The Alabama Crimson Tide entered Week 2 with a 1-0 record following their blowout win over Middle Tennessee. Like last season, their second opponent of the campaign was the Texas Longhorns, who held the No. 11 ranking entering the week. Last year, Alabama escaped with a 20-19 victory. This year, the Longhorns looked to make a statement and prove that they are worthy and that they are "back."
In the first half, the Longhorns entered halftime with a 13-6 lead over the Crimson Tide. The difference maker for Texas was quarterback Quinn Ewers' 44-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Xavier Worthy.
As for Alabama, they could only muster two field goals by Will Reichard. With Crimson Tide fans expecting excellence on a yearly basis, some fans were not exactly thrilled by quarterback Jalen Milroe's performance, and expressed it on social media and message boards.
Alabama fans not thrilled by QB Jalen Milroe's first-half performance vs. Texas
🚨MELTDOWN ALERT 🚨#Alabama is down 10-3 in the second quarter. #MeltdownAlert pic.twitter.com/ckJu6gjb9f
— Message Board Geniuses (@BoardGeniuses) September 10, 2023
bench milroe bro this is ridiculous
— 𝓣𝓪𝓻𝓶𝓪𝓪𝓷 🥀 (@tarmaanpro112) September 10, 2023
I don’t know who is on the bench but Jalen Milroe may not be Alabama’s starting qb for long.
— Eugene B. Lee-Johnson, PhD (@eugenejohnson_) September 10, 2023
I don’t like what’s going on with this offense so far. I need Milroe to trust his abilities or go to the bench
— WhiskeyHndrxx (@dinerodavis45) September 10, 2023
pic.twitter.com/Otyzc0wQ5Y
If Alabama doesn’t bench Jalen Milroe, there’s zero chance they’re winning this game.
— Dr. B (@BlakeTheRxGuy) September 10, 2023
Alabama has to use more designed QB runs or bench Jalen Milroe. They have just 33 passing yards and are averaging just 1.9 yards per pass attempt.
— Ryan McCrary (@TheRyanMcCrary) September 10, 2023
Please bench Jalen Milroe
— RollPhilaRoll (@PhilaRoll21) September 10, 2023
Fg is not good enough. Time to bench milroe
— Daniel Krainer (@DanielKrainer) September 10, 2023
Milroe has thrown 3 picks damn near man. Saban looking down the bench rn. You can’t tell me he not
— Van Damme (@mr_extRODinary) September 9, 2023
Just one half of football, and as the saying goes, it's not over until the clock reaches zero. There was still time for Alabama to bounce back. After all, you can never truly rule out Alabama and head coach Nick Saban.
Through the first two quarters, Milroe completed 8-of-15 pass attempts for 80 yards, zero touchdowns, and one interception. In the running game, Milroe picked up 52 yards on nine carries, with his longest run coming in at 20 yards.
On the interception, Milroe targeted wide receiver Jermaine Burton, but he found himself behind two Texas defenders, one of them being Jahdae Barron, who picked it off.
Jalen Milroe OH NO 😲
— 247Sports (@247Sports) September 9, 2023
Jahdae Barron intercepts the pass to give Texas great field position early 🏈pic.twitter.com/wOdsCEPG5I
But Milroe did respond at the start of the second half with a 34-yard pass to Isaiah Bond. Alabama didn't reach the end zone but did cut their deficit to 13-9 on a 51-yard field goal by Reichard.
Again, there were still two quarters left to play. But as is the case for any fanbase, some of them are impatient and want some immediate results. For some Alabama fans, they wanted to see more from Milroe.