ATHENS — Kirby Smart put Jalen Milroe hype into perspective when asked to compare the Alabama quarterback to SEC Legend Tim Tebow.
“No offense to Tim Tebow,” Smart said, “but this guy is different.”
Milroe stepped into the national spotlight on Saturday night with his miraculous fourth-down, 31-yard TD strike in the final minute of a 27-24 win over Auburn.
Milroe followed his iconic moment, which kept the Tide in the CFP hunt entering Saturday’s SEC title game (TV: 4 p.m., CBS), with a declaration to “Give me that Heisman.”
Indeed, Smart indicated Milroe is a bigger, more physical version of 2016 Heisman Trophy and 2019 NFL MVP Lamar Jackson.
“He’s playing at a different speed than everybody else when you you watch him,” Smart said, comparing Milroe to Jackson’s profile on the video game “Madden NFL.”
To Smart’s point, Milroe had 107 yards rushing — including a 37-yard burst — in his performance against Auburn in addition to his laser-like game-winning TD pass.
The fact Alabama scripts runs for Milroe — in addition to his impromptu scrambles — makes him even tougher to defend.
“It complicates it even more because he becomes an extra player, an extra guy to tackle, a physical guy to tackle, big, physical guy that has running back characteristics, but he has the ability to throw the ball, and he throws the ball well, especially off their play action game,” Smart explained.
“He does a really good job of taking shots and throwing the ball down field. He sees it well, and they’ve got a massive offensive line to protect him with.”
Milroe’s Iron Bowl performance, and rising stature in the game is why he leads this week’s Hot & Cold column.
Others to note:
HOT
Kendall Milton is coming off a career-high performance of 18 carries for 156 yards and 2 touchdowns, providing the run-game punch the Bulldogs will need to win a third-straight national championship.
Kirby Smart has won 29 straight games, setting a new SEC record and tying the CFP-era record set by Clemson (2018-19). Smart led the Bulldogs to a third-straight 8-0 SEC season — the first in the 32-year history of divisional play — despite his top two receivers, running back and Butkus Award finalist middle linebacker missing multiple games.
Dan Lanning has led Oregon to the brink of a CFP appearance in his second season, pending a Ducks’ win over Washington in the Pac-12 title game. Oregon is the only FBS team to score at least 30 points in every game and joins Georgia as the only two programs ranked in the Top 10 of scoring offense and scoring defense.
WARM
Nick Saban has won 16 straight games in Atlanta and is 9-3 all-time against UGA, including 7-2 while at Alabama. The Tide believes it will get a CFP spot with an upset win over Georgia.
Brent Key, first-year Georgia Tech coach, preached complete commitment to beating Georgia, and his Yellow Jackets stung the Bulldogs for 23 points — the most by any UGA opponent this season — in a 31-23 defeat.
COLD
Billy Napier saw his Gators close the season on a five-game losing streak, marking the first time since the 1940s that Florida football finished three consecutive seasons with losing records.
Sam Pittman witnessed the Razorbacks collapse in a 48-14 defeat to Missouri, capping a 4-8 season that saw the Hogs go 1-7 in league play. Pittman will be retained and is expected to have a new offensive coordinator in place by next week.
“The No. 1 thing is we need somebody who understands how to run the football,” said Pittman, whose team scored only 9 rushing TDs and averaged 3.5 yards per carry, the lowest program totals since 1997.
“Because we have to run the football, in my opinion, to win.”
