Photo via Ryan A. Miller/Icon Sportswire
The Alabama Crimson Tide just did what they have not done really the entire season in year one of the Kalen DeBoer era.
Against a good LSU team in an extremely difficult and hostile environment, the Tide played their most complete game of the season on both sides of the ball and left Baton Rouge with an absolutely dominating 42-13 victory. It was a spectacular statement made by a team that has seen some serious ups and downs this season. But now, they seem to be playing their best football at just the right time.
While no one in the program will ever admit it, you’d be hard pressed to argue that Jalen Milroe had not been dinged up over the previous few games ahead of the bye week. In Tiger Stadium on Saturday night, Milroe reached a different gear of speed and explosiveness that he had so clearly been missing.
The game plan was absolutely perfect. Less than 20 passing attempts for Milroe, not putting the quarterback into any difficult passing situations, and using the weapons that are his legs to maximum advantage. Nearly half of the Tide’s total yards came from Milroe on the ground with 185 yards plus four touchdowns. LSU simply had no answer.
Perhaps just as impressive however, was the the performance of Alabama’s defense. After a season in which the unit has been ridiculed and ripped by fans, Kane Wommack’s group showed up to play this week. Allowing one garbage time touchdown at the end of the game, the Alabama defense had the Tigers lost for most of the night and forced three critical turnovers.
It’d be hard to ask for anything more than the performance on both sides of the ball that Alabama put up. All of this begs the question: What could be the real ceiling of this team?
As they seem to be peaking at the right time, it’s worth asking the question as to whether or not they can still win a championship this year despite all the dramatic peaks and valleys. They proved on Saturday night that at their best, this is a team capable of dominating anyone in the country at any place at any time.
There’s still work to be done – but if this was a real representation of how the Alabama Crimson Tide is playing in November – it’s a scary thought for the rest of the country.
