It wasn’t hard to notice Jalen Milroe and Alabama’s offense looked a little different against LSU last Saturday.

The quarterback broke out an old look — matching white arm sleeves on his left arm and leg — befitting of a primetime matchup. And his offensive coordinator Tommy Rees unveiled a handful of offensive wrinkles that the Tigers’ defense couldn’t keep up with in the 42-28 final.

LSU head coach Brian Kelly, who coached and hired Rees at Notre Dame, noted earlier in the week how Rees had “transformed” UA’s offense mid-season. With the play-calls and Milroe’s program-high four rushing touchdowns by a quarterback, Kelly got a good look at the evolution from the visiting sideline at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

“It was hard because I said one of these games I’m going to bring (the dual sleeves) out and decided it’d be that week,” Milroe said. ” Brought it back to high school, I used to change my drip up.

“I think we’ll look at (the Texas loss on Sept. 2) as a learning moment, not dwell in that moment but also acknowledging some things and corrections that we need to make as a football team. I can honestly say from my angle as an offensive standpoint we’re steadily growing and learning.”

After Milroe ripped deep throws down the field in his first SEC games, No. 8 Alabama had the run-first dominance many expected against the Tigers. UA’s 288 rushing yards and six touchdowns were season-highs. The Tide’s longest passing plays were check-down throws to running backs.

The Tide deployed multiple formations, like wideout Kendrick Law in the backfield to start the game, more touches for sophomore Jam Miller and even a “tush push” in short-yardage. Milroe also seemed to have more designed run plays. It was a continuation of advances made in prior weeks, like when Alabama tried more pre-snap motions to give Milroe short throws.

“I think as Jalen gets more comfortable, more confident, he’s reading and seeing things so he can actually do a little more and do some different things,” head coach Nick Saban said on Monday. “But I also think the rest of the guys around him are getting more comfortable and executing better. So all those things contribute to us being able to do a few things we can take advantage of.”

Playing against the best offense in the country, Alabama matched three LSU touchdown drives with a score of its own. Milroe (219 passing yards, 155 rushing) produced just eight fewer yards of offense than LSU’s NFL prospect Jayden Daniels. The Tide kept converting first downs with Milroe’s legs and he had seven runs of at least 10 yards.

And near the endzone, Rees entrusted the ball in Milroe’s hands, or more appropriately, his legs. He opened UA’s scoring with a 23-yard read-option run behind Amari Niblack. He also tried a quarterback sneak before stumbling off a blocker and into the endzone.

Naturally, Milroe was asked about his upcoming gameday look against the Wildcats (11 a.m. CT kickoff on ESPN) and the quarterback decided to keep everyone guessing.

“I like everyone on their toes,” said Milroe. “One of these games I’m going to bring it back.”

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