Big days from Jalen Milroe, Jermaine Burton fuel Tide offense vs. Aggies

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Alabama’s offense was fueled by career games by quarterback Jalen Milroe and wide receiver Jermaine Burton in its 26-20 road win over Texas A&M.

Milroe registered the first 300-yard passing game of his college career, throwing for 321 yards, three touchdowns and one interception in his home state of Texas, and his favorite target was Burton, who caught nine passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns at Kyle Field.

“Jalen played extremely well,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said. “We were able to move the ball offensively, even though we had to throw it, couldn’t run it very well.”

The Crimson Tide (5-1, 3-0 SEC) struggled to run the football Saturday, finishing with 23 yards on 26 carries – losing 43 yards on the six sacks it allowed to the Aggies defense. But when Alabama needed a big play, the passing game delivered. Most of it was due to the Milroe to Burton connection, but Isaiah Bond also had a big day (7 catches, 96 yards, 1 TD).

After being limited last week in Starkville, Miss., Burton made his presence felt in College Station. He tied his career-high for receiving yards but finished with a new career-best of nine receptions. The Georgia transfer scored twice against the Aggies, both in the third quarter. He tied the game on a 15-yard catch and then gave UA a 24-17 lead on a 19-yard score.

“We’ve always had a lot of faith, trust and confidence in him,” Saban said of Burton. “He’s a big-play player. He’s been bothered by a little foot injury for a while, didn’t play much last week. He was back to 100 percent today. We knew they were really good up front and we would struggle with their front. 

“But we felt like if we could protect well enough and get some time that we could make some plays down the field, and I think that’s something we did very effectively. And obviously, he was extremely effective in the game at making some big plays.”

Burton said he “felt” a big game coming prior to kickoff and was hungrier after last week.

“One hundred percent, I ain’t gonna lie,” Burton said. “I hated not being able to do what I could do and perform because of my foot. But I got through my foot thing, I did a lot of treatment. I emphasized my treatment every day after practice because I knew coming into this game, it was going to be a tough one. I just tried to do whatever I could to get back.”

The senior wide receiver was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct early in the second quarter, and as someone who has repeatedly talked about leadership, he said he has to do better.

“I started talking too much to the defense, started talking trash too much, and it affected us because I got an unsportsmanlike conduct (penalty),” Burton said. “That’s not me as a player. In certain moments, I just feel blanked out and I feel aggressive and competitive. I have to do a better job of controlling myself.”

Milroe gave Alabama an early lead after throwing a 52-yard touchdown to Bond, and he shook off his fourth interception of the season to connect with Burton on two touchdowns. The redshirt sophomore’s ability of late to overcome his mistakes has been a plus for the Tide.

“I think that’s one thing that Jalen has learned – just keep playing the next play and focus on that play,” Saban said. “You’re going to make mistakes, bad things are going to happen sometimes, but you’ve got to be a point guard, man. You’ve got to make lots of assists, not very many turnovers, but you can’t let the turnover that you do make bother you. 

“And distribute the ball to the rest of the guys on the team, let them make plays and I think he’s doing a really good job of that.”

Milroe echoed, “Picks happen. It doesn’t matter who it is, picks happen. Negative plays happen in the game. It’s all about how you respond. No matter what play it is, good or bad, it’s all about the next-play mentality and trying to get one percent better.”

Burton said he “literally” tells Milroe and his cannon of an arm to “just throw it” and the receiver will adjust to the ball. That seemed to work Saturday afternoon, as the duo accounted for six of Alabama’s eight passing plays of 15 or more yards (236 of his 321 yards were on big plays). Their chemistry helped fuel the Crimson Tide to a road victory over the Aggies.

“I think preparation during the week, all the things that go into the game plan, just me and him getting a great connection throughout the week, that’s very key to be successful on the weekends,” Milroe said.

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