TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) - Western Kentucky coach Willie Taggart was surprised by his team's mistakes.

The Hilltoppers lost three fumbles and an interception to help turn an otherwise competitive game into a 35-0 loss to No. 1 Alabama on Saturday.

``It was uncharacteristic of our guys,'' Taggart said. ``Never in a million years would I have thought they would have played like this.''

Western Kentucky (1-1) couldn't overcome those mistakes or AJ McCarron's career high-tying four touchdown passes - two apiece to Christion Jones and Kevin Norwood.

Not even with a pre-game pep talk from former heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield, whose nephew, Demetrius Coley, is on the team.

``He just talked about never quitting, always believing,'' Taggart said. ``He told about playing the game and make them beat you. Our guys didn't know about it. I knew about it, but I didn't tell the guys.''

The Hilltoppers were 40-point underdogs and the sandwich opponent between top 10 teams Michigan and No. 8 Arkansas for the Crimson Tide (2-0).

As such, Alabama coach Nick Saban had gone on the offensive to make sure they weren't overlooked.

``This game ended up being a little bit like I expected it to be, and probably different from what a lot of people here expected it to be,'' Saban said.

McCarron completed 14 of 19 passes and played all but the final few minutes.

It was close to as efficient as his MVP performance in the national title game against LSU.

``AJ's really stepped up,'' Jones said. ``He's really picked up that weight left off from that national championship game a little bit from last year. He's overall conquered a lot of things with the passing game.''

Norwood caught three passes for 92 yards.

The defense came up big, too.

The turnovers kept Western Kentucky from mounting any real scoring threats.

Kawaun Jakes competed 20 of 31 passes for 178 yards for the Hilltoppers, who also played LSU last season and lost 42-9 after keeping it close in the first half.

Alabama's starting tailback Eddie Lacy had 36 yards on nine carries while freshman T.J. Yeldon ran six times for 25 yards. The much-heralded Yeldon, who gained 111 yards against the Wolverines, also had four catches for 47 yards.

The Hilltoppers had no answer when McCarron launched balls downfield. He connected on touchdowns of 14 and 22 yards to Jones, his first career scores.

The first came in the opening 1 minute, 53 seconds, the quickest touchdown Alabama has produced since reaching the end zone 1:19 into the game against Duke in 2010.

In between, McCarron hit Norwood in stride for a 33-yarder. Norwood scored again on a 12-yard catch early in the third to make it 28-0.

Defensive end Damion Square figures the quick start was evidence that the team got Saban's weeklong message.

``It's natural for us to take someone lightly that everybody's taking lightly,'' Square said. ``It's something he didn't want to seep inside our locker room. He wanted everybody to be focused on this game. We came into this game with the right attitude. We came out and really got started, created turnovers early and scored some early points.''

The numbers weren't as lopsided as the final score because of turnovers.

Alabama outgained Western Kentucky 328-224. The Tide ran for 103 yards, but limited the Hilltoppers to 28 rushes for 46 yards.

Western Kentucky actually had one more first down (12) than the Tide in the first three quarters.

Alabama's star-studded offensive line held a 45-pound-a-man advantage over Western Kentucky's defensive front. But the visitors from the Sun Belt Conference still sacked McCarron six times.

Quanterus Smith had three of the sacks.

``Their offensive line was SEC worthy,'' Smith said. ``We always thought we could compete.''

The Tide managed to end Western Kentucky's 10-year, 120-game streak without getting shut out despite playing without two injured defensive stars, cornerback Dee Milliner (strained hip flexor) and nose guard Jesse Williams, who was held out as a precaution after waking up with a bad headache.

Alabama tacked on a touchdown in the final minutes with the help of some unexpected trickery.

Punter Cody Mandell ran for a first down to convert a fake on fourth-and-18 with less than four minutes to go, pushing the ball across midfield. McCarron had been sacked on the previous two plays.

Quarterback/tailback Blake Sims replaced McCarron for the final series. Freshman tailback Kenyan Drake scampered 32 yards on his second career carry for the final score with 1:47 to play.

Running back Jalston Fowler was helped off the field with a left knee injury in the final minutes. He was carted toward the locker room and will have an MRI on Sunday, Saban said.