Jalen Milroe knows Saturday night at Bryant-Denny Stadium is not the end of Alabama football's road. He knows that the Crimson Tide's 41-34 win against Georgia is just the start for a team with seven SEC games left on its schedule.
But the Alabama quarterback did take a moment to take a step back and realize what the Crimson Tide accomplished.
"There was so much poured into this game… and to get (an SEC) win, it's something special," Milroe said. "That's something we have to appreciate, something we have to acknowledge."
In the hours after Alabama 's latest win, plenty of acknowledgment came from outside of the Crimson Tide 's locker room.
In the latest Associated Press poll, Alabama is the No. 1 team in the country and received 40 first-place votes. In the latest US LBM Coaches Poll , Alabama is at No. 2, narrowly behind Texas with 19 first-place votes.
Alabama's latest win seemingly carried a bit more weight.
It came in the shadow of another upset loss in the SEC with Ole Miss falling to Kentucky , in the shadow of Texas' 22-point, short-handed win against four-loss Mississippi State, one that was within a score at halftime.
It's hard to win in the SEC. And no one knows that more now than Kalen DeBoer, who watched his team's 28-point lead evaporate, exhaling only after a 75-yard touchdown pass from Milroe to freshman wide receiver Ryan Williams , and a game-sealing interception by freshman cornerback Zabien Brown.
It's a signature win for DeBoer. But his message is that it's not Alabama's definitive win.
"We expect to win games, these games," DeBoer said. "So of course, the locker room's full of excitement. But I also want to make sure that we understand that's the expectation."
Alabama is no stranger to being the No. 1 team in the country.
There were countless undefeated stretches during Nick Saban's tenure where the Crimson Tide was No. 1, numerous SEC Championship wins and national championships where Alabama was at the top of the heap in college football.
And through four games in the DeBoer era, Alabama has the best argument to be in that No. 1 spot as the only team with a top-two win according to both major polls, as a team with a Heisman Trophy contender at quarterback and a freshman phenom at wide receiver.
But, like Milroe said, it's hard to win in the SEC, something Alabama will continue to see time and time again.
The Crimson Tide will see four teams that are currently ranked in the latest Coaches Poll: No. 4 Tennessee , No. 9 Missouri , No. 12 LSU and No. 17 Oklahoma . And if Alabama gets through that stretch unscathed or with only a scratch, it could set up an SEC Championship date with a team such as Texas or even the Bulldogs again.
In the expanded College Football Playoff era, especially in the SEC, losses are expected. But in Alabama's first test, DeBoer's first SEC moment, the Crimson Tide lived up to its calling.
It's a win, and it's a ranking, whether it's No. 1 or No. 2, Alabama is enjoying.
"As we watch the tape, there's going to be something that we all want back," Milroe said. "But we do have to acknowledge that it was a hard task to get a win in the SEC and started off in this way, with a bang."
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: After Georgia win, is Alabama the team to beat in SEC, college football?
