No. 8 Alabama clinched the SEC West with a 49-21 road dismantling of Kentucky on Saturday, rattling off an eighth straight victory behind another impressive showing from quarterback Jalen Milroe. The redshirt sophomore became the first player in school history to score three rushing touchdowns and three passing touchdowns in the same game.
His performance underscored how much Alabama has improved since a Week 2 loss to Texas. Amid Milroe's growth into a star, the Crimson Tide have returned to the thick of the College Football Playoff conversation. Keeping those dreams alive will require beating Chattanooga and Auburn to close the regular season before a likely showdown with Georgia in the SEC Championship Game.
Alabama entered as just an 11-point favorite against the Wildcats but quickly hit the throttle by jumping out to a 21-0 lead even as Milroe appeared slowed by an early hit. Backup quarterback Ty Simpson began warming up, but Milroe stayed in the game -- and kept scoring touchdowns -- until Simpson entered in the fourth quarter with the outcome decided. Milroe completed 15 of 22 passes for 234 yards and totaled 36 yards on the ground.
This marks the 10th time in Alabama coach Nick Saban's 17 seasons that the Crimson Tide will represent the SEC West in the league title game, where they own an 8-1 record. Saturday's win also improved Alabama to 39-2-1 all-time against the Wildcats, who have been outscored 194-37 in the past four meetings against the Tide.