TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama has the deep ball down pat.

According to Pro Football Focus, Jalen Milroe is tied for fifth nationally with seven completions on balls that have traveled 20 or more yards through the air. Among quarterbacks with at least 10 deep-ball attempts, he leads the nation with a 63.6% completion rate.

It’s the intermediate passing game that has caused the Crimson Tide’s offense to stall. According to PFF, Milroe’s 25.5 passing grade on balls that traveled 10-19 yards through the air is the worst among SEC starting quarterbacks — more than 20 points lower than Mississippi State’s Will Rogers, who sits above him with a 47.7 mark.

During last week’s loss to Texas, Milroe was 2 of 6 for 56 yards and a touchdown with an interception on such throws. That came after he missed on both his intermediate attempts during the season opener against Middle Tennessee State.

So what’s holding up Alabama’s intermediate passing game? According to Nick Saban, the fault doesn’t lie exclusively on the starting quarterback.

“We have made some explosive plays in our first two games,” Saban said during his Wednesday press conference. “We have not been consistent in the… intermediate passing game and making decisions and get the ball out of our hands quickly and run good routes so we’re open and things are pretty decisive for the quarterback because of the picture.

“Everybody needs to do a better job. Protection needs to be better. The pocket doesn’t need to be collapsing on the quarterback on a four-man rush. All those things need to get better, and we’ll work on it."

According to PFF, Jalen Milroe leads all SEC starting quarterbacks, averaging 2.84 seconds to get the ball out on dropbacks that result in a pass. The next highest on the list is Arkansas’ K.J. Jefferson at 2.71 seconds, while Missouri’s Brady Cook is the quickest to get rid of the ball, averaging just 2.04 seconds.

Milroe's tendency to hold onto the ball hasn’t helped paired well with an Alabama offense that has allowed 25 pressures over two games while earning a 53.8 pas-blocking mark from PFF.

According to PFF, Milroe has earned an 83.9 passing grade on dropbacks when he isn’t blitzed compared to a 45.6 mark on plays when the defense does send extra defenders. Over the weekend, Texas was able to record five sacks and four quarterback hurries despite primarily rushing just three or four defenders.

When asked Wednesday, Saban said Milroe has done “OK” at picking up the blitz.

“I think what we need to do as an offense is everybody’s gotta pay more attention to detail,” Saban said. “We can’t give bird and rabbits so the other team knows when we’re passing so they can tee off. All these little things sort of add up to create a disadvantage for you if you don’t get them fixed. These are all things that our players need to understand and need to do so we can protect better so the quarterback has a better chance to operate.”

No. 10 Alabama should be able to improve on its passing game this weekend as it goes up against a South Florida defense that ranks No. 128 out of 133 Division I teams, allowing 355 passing yards over its first two games. So far this season, the Bulls have allowed opposing passers to complete 17 of 27 intermediate passes, resulting in 306 yards and an interception.