Jalen Milroe’s rare streak for Alabama all but guarantees Heisman chances

Jalen Milroe was a serious contender for the Heisman Trophy entering this season. While I did not end up having him on my preseason Heisman ballot to start the year, it had nothing to do with his skill set, but rather the team he was playing for. Now that Alabama looks strong heading into its Week 4 bye ahead of the Georgia game, I would have a hard time leaving Milroe off it through the first month.

In Alabama's 42-10 drubbing of the Wisconsin Badgers up in Madison, Milroe completed 12-of-17 passes for 196 yards and three touchdowns. He also had 14 carries for 75 yards and two touchdowns in the breezy Week 3 victory for the Tide. He also joined elite company after this performance. His combination of run and throw puts him on the fast track toward being a finalist for the 2024 Heisman.

To date, only Milroe, Tim Tebow, Colin Kaepernick, Jordan Lynch and Johnny Manziel had three straight games with two passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns in three straight games. Tebow and Manziel obviously won Heisman Trophies at their SEC schools of note. While Kaepernick and Lynch starred at the precursor to the Group of Five, they did have top 10 finishes for it in college.

Once again, Big Noon Saturday picked an overhyped dud of a game to go to in the midwestern part of the country. As soon as Wisconsin quarterback Tyler Van Dyke suffered a major knee injury on the Badgers' first offensive series, it was game over. It afforded Milroe to put up stats without breaking too much of a sweat before giving way to his backup Ty Simpson. Milroe has to be ready for Georgia.

The only real downside with this comparison is Milroe having any real staying power at the next level.

Regardless, the Alabama quarterback is one of the most fun stars to watch in the college game today.

Jalen Milroe makes early statement when it comes to Heisman Trophy

Again, I never had any doubts in Milroe's ability to put up numbers, or be a future first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. He is QB3 on my big board behind Georgia's Carson Beck and Texas' Quinn Ewers right now. This is not the deepest quarterback draft class, but I have a feeling that Milroe's game may translate a bit better than what even Colorado's Shedeur Sanders is trying to bring to the next level.

What I wonder about Alabama is if the Crimson Tide will be as good as they were a year ago. Through the first quarter of the season, they have passed most tests with flying colors. While the South Florida game was ugly at times, the Crimson Tide still won easily in the end. More importantly, they looked the part vs. inferior competition when they played Western Kentucky, and now at Wisconsin.

Ultimately, the Heisman Trophy is every bit a team award. While we have seen quarterbacks with video game numbers win the award on a 9-3 team, I have a feeling that Alabama needs to at least be a playoff team to get their starting quarterback his due. The good news is Alabama may be a win or two better than my preseason projections. They might win around 11 games now to get to Atlanta.

As long as Milroe keeps playing like this, Alabama will be one of the tougher SEC teams to beat.