Jalen Milroe had already proven himself as one of the most exciting players in the country while playing behind an offensive line that was often dealing with injuries.
With his blockers finally healthy on Saturday, Milroe had even more chances to show off his skills and his love for football.
Milroe threw three touchdown passes and ran for two more as No. 4 Alabama made a rare visit north and won 42-10 against Wisconsin, which lost quarterback Tyler Van Dyke to an injury on the first series of the game.
“Every time I get to touch the football field, I’m just very blessed, very passionate about the game of football,” Milroe said. “Whenever we have an opportunity to make an explosive play, it’s all about just having fun, just falling back to why I play the game – just to have fun, have moments like that.”
Milroe completed 12 of 17 passes for 196 yards with touchdown passes of 31 yards to Ryan Williams, 26 yards to Germie Bernard, and 37 yards to Josh Cuevas. He also ran for 75 yards on 14 carries, scoring on runs of 3 and 10 yards.
Alabama (3-0) was playing its first true road game against a team from north of the Mason-Dixon Line since a 27-11 victory at Penn State in 2011. It was also the Crimson Tide’s first visit to Camp Randall Stadium since a 15-0 loss to Wisconsin in 1928.
Wisconsin (2-1) experienced its most significant home loss since a 48-7 defeat against Penn State in 2008.
Van Dyke was injured when he was tackled during a scramble. He grabbed his right knee at the end of the run and was eventually taken off the field on a cart. He watched the second half from the sideline while using crutches.
Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell didn’t have any clear information about the severity of Van Dyke’s injury after the game.
“We’ll get a little more clarity hopefully here soon, get an MRI and things like that,” Fickell said. “I don’t think it looks real good for us, for him.”
The Badgers’ first drive ended with Nathanial Vakos making a 53-yard field goal, giving Wisconsin a 3-0 lead. However, Alabama then scored 28 straight points and maintained control of the game.
After finishing sixth in last year’s Heisman Trophy voting, Milroe has now been involved in 14 total touchdowns (eight passing and six rushing) in Alabama’s first three games. Williams, a 17-year-old freshman, already has four touchdown catches.
Milroe benefited from playing behind an offensive line that was finally fully healthy. Left tackle Jadyn Proctor made his season debut after missing two games due to a left shoulder injury.
This line showed improvement on Saturday after committing nine penalties the previous week in a 42-16 win over South Florida.
“That group was amazing today, just seeing them move guys and creating holes for the running back and making a big pocket for the quarterback,” said Alabama’s Jam Miller, who scored on a 34-yard run. “It made a difference. It was great to see what they can do.”
Braedyn Locke replaced Van Dyke and completed 13 of 26 passes for 125 yards, including a 3-yard touchdown pass to Will Pauling.
Wisconsin’s chances of making the game competitive were effectively ended in the last minute of the first half.
Wisconsin was down 14-3 when Locke slightly overthrew a diving Will Pauling in the end zone on third-and-3 from the Alabama 27-yard line. Vakos then missed a 44-yard field-goal attempt wide right with 36 seconds left in the second quarter.
Alabama quickly scored after getting the ball back, needing just two plays and 17 seconds. Milroe connected with Williams for a 47-yard gain and then found Bernard in the end zone, increasing Alabama’s lead to 21-3.
“I’ll give you guys the same message I just gave them,” Fickell said. “If you haven’t had your behind whooped before, you just did. It hurts. It’s not easy.
But in this game, that’s going to happen. It’s part of the game. It stinks. It doesn’t mean you didn’t work hard. It doesn’t mean you didn’t prepare. It means you didn’t get the job done.”
Alabama also got the ball to start the second half and quickly scored again, with Miller running in untouched.
