COLLEGE STATION, Texas — If you are still searching for No. 11 Alabama’s identity after six games, look no further than its starting quarterback.

Talented but unrefined, inconsistent but resilient, prone to mistakes yet poised when it matters most. Those qualities can be used to describe the Crimson Tide as well as first-year starter Jalen Milroe.

Neither Alabama nor Milroe was perfect Saturday. But, as has been the case the past three weeks, the Tide made enough plays to end up on the right side of the scoreboard after 60 minutes.

Playing roughly 80 miles away from his childhood home, Milroe put in a career-best passing performance to lead Alabama to a 26-20 victory over Texas A&M. The Katy, Texas product had his fair share of struggles, taking six sacks and throwing a costly interception in the third quarter. However, he rebounded, shook off adversity and silenced the Aggies’ 12th man, completing 21 of 33 passes for 321 yards and three touchdowns.

“I think that’s one thing Jalen has learned. Just keep playing the next play,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said following the game. “Focus on that play. You’re gonna make mistakes. Bad things are gonna happen sometimes, but you’ve got to be a point guard, man. You’ve got to make lots of assists, not many turnovers, but you can’t make the turnover that you do make bother you.”

Milroe made sure to avoid that following his biggest mistake in the third quarter.

Facing a second-and-19 from the Texas A&M 37-yard line, the quarterback found tight end Amari Niblack for what would have been a big gain. However, he floated his throw, allowing Texas A&M safety Bryce Anderson to jump the route and swoop in for the interception.

That play could have melted Milroe. The redshirt sophomore threw two costly picks during Alabama’s Week 2 loss to Texas. With the Crimson Tide trailing Texas A&M by a touchdown during Saturday’s interception, the mistake looked as though it was going to be a turning point in the game.

It was. Just not the one anyone expected.

Alabama’s defense picked up its quarterback on the following possession, as freshman safety Caleb Downs intercepted a pass from Texas A&M quarterback Max Johnson two plays later to give the Crimson Tide the ball back at the Aggies 39-yard line.

After a pair of nice runs from running back Jase McClellan brought the ball down to the 20-yard line, Milroe sprung into action, completing three of his next four passes while capping the drive off with a game-tying 15-yard touchdown pass to Jermaine Burton.

“Picks happen,” Milroe said. “It don’t matter who it is, picks happen. Negative plays happen in the game. It’s all about how you respond. No matter what play it is, good or bad, it’s all about the next-play mentality and trying to get 1%better.”

Milroe was a bit more than 1 percent better the following drive, accounting for 77 total yards of offense while leading the Tide to a go-ahead touchdown.

After rushing for 12 yards on the first play of the possession, the dual-threat quarterback connected with Burton on a 46-yard bomb before finding the receiver again for a 19-yard touchdown to put Alabama up 24-17 just before the end of the quarter.

"His energy all day, even this morning, it was just next-play mentality," Burton said of Milroe. "We already know that bad plays are going to happen. We know that stuff is going to happen. But regardless, how are you going to move past it and keep going."

Following his interception, Milroe finished the game by completing 8 of 13 passes for 121 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He’s also beginning to stack up a streak of solid performances. Since his poor start against Texas, Milroe has completed 48 of his 66 passes (72.27%) for 710 yards and four touchdowns with two interceptions.

“I think the biggest thing is just acknowledging that I’m not a finished product,” Milroe said. “But just overall, I’m just trying to be the best version I can for the team. It’s all about the team.”

Milroe, like his team, isn’t a finished product. However, Alabama (5-1, 3-0 in the SEC) still finds itself sitting along atop the SEC West standings. As for that question about an identity, just ask the person who makes the Crimson Tide tick.

“The identity is just to be where our feet are,” Milroe said. “No matter what opponent we’re playing, we’re gonna give our best. We’re gonna play four quarters of football, we’re gonna have fun, and we’re going to play to the standard we all know in our locker room.”