No. 3 Alabama puts away No. 23 Penn State

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- A.J. McCarron was poised and efficient in a rare trip to Big Ten country for No. 3 Alabama, throwing for 163 yards and a touchdown as the Crimson Tide beat No. 23 Penn State, 27-11, yesterday.

Alabama completed a sweep of the home-and-home series between the two storied programs with a methodical and smothering performance reminiscent of last year's 24-3 win in Tuscaloosa.

Both teams came into the second week of the season with unsettled quarterback issues.

At Alabama (2-0), those appear to be settled. McCarron was 19-for-31 with no turnovers and a 5-yard touchdown pass through traffic to Michael Williams in the first quarter.

Nittany Lions (1-1) fans might be wondering if either Robert Bolden or Matt McGloin are the answer at quarterback. They combined to go 12-for-39 for 144 yards.

Penn State's Joe Paterno, recovering from pelvic and leg injuries, coached from a box way above the Beaver Stadium field. "We certainly deserved a whupping today," he said. "I think we've just got a lot of work ahead of us."

Trent Richardson was workmanlike with 26 carries for 111 yards and two touchdowns, including a 13-yarder with 6:14 left in the fourth that made it 27-3 and cleared much of the 107,846 at Beaver Stadium -- save the ones in Crimson shirts.

Led by defensive backs Dre Kirkpatrick and Robert Lester, the Tide defense held Penn State to 251 yards.

At one point in the third quarter, Alabama nearly intercepted five straight Penn State passes. The first two thrown by Bolden were called picks on the field, but did not stand up to video review. Lester couldn't quite keep either from touching the ground. On the next series, McGloin relieved and Alabama defenders got a piece of all three of his throws.

-- AP