Oklahoma faces tall task in Sooners’ game against Alabama QB Jalen Milroe

Alabama has been a staple in college football for the last few decades, and with a dual-threat weapon at quarterback like Jalen Milroe, the Crimson Tide are especially hard to stop.

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NORMAN — Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe is a weapon that can hurt a team in many ways.

Milroe and the No. 7 Crimson Tide come to Norman on Saturday for the Sooners’ second-to-last game of the regular season. Alabama hasn’t been an easy out for the last few decades, and with a dual-threat quarterback like Milroe, the Tide’s offense is particularly explosive.

“Everything goes through the quarterback,” Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said. “They have great playmakers everywhere.”

Milroe is in his second season as Alabama’s starting signal caller.

He broke out in 2023, throwing for 2,834 yards and 23 touchdowns to finish sixth place in Heisman Trophy voting. He’s been just as efficient this year, completing 67.5 percent of his passes for 2,235 yards and 15 touchdowns through 10 games.

How to Watch Alabama at Oklahoma

Paired with wide receiver weapons Ryan Williams, Germie Bernard and Kobe Prentice, Milroe and the Crimson Tide have a passing game that the Sooners aren’t taking for granted.

“They have some pretty good receivers all around,” senior defensive back Woodi Washington said. “Different guys that do different stuff.”

Milroe is as much of a threat on the ground as he is through the air.

The senior quarterback has run for 608 yards and 17 touchdowns with two games left in the regular season. For comparison, Milroe ran for 531 yards and 12 touchdowns in 13 games in 2023.

Milroe has also shown his ability to run against good defenses. He surpassed 100 rushing yards against both Georgia and LSU, combining for six rushing touchdowns in those contests.

“He's a very good runner,” fifth-year defensive lineman Da’Jon Terry said. “Our main thing's going to be containing him, so we've just got to work well together up front and we'll be able to contain.”

Milroe hit a mid-season slump in October. He threw five interceptions in a three-game span where the Crimson Tide went 1-2, losing to Vanderbilt and Tennessee.

But, evidently, that skid was a wake-up call for Milroe and his team.

Milroe hasn’t thrown a pick in his last three games, combining for seven total touchdowns in wins against Missouri, LSU and Mercer.

Alabama’s never an easy game.

The Crimson Tide (8-2) are eighth in the NCAA in scoring offense (39.5 points per game) and 10th in scoring defense (16.9 points allowed per game). Their recent surge has shot them to No. 7 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings.

Oklahoma (5-5) counters with a strong defense. OU is 24th in the nation in yards allowed per game (319) and eighth in the SEC.

Still, Alabama having a weapon like Milroe adds another element to the Crimson Tide that makes an all-around great team even tougher to stop.

“Man, you're not gonna luck up and win this game,” Venables said. “It's about execution. Certainly the run game and the quarterback, containing him, if you will, permitting him from having a career-type day is paramount. But they've been really opportunistic.”