What experience vs Tennessee means for Alabama football QB Jalen Milroe

Ahead of Alabama football vs. Tennessee , Jalen Milroe is feeling "pretty confident."

He knows what the “Third Saturday in October” rivalry means. He knows what it takes to beat a team like the Volunteers . In the days leading up to kickoff between the No. 7 Crimson Tide and the No. 19 Volunteers in Neyland Stadium, Milroe said that is when the hard work append.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun playing in games like this,” Milroe said.

It’s a game Milroe has experience in.

As Alabama’s starting quarterback in the Crimson Tide ’s 34-20 win against Tennessee in 2023, Milroe had 220 passing yards, two touchdowns and an interception, completing 66.7% of his 21 pass attempts.

Milroe was also on the roster for Alabama’s 52-21 win against Tennessee in Tuscaloosa, and for the Crimson Tide’s 52-49 loss to the Volunteers in 2022 during Alabama’s most recent trip to Knoxville.

Unlike the 2023 meeting, Milroe will be facing one of the better pass defenses in the SEC when going against Tennessee.

Through six games, the Volunteers have the fourth-best pass defense in the conference, allowing 170.2 passing yards per game. Tennessee is one of two SEC defenses, along with Texas, to have allowed three passing touchdowns or less.

Milroe has thrown at least one touchdown pass in each of his six games in 2024. He also has four interceptions in three SEC appearances, including two in his most recent game against South Carolina, moments Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said Milroe will remember and correct.

“Those tight game moments, we’re all in this together, and we want to continue to learn,” DeBoer said. “And so I’m gonna remind him, coach him up on the situations we’re in, how to apply the things we’ve talked about throughout the course of our time together so far. How to learn what’s happening (in) this game and then just continue to move on. And we just keep stacking these moments on top of these moments. He’ll remember anything that happened (in) this game. He’s going to remember what happened to him four weeks ago, and that’s what I love about him.”

Milroe has an idea of the defense he will face Saturday, calling the Tennessee unit “really,m really talented” and filled with physical athletes that add a lot of pressure on quarterbacks both in the run and pass game.

Milroe knows the Tennessee rivalry, knows the emotion, the atmosphere, everything that goes into it. And it’s something he’s ready to face head on once again.

“As players, when you go into college, that’s something you look forward to is great environments, playing in games like this,” Milroe said. “It’s just all about locking in and appreciating the moment, appreciate being in a situation where we are allowed to be our best us through preparation.”

Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: What experience vs Tennessee means for Alabama football QB Jalen Milroe