On Friday, Nick Saban finally answered the quarterback question for a ravenous fan base and a curious college football world.

And on Saturday night, under the bright Bryant-Denny Stadium lights that shined for the 1st time this fall, Jalen Milroe told anyone with 2 eyes that, yes, he was the answer to everyone’s endless offseason of wondering about the successor to Bryce Young.

Yeah, we know, it was only Middle Tennessee, and it was only the 1st game of a long season with much bigger challenges ahead.

But what Milroe managed to do, in a little more than 2 quarters, was nothing to shrug at. The redshirt sophomore from Katy, Texas, who spelled Young last season when he injured his shoulder and played to mixed results and reviews, was pretty much flawless from the 1st snap until his 29-yard touchdown pass to Amari Niblack gave the Crimson Tide a 42-0 lead and ended his evening with still 10:25 left in the 3rd quarter.

The night was still young, and for the 1st time in a long while a guy named Young wasn’t squarely on the minds of Bama’s faithful as the 4th-ranked Tide rolled to a 56-7 season-opening rout. Milroe’s numbers were brilliant and, way more importantly, efficient and without a turnover. For 1 wonderful night, there were no Milroe miscues to remind everyone about 2022.

No interceptions. No fumbles.

No problem.

He completed 13 of 18 pass attempts for 194 yards and 3 touchdowns, including beautiful TD strikes of 47 and 48 yards that were sandwiched around halftime and preceded the 29-yard connection to Niblack. Milroe’s passing prowess was clearly his closing act, but only half his story. Milroe’s opening act featured his legs, the aspect of his game everyone knew he had down pat, as he scampered for a 21-yard score in the 1st quarter and a 13-yard TD late in the 2nd, part of his team-leading 48 yards on just 7 carries.

Milroe was everywhere, and then he was stationed on the sideline after giving way to Tyler Buchner and Ty Simpson.

He had erased all the doubts, for 1 feel-good night against 1 very overmatched opponent.

And one would logically assume he had earned another start for the Week 2 showdown with Texas, under the same Bryant-Denny lights.

Player of the Week

Yeah, it’s Milroe. Let’s be real, the kid had a ton of pressure on him on Saturday night, in a game that was destined to be an easy-does-it blowout. For Milroe, it was an audition and a breakout game, all at the same time. Saban had finally leaked who the starting quarterback was going to be the day before, so an entire fan base and country had their fictional note pads out, ready to write down the good and definitely ready to scribble down the bad. And in a virtuoso performance that only had to be a hair over 1 half, Milroe didn’t flinch, tossing 3 touchdown passes, running for 2 scores and, as we stated above, not committing any of the turnovers to remind the Negative Nellies about last season.

He obviously led the way through the air and, oh by the way, also led the Tide in rushing on a night when the run stats were predictably spread out. He vigorously put his stamp on Week 1 and screamed that the starting job was his. Of course, time will tell where it all goes from here.

Freshman of the Week

Safety Caleb Downs came to Tuscaloosa with massive billing, and man did the 5-star stud from Georgia back that up in his Alabama debut. Downs was all over the place, pushing himself to the front of the line on the Bama defensive stat sheet. Yes, it was a blowout, so the numbers were way more spread out than in a competitive game, but Downs led the Tide in total tackles (8) and solo tackles (6) while throwing in a tackle for loss for good measure.

Sure, the offenses he faces will get better. Much better, starting next Saturday night against Texas, and we’ll find out more then. But after 1 game in crimson and white, we can say that Downs was every bit as advertised — and then some.

Biggest surprise

It was sophomore Isaiah Bond, without a doubt. Another talent plucked from the rival state of Georgia, Bond busted out, leading Alabama in receiving with 5 catches for 76 yards. He found seams in the Middle Tennessee defense, and he found the end zone, too, hauling in a 47-yard touchdown pass from Milroe that made it 28-0 before halftime and launched the game into full-fledged blowout mode.

Now, Bond wasn’t invisible last season. He did catch 17 balls — including 1 for 53 yards — for 220 yards and 1 touchdown. But we can semi-guarantee that not many if any had Bond on their bingo card as the guy who would lead the Tide in receiving in the season opener. But there he was, and you would think a performance like this will send his confidence skyrocketing into the Texas game.

Biggest concern

We’ll keep this short because, naturally, it’s going to be a reach on a 5-star night like Saturday. OK, so speaking of the number 5, that’s how many yards receiving tight end CJ Dippre managed in his Bama debut. The Maryland transfer had only 1 catch, and of course he’s going to have to do a lot better in the weeks ahead for the Tide offense to truly be complete. Logic would say he will do just that. And besides, Bama was just fine at tight end because Niblack caught 2 passes for 49 yards, including the aforementioned 29-yard touchdown.

Developing trend

This might be the start of a season-long trend. Or it might’ve just been the product of a blowout. But Saban used all 5 bullets in his stocked stable of running backs, and he gave each 1 a good workout. Not surprisingly, seniors Jase McClellan and Roydell Williams got the most carries with 10 and 7, respectively, with McClellan chipping in a 1-yard touchdown run. Freshman Justice Haynes was next on the list with 4 carries for 29 yards, good for a whopping 7.3 yards per carry in his Bama debut, although 16 of those yards came on 1 dazzling carry. Fellow frosh Richard Young added 5 carries for 18 yards, with 11 coming on 1 carry, while sophomore Jam Miller had 4 carries for 14 yards.

We’ll see how this goes going forward with the running backs as the games get closer, but we’re betting Tommy Rees continues going 5 deep.

Key stat

Can we cheat and go with 2 statistics? OK. There are the turnovers, or lack thereof. Milroe was a bit of a turnover machine in his limited time last season, and he jogged off the field early in the 3rd quarter with a clean sheet — 0 interceptions and 0 fumbles. That’s huge. Buchner and Simpson followed suit with no turnovers, and a Bama team that doesn’t turn it over is a Bama team that’s always tough to beat. We’ll sneak in the 2nd stat — the penalties, or lack thereof. New defensive coordinator Kevin Steele emphasized discipline throughout the offseason, aka minimizing penalties, and the Tide committed only 2 penalties for a paltry 19 yards, a very promising start.

First impression about Week 2

Another season, another Week 2 2-step with Texas, which is yearning to get back to being mighty Texas under 3rd-year head coach Steve Sarkisian. The former Bama offensive coordinator nearly beat his former boss last September in Austin, but a late Will Reichard field goal saved the Crimson Tide from an ugly early season loss in a game that the Longhorns could’ve easily won. But they didn’t, and you don’t think the Horns have forgotten about that as they make the trip to T-Town this time?

Texas started slowly offensively in Saturday’s season opener against Rice before quarterback Quinn Ewers brought the Longhorns to life in the 3rd quarter, passing for 2 touchdowns and running for another score to put the pesky Owls away in a 37-10 victory. Of course, the narrative here is that Texas can’t afford a similar slow start in Tuscaloosa, but every game is different. The Horns, ranked 11th coming into Week 1, want payback for an upset win gone awry. The Tide want to show that last year’s escape was just an aberration. A prime-time kickoff in T-Town awaits.