Alabama football quarterback Jalen Milroe had the worst game of his 2024 season on Saturday. The redshirt junior threw three interceptions, including a pick six, that all but doomed any chance of a Crimson Tide comeback in the 24-3 loss at Oklahoma.

Then UA head coach Kalen DeBoer was asked about Milroe’s turnovers. He didn’t put all the blame on his quarterback.

“Early in the game there are different things,” DeBoer said. “I mean, drops, just straight drops, balls that we lost in the light, just other, uncharacteristic things, weird things that happened. And I thought he actually put the ball where it needed to be. We just had to help him a little. The screen passes, they jump over it. You have to assume that those blocks will happen and that you will read another defender.”

Part of the problem for Milroe was that Oklahoma absolutely stifled him in the run game. He finished with just seven yards on the ground and was never able to threaten the Sooners in that area.

Kip Lewis’ interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter was OU’s final score of the night. DeBoer discussed that piece and praised Milroe’s fight after it happened.

“I don’t know if he just didn’t see it or didn’t decide things, but there’s still a lot of play left, and I felt like he did a lot of things, he fought and fought and did a lot of things. good for our football team,” DeBoer said. “We all had to be a little better.

“So I thought he kept fighting. I looked at his eyes and I think he’s come a long way all season and that’s exactly the way he wants to go out and continue to lead the team and the guys kept fighting for him. That’s pretty much what I shared with them. Just don’t have any regrets, go out and keep swinging.

For DeBoer, the offensive struggles came down to the simplest execution.

“There were some things that were pretty simple that just didn’t happen for us,” DeBoer said. “Short little concepts that would have moved the chains, easy throws and catches, a few early drops that get you off the field, a few third-down conversions that we missed, an explosive play where we can’t find the ball. And those were some of the momentum things that really took the wind out of our sails a little bit.