Back on track?

Alabama was certainly in control when it counted in a 24-10 statement win against Ole Miss on Saturday. After whatever we watched last week against South Florida, that was by no means a given.

Not only did Alabama avoid that dreaded second loss, but it perhaps found its identity. Even better for Tide fans was that it came at the expense of Lane Kiffin.

Here are 3 takeaways from Alabama’s pivotal win against Ole Miss.

1. Jalen Milroe’s performance was __________.

“What we should expect from Jalen Milroe.”

We saw the good. Like, the 2 chunk runs that he had on the first drive against an Ole Miss defense that hadn’t allowed a run longer than 10 yards to an opposing quarterback since the first play from scrimmage in 2023. We saw Milroe stand in the pocket and take hits on long throws to Jermaine Burton and Jalen Hale. That was the good.

We also saw Milroe throw a horrendous interception in the end zone, and he took 4 sacks. To say that Milroe played a perfect game would be unfair.

But at the same time, let’s appreciate the fact that after getting benched, Milroe responded well enough to lead the Tide to an all-important victory. Of course, he had some help from that defense.

Speaking of the Tide defense …

2. Whoever was calling plays for Alabama’s defense did a masterful job vs. Lane Kiffin’s offense

After Kiffin kicked off the week by saying that Alabama DC Kevin Steele wasn’t calling plays for the Tide defense, Saturday ended with the Ole Miss offense getting humbled by that entire unit.

Ole Miss was the No. 4 scoring offense in America entering Week 4, and it was limited to a first-quarter touchdown and a field goal. That’s it. Jaxson Dart was playing as well as any quarterback in the country, and he was held to 6.97 yards per pass attempt and just 6 total rushing yards and a score. The SEC’s 2022 leading rusher, Alabama native Quinshon Judkins, was bottled up for 56 yards on 13 attempts. Ole Miss had just 88 sack-adjusted rushing yards.

Perhaps most alarming was Ole Miss allowing Alabama to rack up a whopping 10 tackles for loss. It felt like Kiffin’s offense was behind schedule the vast majority of the day, hence the 3-for-14 showing on 3rd down.

Any hope that Kiffin would stir the pot among that Alabama defense was squashed in a lopsided second half.

3. Is Alabama ready to compete in the West after all?

Competing in the West? Yes. Winning a national championship? Let’s pump the breaks on those takes.

That defensive performance was the most inspired of the season. And while Milroe was far from perfect, Alabama limited the penalties and beat a legitimate top-15 team that was riding high. This will be a run-first team. A scrutinized offensive line played much better than it did the previous 2 games.

You can work with that. It doesn’t guarantee a perfectly clear road to Atlanta, but it does at least provide some hope of an identity moving forward.

That’s about as much as Nick Saban could’ve hoped for on Saturday.