Bama offense explodes in rout of Spartans

He wasn’t wide open. The pass looked overthrown all the way toward the goal line. The team was already on its way to a comfortable win. Didn’t matter.

Julio Jones’ lunging, one-handed, how-did-he-do-that? grab told you all you needed to know about Alabama’s 48-3 victory over San Jose State.

First, the team with the most talent won the game. The Spartans didn’t have many guys who could have even caught up with the pass, let alone touch it — then catch it.
Second, it came with 11:38 left in the first half and put

Alabama ahead 28-3. Any drama about the outcome was long gone. It was showtime at that point. Julio didn’t disappoint the record 101,821 at expanded Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Third, it showed off Jones’ ability. The junior wide receiver made a hard cut for the post, gaining just a step on San  Jose State’s Alex Germany. He found another gear in an effort to catch up to the ball.

When that looked like it wouldn’t be enough, he leaned forward, stretching out his left arm. He snatched it with his left hand, pulled it in to his chest and rolled over with it in the end zone. After a brief video review, the touchdown was confirmed.

It was the most spectacular catch for Jones, who caught six passes for 93 yards.

Fourth, the ball was thrown by backup quarterback A.J. McCarron, the redshirt freshman from Mobile who got on the field for the first time Saturday night.

McCarron completed 9-of-15 passes for 116 yards and the touchdown to Jones.

Starter Greg McElroy was 8-for-9 passing in the first quarter — the miss was a dropped pass by Jones — and finished 13-for-15 for on an abbreviated evening of work.

Veterans like McElroy, Jones and Trent Richardson — yes, he’s a veteran despite making his first start — made enough big plays early that Alabama got to play a lot of newcomers on both sides of the football.

There were 14 first-time starters and many others who played for the first time for Alabama.

McCarron’s moment was muted only by the fact he didn’t see Jones make the catch.

“It was surreal. I just heard the crowd and chest-bumped my center,” said McCarron, who credited his receiver. “By far the best receiver in the country, with the best routes,” McCarron said of his 6-foot-4, 222-pound target. “He made a play for me. It made me look a lot better.”

McCarron was scheduled to play in the second quarter regardless of the score, Saban said. However, the redshirt freshman called his extended playing time “huge.”

“Getting in the first game, especially with the ones, it helps me a lot,” McCarron said. “I get to not just sit back and watch the game. Now, I get my chance to watch the game develop as I play.”

He still knows his role, however.

“I’m Greg’s backup. That’s the way it is,” McCarron said. “I do the best job that I can here on the sidelines. When I get my chance, I’ll try to make the best of it.”

McCarron admitted just a few butterflies before he came into the game in the second quarter. But a completion on his first attempt — a simple quick screen to Jones, who turned it into an 11-yard gain — calmed him immediately.

“Everything slowed down once I completed that first pop pass to Julio,” McCarron said. “He came back to the huddle and said, ‘Man, you got that one out there fast.’ I was like, ‘Man, I can do this.’”

The very next play was the touchdown to Jones.

“On that second play, everything looked slow motion when I was reading it,” the quarterback said. “He made a great play for me.”

Neither McCarron nor Jones seemed wowed by the play.

“I expect to make those plays,” Jones said. “That’s my job.”

“I probably could have put it a little more on him, but that safety was coming over, and I didn’t want him breaking it up,” McCarron said. “That goes back to our summer workouts that me and him were working on. Just great timing between each other.”

Trent Richardson only played a half in his first start. He rushed 10 times for 66 yards, including touchdown runs of 4 and 39 yards.

Eddie Lacy struggled early, including coughing up a fumble in the first quarter, but got stronger as the game went on. Lacy added 111 yards on 13 carries and had touchdown runs of 37 and 10 yards.

“I think we came out and played fast and took the ball and had a really good opening drive with good execution,” Saban said. “I thought we had a nice two-minute right before the half.

“There are a lot of lessons to be learned on the other side of the fence. ... We made some mistakes on defense that we can certainly correct. We can hopefully get better at what we need to do.”