looked like a different team following its second bye week of the campaign. Everything looked vastly different, but in 2022, the Crimson Tide lost this game in Baton Rouge. Milroe was on that team. He attributed flipping the switch this season in part to new offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan.

"Going into this week, Coach Sheridan was definitely coaching me hard this week, just pushing the pocket and attacking all areas of the game, whether it's passing game, run game, just being my best me. Just doing what the play call asks me. Just being a point guard with the football, distributing to our playmakers, using my legs, just doing what the defense gave [us]. I think that was evident in our performance today."

The Tigers never led in the game, thanks in substantial part to a 39-yard touchdown scamper by Milroe on the opening drive. He then scored three of Alabama's next four touchdowns, including the aforementioned 72-yarder in the fourth quarter's opening moments. At that point, one of the country's most feared college football venues began to empty under the night sky which lends the stadium some of that heralded atmosphere and reverence.

"I think it was more important to just see the guys constantly competing on offense," Milroe said. "What we try to do is just make the other team tap out, just not worry about external factors, which is the stadium and what's around us."

He threw the football well too, in spite of the absence of a score through the air. That just wasn't the highlight of Milroe's night, though. He was far from his best against the Volunteers at Neyland Stadium three weeks ago. He was not the reason the Crimson Tide lost to Vanderbilt, but all the same, it was far from the result he or the team wanted, and the final score was inside the margin of an early pick-six he threw. Saturday's game was a statement that Alabama could win with its back against the wall, and that Milroe could continue to respond to adversity throughout the sustained course of a season (as he did last year).

The rushing touchdowns record Milroe broke (he now has 16 this season) belonged to Jalen Hurts, who now plays for the Philadelphia Eagles and was an MVP frontrunner in 2022. The two quarterbacks share a home state (Texas) in addition to their first names. Milroe is now the first SEC player with four rushing touchdowns or more in multiple games against the same opponent since a decade before he was born (1992).

"Sorry, Jalen," Milroe quipped with a smile. "I think it's greater than me... I take a lot of pride with being the Alabama quarterback, and each Saturday I take the field, I'm gonna do my best." He added that his running backs' blocks were instrumental: "Trust," he said. "They work tremendously hard. They're very physical."

He brushed off the impact of the elements, perhaps the one thing that could have stood in his way on a night where the stars seemingly aligned, instead emphasizing focus and a message centered around going 1-0. DeBoer said the rain did not catch his team off balance; potential inclement weather factored into the team's prep.

"[They made] that challenge not just something where they're annoyed by it, [but] actually asking for it, knowing full well that that could be the case," DeBoer said. "We were prepared for it, you look at no turnovers, right?"

See Also:

What Kalen DeBoer Said After Alabama Football Dominated LSU on Road

No. 11 Alabama Football Throttles No. 15 LSU 42-13