Takeaways from Alabama Football's SEC West-Clinching Win Over Kentucky
LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Alabama Crimson Tide will play for an SEC championship in three weeks. Did you see that coming in September?
Probably not.
Since dropping the game against Texas in Week 2, the Crimson Tide (9-1, 7-0 SEC) has won eight straight games against strong competition, including three ranked opponents. The offense has gotten better under Tommy Rees and Jalen Milroe, and the defense has been outstanding all season — despite a few injuries.
Everything led up to Saturday afternoon in Lexington, where Alabama won a road game in the SEC to lock up the West.
Here are my takeaways from the Crimson Tide's blowout victory at Kentucky:
Avoiding the Rat Poison
The Wildcats are reeling. Coming into Saturday, Kentucky had lost three of four. The Wildcats simply aren't the team they were over a month ago when they moved to 5-0 on the season against Florida.
Alabama was a double-digit favorite on the road after back-to-back emotional wins over Tennessee and LSU. It was an 11 a.m. CT kickoff. There were plenty of opportunities for a letdown.
Instead, the Crimson Tide jumped out to a 21-0 lead and the environment was taken completely out of the stadium before the first quarter ended.
After the game, Terrion Arnold told reporters that the coaching staff placed real, working rat traps around the team facility. Arnold himself got pinched by one, but not by the trap game on the football field.
Jalen Milroe Joins Tua Tagovailoa and Bryce Young
Here's another thing you probably didn't have on your bingo card a couple of months ago. Milroe scored six total touchdowns on Saturday, becoming just the third quarterback in program history to do it, along with two top-five NFL draft picks.
Since he burst onto the scene against Texas A&M in College Station, Milroe has 18 total touchdowns and three interceptions. Alabama's potential this season was reliant upon his growth. At this point, Milroe isn't just managing the game — he is the reason the Crimson Tide is winning games.
The Heisman Trophy still seems like a long shot, but he will absolutely be on the short list to begin the season in 2024-25.
Winning the Trenches
Coming into the season, Alabama wanted its identity to be defined by its domination on the offensive and defensive lines. After the game, Tyler Booker admitted that it took this group a while, but it's starting to show now.
The Crimson Tide ran the football 39 times for 159 yards and four scores. At a point in the fourth quarter, Kentucky had 18 rushing yards on 18 attempts. For the first time all season, Milroe didn't get sacked — Alabama put Devin Leary on the ground three times.
That's winning the war.
Team Chemistry is at an All-Time High
After the game, both Saban and Booker mentioned the camaraderie of the group. The last couple of seasons, expectations were very high, and that created some tension.
This year, Alabama went into the season with not many expectations after losing to the Longhorns and nearly losing to USF. That has allowed the Crimson Tide to fly under the radar, which is new for a Saban team.
The brotherhood appears to be stronger than ever. Last season's group was a very talented bunch — this season, it truly looks like the players care about each other and like playing football together on Saturdays.
The chemistry and relationships on a football team can make you or break you. I'm not sure there's a closer group in the country, and Saban is having fun coaching them in his 17th season in Tuscaloosa.
Back to Atlanta
It's fitting, right? After missing out last year, Alabama is returning to Atlanta for the 2023 SEC Championship.
In 1992, the Crimson Tide won the West in its inaugural season. 31 years later, it is Alabama again in the division's final go-around.
It's going to be a familiar opponent, with back-to-back national champion Georgia on the other side of the field. It will be Saban vs. Smart again, with everything on the line.
The current CFP landscape doesn't appear to be favorable for teams with one loss and no conference championship, meaning the Bulldogs will likely play for their season against the Crimson Tide in three weeks' time.
It will be Alabama and Georgia in a knockout game for a chance at the national championship, just like in 2012. The Crimson Tide won that one, as well as all seven games it has played in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Alabama hasn't lost a game in Atlanta since Tim Tebow's Florida Gators in 2008. The Bulldogs haven't lost a game period since the Crimson Tide exposed them in that very stadium almost exactly two years ago.
Get ready — the best college football game of the season is coming to Atlanta.
