Jalen Milroe talks about a poor performance in Alabama football's loss at Tennessee

Alabama football's loss to Tennessee could have been an important moment in UA quarterback Jalen Milroe's Heisman Trophy campaign. Instead, the 24-17 loss in Knoxville was one of his worst performances.

Milroe threw two interceptions, including one on the Crimson Tide's final drive, sealing the Tennessee victory. Afterwards, he took the blame for UA's offensive struggles.

“I have to do better on my end,” Milroe said. “Playing with better details and better communication up front and allowing our guys to really get into communication, so that's something we're just going to expand on and get better at after the fact.”

Alabama's defense played well enough to win the game. However, the offense largely stagnated and was unable to capitalize on its chances.

Milroe's first interception came early in the game. He attempted to throw a fade to Ryan Williams in the end zone, but missed the throw and sent an ugly pick to UT's Jermod McCoy.

The quarterback was under duress most of the time, but still didn't perform particularly well. He completed 25 of 46 attempts for 239 yards, one touchdown and the two interceptions.

The volunteers also managed to limit his abilities on site. Milroe finished with just 11 yards rushing, and when accounting for sacks, Alabama managed just 80 total yards on the ground.

After the game, Milroe was asked how he would rate his own efforts in defeat.

“That’s something I can improve on,” Milroe said. “We’re pushing to just give our guys a chance. They are very explosive with the ball. So I just put the ball in reach and then just trust them because I know they're going to make big plays when the ball is in reach, so I definitely have to improve on that.”

After the loss, it could be difficult for Alabama to secure a CFB spot. Should it suffer a third defeat, it would almost certainly be eliminated from the competition.

With upcoming tough duels against Missouri and LSU, the Crimson Tide will rely on Milroe, who remains one of the top quarterbacks in college football, to perform at his limits.

“We need to develop a mindset about hunger,” Milroe said. “We want to get better, we want to grind, we want to be the best version of ourselves, we want to be the best offense in the country. “And with the right attitude, there’s still a lot of work to do.”

Alabama returns to action Saturday against Missouri at Bryant-Denny Stadium.