No. 8 Alabama clinched the SEC West with a 49-21 highway dismantling of Kentucky on Saturday, damn off an 8th directly victory in the back of some other spectacular appearing from quarterback Jalen Milroe. The redshirt sophomore turned into the primary participant in faculty history to attain 3 speeding touchdowns and 3 passing touchdowns in the similar recreation.
His efficiency underscored how a lot Alabama has advanced since a Week 2 loss to Texas. Amid Milroe’s expansion into a celeb, the Crimson Tide have returned to the thick of the College Football Playoff dialog. Keeping the ones desires alive would require beating Chattanooga and Auburn to near the common season prior to a most likely showdown with Georgia in the SEC Championship Game.
Alabama entered as simply an 11-point favourite towards the Wildcats however briefly hit the throttle by means of leaping out to a 21-0 lead even as Milroe gave the impression slowed by means of an early hit. Backup quarterback Ty Simpson started warming up, however Milroe stayed in the sport — and saved scoring touchdowns — till Simpson entered in the fourth quarter with the end result made up our minds. Milroe finished 15 of 22 passes for 234 yards and totaled 36 yards at the flooring.
This marks the tenth time in Alabama trainer Nick Saban’s 17 seasons that the Crimson Tide will constitute the SEC West in the league identify recreation, the place they personal an 8-1 file. Saturday’s win additionally advanced Alabama to 39-2-1 all-time towards the Wildcats, who’ve been outscored 194-37 in the previous 4 conferences towards the Tide.