The Alabama Crimson Tide breezed past Georgia State in Saturday’s homecoming game, 45-3.

Alabama had an explosive start with three touchdowns in the first quarter. The first, an eight-yard pass from AJ McCarron to Christion Jones, came within four minutes of kick off.

“I was really pleased with the way we came out, especially offensively, and scored touchdowns on the first five possessions and a field goal on the sixth,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said.

Alabama had a total of 477 offensive yards, 296 passing and 181 rushing.

With 2:55 left in the first quarter and only seconds after T.J Yeldon ran the ball in for a four-yard touchdown, DeAndrew White caught a one-handed pass from McCarron in the back of the end zone, making the score 21-0, Alabama. Saban called the catch, “outstanding.”

Alabama’s defense was able to keep continuous pressure on Georgia State’s offense. Georgia State had three fumbles and one lost. Sophomore running back Dee Hart forced the only fumble on a kick off return in the first quarter. Sophomore linebacker Dillon Lee recovered the fumble for six yards.

A majority of the starters came out of the game in the second quarter, allowing the team’s younger players to gain experience. Before leaving the game, McCarron was 15-16 for 166 passing yards and 4 touchdowns.

“I think the experience creates the best learning opportunity for every guy that got an opportunity to play,” Saban said.

Junior quarterback Blake Sims proved that he is ready to step up as the team’s offensive leader next season. He had one touchdown pass and was 14-18 passing for 130 passing yards.

“Blake has made a significant improvement as a quarterback. This was probably the first time that he’s really played where we really allowed him to sort of run the offense,” Saban said. “I thought he did a really good job.”

Sims said this game was good experience for him and the rest of the young guys on the team. He also said the younger players, like him, have been able to be confident in their playing abilities because of the support system from teammates and coaches.

“I feel like the coaching staff and AJ and all the other quarterbacks just kept me real calm,” Sims said. “I just believe that we all believe in each other, trusted each other and kept each other calm.”

The Crimson Tide defense was able to silence the Georgia State offensive until the third quarter. Georgia State’s Wil Lutz kicked a 53-yard field goal, a new school-record for Georgia State.