Hurts in the 2017 Iron Bowl: 12-22, 112 yards. Those are pathetic numbers. Tua would have lit them up. If Hurts isn’t responsible, then who is?
Hurts was the majority of the reason that 2016 defense was out of gas at the end of the national title game. He couldn't convert a 3rd down. They'd get us in 3rd and long and we were dead.
We had 16 first downs to their 31. They had the ball almost 10 minutes more. Clemson had over 500 yards and 99 plays. We were 2 of 15 on 3rd down. (Side note...we were 3 of 13 on 3rd down vs Michigan)
If we're even 3 or 4 of 15, we win that game. Clemson played hurts perfectly. He was 13 of 31 for 131 yards.
Once Bo went down, Hurts wasn't capable of throwing the ball enough.
Milroe vs Michigan.....16-23 for 116. How many pass plays were called and got blown up by him either holding the ball too long or just not seeing his dump off receiver when a blitz was coming?
2016 Hurts:
240 - 382 for 2780 yards.....62.8 Comp%....23 TDs and 9 INTs.....he ran 191 times for 954 yards and 13 TDs.....15 games.
2023 Milroe:
187 - 284 for 2834 yards....65.8 Comp%....23 TDs and 6 INTs....he ran 161 times for 531 yards and 12 TDs......13 games.
Hurts last 4 games of the 2016 season.....Auburn / Florida / Washington / Clemson.....4 TDs, 2 Ints. Which is misleading because he was 2 TDs and 2 Ints vs Auburn. We had no passing game whatsoever in the SEC Title game or the playoff. We won because of that incredible D and our rushing game.
Milroe last 4 games of the 2023 season....(includes UTC, so I'm taking them out and including UK)....Kentucky / Auburn / Georgia / Michigan....7 TDs, 1 Int. Milroe vs Kentucky was 3 TDs, 1 Int.....he threw for 2 TDs vs Auburn and 2 vs Georgia.
The difference here is the comparative rushing attacks. Hurts was never asked to do too much because we could run almost at will and had an incredible defense. We ran for 3,675 yards. 5.8 yards per attempt. The D had 54 sacks.
Milroe, an offense that was curtailed to accommodate him because he just couldn't do certain things, was asked to do more than Hurts. Hurts was sacked 19 times....Milroe 44. Most of that was holding onto the ball too long....Hurts would usually toss the ball out of bounds when he was in trouble. We ran for only 2,417 yards. 4.3 yards per attempt. The D had 39 sacks.
Hurts and Milroe struggled mightily in these respective seasons vs top competition. We won in 2016 because of our rushing attack and D. We won in 2023 because of our D and lots of big junk plays on offense. The limitations of these QBs kept us from winning it all in those respective years.
Can Milroe improve has much as Hurts....maybe. Hurts had an entire year on the bench. I'd also argue Hurts had a better demeanor and never showed his emotions by cursing on TV, but that's beside the point. Milroe has a lot of mechanical issue he needs fixed.....on top of the processing skills he needs to improve on.