There wasn’t a single change that led to Alabama’s offense humming against LSU. Instead, it was a combination of better offensive line play, schematic and personnel adjustments and the benefit of playing a middling Tigers’ defense.

The Tide posted a season-high 288 rushing yards and six scores, four of them from Milroe, a UA record for quarterbacks. But it wasn’t just straight handoffs. The offensive line yielded two sacks, tying a season-low set against Middle Tennessee. Milroe had time to run and to sit in the pocket, eventually hitting a couple of short throws to Jase McClellan and Jam Miller for long gains.

With a chance to clinch the SEC West at Kentucky this weekend, Alabama’s (8-1, 6-0) supporting cast around quarterback Jalen Milroe will face a tougher defense. The Wildcats (6-3, 3-3) are tied for 30th nationally with 23 total sacks (Alabama is tied for 11th with 29).

“The offensive line did a fantastic job. They got really good movement. The ‘backs really pressed the holes and did a really good job,” head coach Nick Saban said. ” I think we had a really good plan to run the ball and get the ball on the perimeter, some with Jalen, some with some other guys. The combination of those things helps your inside running game as well. It all came down to execution, and I thought this was the best execution we had from an efficiency standpoint all year.

“We’ve done some things, protection-wise, to protect the tackles a little bit. I think because Jalen’s stepping up in the pocket helps the tackles a little bit, so they can push guys by. But I did think we did a really good job in pass protection.”

Center Seth McLaughlin said three days of practice during the bye week were centered on the fundamentals and he found the results “very encouraging.” Kadyn Proctor handled all the reps at left tackle, the second straight game he didn’t rotate with Elijah Pritchett. Milroe, in his second game this fall without a either passing touchdown or interception, kept the offense on schedule behind their blocking.

Milroe escaped the pocket to pick up short yardage, taking advantage of the lack of a spy on the LSU defense. When the Tigers took away the opportunity for deep throws, Milroe bought time and threw two third-down passes to McClellan and Miller for 77 combined yards.

Miller recorded a season-high five touches against LSU, four carries and a 35-yard catch-and-run on a wheel route. His ability to spell McClellan and Roydell Williams gives UA another chance to keep legs fresh without a drop-off in production. Earlier in the season, underclassmen running backs struggled with pass protection, but Miller showed enough with a few timely blitzes picked up against LSU.

“My high school team wasn’t as good at pass protection. When I got here that’s when I really started to learn a lot about pass protection, reading the defense and everything,” Miller said. “When my name got called and I got the play call to protect, I just use the best of it.

“It don’t matter if it’s Roydell, Jase, to the youngest, Justice Haynes or Richard Young, when our chance come up we gonna do what we have to do.”

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].