The No.1 Alabama football handled Georgia State with ease Saturday, rolling over the newest addition to the Football Bowl Subdivision, 45-3.

Crimson Tide quarterback A.J. McCarron threw just a single incompletion in the first half, going 15-of-16 for 166 yards and four touchdowns. McCarron, who led the Crimson Tide to a touchdown in each of his five possessions, only needed to play the first half, as Alabama (5-0) entered halftime with a 38-0 lead.

The Crimson Tide defense was relentless as it forced the Panthers (0-5) to punt seven times over the course of the game. Georgia State quarterback Ronnie Bell went 11-for-20 for 146 yards. His 34-yard pass set up the Panthers’ only score of the game.

Blake Sims replaced McCarron and played the entire second half. Together, the pair threw for 296 yards and five interceptions.

Next week Alabama will take on Southeastern Conference foe Kentucky, while Georgia State will look for its first win against Troy.

OSU handles Northwestern

No. 4 Ohio State remained undefeated Saturday, defeating No. 16 Northwestern in a high-scoring affair by a 40-30 final.

Both teams entered the conference battle undefeated, but a Buckeyes (6-0) fourth quarter rally silenced a boisterous primetime Wildcats crowd.

The Buckeyes scored four touchdowns in the last 17 minutes of the game, including three by senior running back Carlos Hyde, who also racked up 168 yards in the contest. Those were Hyde’s first three touchdowns of the 2013 campaign.

With 2:33 to go in the first quarter, Ohio State special teams player Bradley Roby recovered a blocked punt in the Buckeye end zone. However, Ohio State would not score another touchdown until almost two quarters later.

Northwestern (4-1) took a 20-13 lead into halftime. Wildcat kicker Jeff Budzien immediately converted a 32-yard field goal at the beginning of the second half to bring the score to 23-13.

Buckeye quarterback Braxton Miller did not throw any touchdowns as Ohio State relied on their defense and rush to win the game.

Next week, in another pair of Big Ten showdowns, Northwestern will take on Wisconsin and Ohio State will face Iowa.

FSU embarrasses Maryland

In a showdown between two of the top undefeated Atlantic Coast Conference teams, No. 8 Florida State routed No. 25 Maryland 63-0 on Saturday.

Freshman phenom Jameis Winston had his most successful game of his career, throwing for 393 yards and five touchdowns. Winston solidified his performance with an impressive third quarter, throwing three separate touchdown passes to build on a 21-0 halftime lead.

The Terrapins (4-1, 0-1 ACC) only rushed for 33 yards on 25 attempts and couldn’t sustain much offensively throughout the game. However, the Seminoles dominated the run game, scoring four touchdowns and running for 183 yards between seven players.

The victory was Florida State’s largest victory over another ranked school in program history and the second highest scoring game in FSU coach Jimbo Fisher’s tenure as head coach.

The Terrapins were forced to punt 11 times over the span of the game.

Maryland will look to regain its momentum next week as it takes on Virginia, while Florida State will challenge No. 3 Clemson in a battle of ACC powers.

Matthew Zackman can be reached at [email protected].