No. 1 Alabama routs Virginia Tech

Alabama, the defending national champ, needed Jones because A.J. McCarron, he of the 26-2 record as a starter and the most talked-about ingrown toenail in sports, wasn’t sharp. He finished 10-of-23 for 110 yards with a touchdown and interception.

Alabama’s defense, statistically the best in the country last season, didn’t start well, but got better as the game progressed, limiting Virginia Tech to 212 yards. It also had an interception return for a touchdown.

But all they needed was Jones.

He became the first Alabama player since 1944, the earliest date the Crimson Tide’s records go back to, to score two non-offensive touchdowns in one game. It was also the first time in Virginia Tech’s history that it gave up a kick return, punt return and interception return for touchdowns.

“It’s every kid’s dream to come and do things like that, but we have a 24-hour rule,” Jones said. “We will put this game aside tomorrow and go to Week 2.”

Virginia Tech was already beaten up and inexperienced entering the game. The Hokies were without starting tailback J.C. Coleman (sprained ankles) and cornerback Antone Exum (knee). In addition, starting tight end Ryan Malleck (shoulder), running back Tony Gregory (knee) and outside linebacker Ronny Vandyke (shoulder) suffered season-ending injuries earlier in August.

The Hokies featured only 10 seniors on their two-deep depth chart, and their two offensive tackles were starting the first games in their careers.

By contrast, other than McCarron’s terrible toe, Alabama entered the game relatively healthy and loaded with 13 starters returning from last season’s 13-1 team.

The Tide wasted no time Saturday. After the defense forced a quick three-and-out on Virginia Tech’s first possession, Jones’ punt return gave Alabama a 7-0 lead less than two minutes into the game.

Alabama made the score 14-0 on a 2-yard run by T.J. Yeldon with 1:53 left in the first quarter. The Tide defense had again forced a three-and-out to set up a short field for the offense. Taking over at the Hokies’ 49, McCarron nimbly led Alabama to shrug off any concern about his foot. He bought time by moving in the pocket before he hit Kevin Norwood for 11 yards on third-and-10 and later hit Amari Cooper for 15 yards.

But Virginia Tech didn’t roll over.

Trey Edmunds, effectively the team’s third-string tailback after the loss of Michael Holmes (dismissed in the spring) and Gregory (injury), ran up the middle, turned left and dashed 77 yards for a touchdown to cut the Hokies’ gap to 14-7 on their next play from scrimmage.

“He’s going to have a terrific future at Virginia Tech,” Hokies coach Frank Beamer said.

Tech’s defense forced a three-and-out that included a sack of McCarron and seemed ready to make it a game.

But strong safety Vinnie Sunseri easily intercepted Logan Thomas on first down and returned the ball 38 yards for a touchdown. Thomas threw 16 interceptions last season, an increase of six from the 2011 season. Thomas completed five of his 26 attempts for 59 yards. He wasn’t helped by Virginia Tech receivers that dropped countless passes.

“I felt pretty good,” Thomas said. “I didn’t try to put an ‘S’ on my chest like coach says. I just tried to play my best.”

Virginia Tech kicked a 39-yard field goal to cut the Tide’s lead to 21-10 with 3:39 left.

And then, just like that, Alabama snatched the momentum away again when Jones returned the kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown.

Now, Saban and his players have a week off before they take on Texas A&M, the only team to beat them during last year’s 13-1 season.

“We have to create an identity as a team,” Saban said. “I don’t think we did that maybe in all ph ases of the game today. But at least we know where we are.”