Nick Saban on the evolution of Alabama's offense, Jalen Milroe

Alabama had one of their strongest offensive performances of the season this Saturday as they defeated LSU 42-28, outscoring a Tigers offense that ranks atop the SEC in points and yards per game this year.

The Crimson Tide offense was an area that was heavily critiqued early in the season, highlighted by complaints regarding new offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, disappointing play along the offensive line, and controversy regarding who should be the teams’ quarterback.

The dust has now settled for Alabama’s offense as they continue to improve and their starting quarterback Jalen Milroe has begun to blossom, with their scheme seeming more effective and multiple by the week. And on Monday, head coach Nick Saban was asked if that was a byproduct of Milroe earning more of the coaching staff’s trust or the offense simply evolving.

“I think that it’s probably a combination of both, I think as Jalen gets more comfortable, more confident his reading and seeing things so he can actually do a little more and do some different things,” Saban said. “But I also think that the rest of the guys around him are getting more comfortable and executing better.”

Milroe solidified his spot as Alabama’s starter after not playing in the team’s surprisingly close game versus USF in Week 3. But ever since then, he’s continued to grow weekly in the Crimson Tide offense, which all culminated this Saturday in arguably his most impressive performance to date.

He earned SEC Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors after becoming the first Alabama quarterback in school history to rush for four touchdowns in a single game, rushing for 155 yards and throwing for 219 against the Tigers defense on Saturday.

His dual-threat abilities at the quarterback position were on full display, as the Alabama coaching staff clearly liked how Milroe’s legs matched up up versus LSU’s defenders.

“So all those things contribute to us being able to do a few things that we can take advantage of. But that’s different every week in terms of what kind of defense are you playing and what do they do and how can you try to take advantage of it,” Saban explained.

It will intriguing to see if Milroe keeps evolving alongside the Alabama offensive playbook through the home stretch of the season, as the Crimson Tide have three games remaining in the regular season with a high likelihood of appearing in the conference championship game.

Alabama hits the road to face Kentucky in their next game this Saturday at noon ET in a matchup airing on ESPN.