Alabama freshman QB Jalen Hurts 'settled in and did a nice job' vs. USC

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• Matt Zenitz | mzenitz@al.com

This was apparently the plan all along.

That's what Nick Saban said following Alabama's 52-6 win over USC Saturday night.

The plan throughout the week, Saban said, was for either Blake Barnett or Cooper Bateman to start but for freshman Jalen Hurts to "have a role" and to enter for the Tide's third series of the game "no matter what."

So, the talented freshman replaced Barnett following Alabama's second series, overcame some early struggles and showed a national audience the dynamic playmaking ability that has been on display behind the scenes in Tuscaloosa since Hurts arrived at Alabama in January.

"We think both guys are talented, and we wanted both guys to play in the game," Saban said of Barnett, a redshirt freshman, and Hurts. "And when the first quarter was over, I was wondering to myself, 'Was this a good plan or a bad plan?' Both guys were a little shaky in the beginning. But I think Jalen, each series that he played, got more and more comfortable. He adds a dimension with his athleticism and ability to run that I think is very effective. ... I thought he settled in and did a nice job."

Hurts played from late in the first quarter until Barnett re-entered late in the third quarter with Alabama leading, 38-6.

Hurts' final stats: 6 of 11 for 118 yards, nine carries for 32 yards and four total touchdowns in just two quarters of work.

Was it a perfect performance? No. Hurts lost a fumble on his first play in the game. The next series was a three-and-out. His third drive then stalled at USC's 47-yard line. Later, an ill-advised Hurts throw into coverage was intercepted.

But, unlike Barnett, Hurts had a chance to work through the early shakiness.

That paid off for Alabama -- beginning with Hurts' fourth series midway through the second quarter.

The drive ended with the first of Hurts' four touchdowns, a nicely placed 39-yard touchdown pass to ArDarius Stewart in the back of the end zone behind two USC defensive backs.

It gave the Tide a 7-3 lead.

That was the start of a 38-0 Alabama run that was led by a combination of the Tide defense and Hurts.

Hurts' second touchdown pushed the Alabama lead to 24-3 three plays into the second half, a 71-yard scoring pass to Stewart that took advantage of a USC blown coverage that left Stewart wide open down the sideline.

Then came two Hurts touchdown runs, a 7-yarder to cap the Tide's next series and then a 6-yarder after Hurts' interception.

The second rushing touchdown gave Alabama a 38-3 lead and was the last play Hurts was in the game for.

"He's very mature," center Bradley Bozeman said of Hurts. "He got out there calm, cool and collected and did what he had to do to get us going down the field."

So what now?

On Saturday, Barnett became the first redshirt freshman to start at quarterback under Saban at Alabama. Hurts may soon be the first Tide true freshman to start at quarterback under Saban.

For now, it's unclear whether Hurts will start next week against Western Kentucky.

It's worth pointing out that Saban was complimentary of how Barnett played after re-entering the game late in the third quarter, noting, "I thought when Blake came back in the game, he settled down and played pretty well, too."

After going just 2 of 3 for three yards prior to being pulled in favor of Hurts, Barnett was 3 of 3 for 97 yards with a 45-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Gehrig Dieter after re-entering the game.

Barnett was in for two series after returning to the game. Both drives produced touchdowns. The second ended with the scoring pass to Dieter. The first was capped by a short touchdown run that was set up by a perfectly placed 40-yard pass from Barnett to tight end O.J. Howard deep over the middle of the field.

"I made a decision for this game that whatever we did at quarterback was for now," Saban said. "Did you ever make a for now decision? So we made a decision today for now. That's the only decision we made. So I'm not speculating on what we're going to do in the future."