Jalen Milroe's Return to Form: What I Noticed In Alabama's 42-13 Victory Over LSU

The Alabama quarterback missed just four passes in an almost perfect performance.

Nov 9, 2024; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe (4) calls for the ball against LSU Tigers safety Major Burns (8) during the second half at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The No. 15 Alabama football team went into Baton Rouge looking to survive Death Valley and keep its College Football Playoff hopes alive. The Crimson Tide ultimately did way more than survive as they made a statement in Kalen DeBoer's first SEC road win beating LSU 42-13.

Strong defense was the theme for the Crimson Tide as they turned over LSU three times and didn't allow a touchdown until there was just 11 seconds remaining in the game. However, much like Alabama's game against Georgia, the Crimson Tide offense was surgical and executed at a high level as their performance buried LSU in their own backyard.

Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe led the way, notching his second-career four rushing touchdown game in the process, joining former Crimson Tide superstar Shaun Alexander as the only men to have multiple games scoring four or more times on the ground in a game in program history.

Milroe took just seven carries for 10 yards against Vanderbilt and 14 for 11 yards against Tennessee after a difficult matchup with the Georgia Bulldogs. He combined for 29 more against South Carolina and Missouri for 86 total yards and two scores as speculation ran rampant about the quarterback's health. The bye week and his effort on Saturday night put to bed questions about his health after a few challenging performances in October.

"Yeah, I think so," Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer said. "He probably had some good vibes from a year ago, too. I think there’s something about we got him off to a fast start, and again, other guys did their job, too, to help him get to that spot. There’s blocks that other guys are making. I think our line played physical. I think we won the trenches, both offensive line and defensive line. But blowing open some holes for him, everyone doing their part helped take the pressure off the big moments where he’s gotta convert on a third and extra long every drive. And when we’re able to stay ahead of the chains, we can dink and dunk three yards, five yards, eight yards, and then, all of a sudden, a big explosive play. But yeah, I felt like he was certainly running well tonight, wasn’t he? He was fresh.”

Jalen Milroe vs. LSU

12/18 passing for 109 yards
12 carries for 185 yards and 4 touchdowns.

What did you think of the Alabama quarterback's performance? pic.twitter.com/eKmeERozDA

— Joe Gaither (@JoeGaither6) November 11, 2024

Alabama offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan unveiled a beautiful game plan on Saturday as the Crimson Tide opted for the football first in a hostile environment. Sheridan's first few plays got the ball quickly into Jam Miller, Kendrick Law, Ryan Williams and Justice Haynes' hands forcing the Tigers to begin considering more than just Milroe. In fact, Milroe's first carry didn't come until the eighth play of the opening series, going for 39 yards and a touchdown to emphatically set the tone for the rest of the game.

When Sheridan finally decided to run Milroe he opted to show LSU a play that would torment them the entire evening. Alabama lined up in a trips set with Williams, Germie Bernard and Law on the outside with tight end CJ Dippre on the end of the weak side.

The play is designed to the weak side or away from the receivers. It's designed to look like a quarterback-read, but instead is more of a duo with the running back serving as the lead blocker.

Sheridan actually catches LSU in a bad blitz, accentuating the Tigers' problems the first time this play is called. LSU's inside backer its blitzing off Alabama's right side, taking himself out of the play, Kadyn Proctor and Tyler Booker double-team their defensive lineman up till Proctor takes on the linebacker and from there its a bad angle for the Tigers' safety opening the hole for Milroe to scamper through for the game's first score.

I'm not sure this run is new, I'm pretty sure it was used against Tennessee as well.

But LSU had no answer for this action and Nick Sheridan seemed to dial it up so sporadically that it demoralized the Tigers when called. pic.twitter.com/ibJt8iiU5D

— Joe Gaither (@JoeGaither6) November 11, 2024

Faking the handoff to the running back makes the entire play work. Why? Because you've already spent the first seven plays of the game handing off the the tailback, making the Tigers believe that you can and will on any down. It works because Miller and Haynes set the tone in the contest and are dangerous enough to beat any defense. Why did the safety take a bad angle on the game's first touchdown? Because he was playing the potential handoff to Miller, making Milroe's gap even wider.

It appears the running back's responsibility on this play is to slow-play a fake handoff, and then blast the most dangerous man through the B-gap first then to the end man on the line of scrimmage second. Milroe stares at the end man on the line, making them think he's reading them, but really he just wants to make the defender pause. The hesitation at the second level allows the Alabama offensive line to root out opposing defensive lines and work into the second level, creating running lanes for Milroe's athleticism to take advantage of.

Sheridan appeared to use this run-action as a big of a cheat play, only using it four times in the game, but three of them for impactful plays in the game. Milroe gained 70 of his 185 yards and two of his four rushing scores on this action as LSU seemed out of sorts whenever it was called.

Alabama has three games left in the 2024 regular season and now teams know this play is in the Crimson Tide's bag of tricks. How will teams attempt to game plan for this difficult action? And more importantly, how will Sheridan and the Crimson Tide utilize it over the last month to create further complications and unveil new wrinkles?