TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - For 44 seconds, mighty Alabama of the Southeastern Conference was actually trailing one-win New Mexico State.
It didn't take long for the Crimson Tide to change that situation dramatically.
Down 3-0 late in the first quarter, Bryce Young threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Jameson Williams. Alabama went on to romp from there as Young finished 21-of-23 passing for 270 yards with five touchdowns, three to Williams, in just more than a half of action for Alabama (9-1).
The Tide rattled off seven touchdowns in 20 minutes for a 49-3 halftime lead over the Aggies (1-9). Alabama finished the game with a 587-138 advantage in total offense.
"I really challenged the team this week," said Alabama coach Nick Saban, whose team was second in the most recent College Football Playoff rankings. "I told them it was kind of judgment day for us. We've been a little inconsistent. We don't look at the scoreboard. It shouldn't affect how we play. An opponent is faceless. It's all about how we play."
Young became the first Alabama player to complete his first 13 passes in a game, playing only one drive into the second half when he lost a fumble in New Mexico State territory.
The Aggies couldn't keep up with the speedy Williams, who caught six passes for 158 yards and had touchdowns of 50, 32 and 7 yards. Brian Robinson Jr. ran for 99 yards and two touchdowns - including a 63-yarder - all in the first half. On defense, Will Anderson Jr. had two of the Tide's seven sacks.
New Mexico State quarterback Jonah Johnson was 19-of-30 for 129 yards.
"Offensively we really played hard," Aggies coach Doug Martin said. "We were just really overmatched up front. But as far as the attitude and effort that our players had out there on both sides of the ball, it was really what you're looking for."
The Tide responded quickly and emphatically after allowing that early field goal, a career-long 50-yarder by the Aggies' Ethan Albertson. Alabama's defense pitched a shutout on the visitors' final 10 possessions.
"When we got back to the sideline, everybody just honed in and calmed down," Alabama safety Malachi Moore said.
Several Alabama players had to be helped off the field with injuries, including punt returner/wide receiver JoJo Earle, backup tailback Roydell Williams and safety DeMarcco Hellams.
"We lost Roydell, probably for a good while," Saban said. "And JoJo, probably not quite as serious but probably going to be out for a while."
Tailback Jace McClellan was already out for the season, and five-star freshman signee Camarr Wheaton hasn't played because of a knee injury, leaving two scholarship tailbacks on the roster. Saban said Hellams came into the game with a thigh bruise and got hit in that spot again but could have returned.
When asked about his team's apparent slow start, Saban pointed to other highly ranked teams losing, plus Florida's scare before winning a shootout against Football Championship Subdivision program Samford.
"You want me to be critical of my team because we had to punt once in the first quarter and they got a field goal?" Saban said. "I mean, I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to be critical of anything that our players did when we win 59-3."