The year may have changed but the results stay the same for Alabama and head coach Nick Saban as USC becomes just the latest victim of the Crimson Tide juggernaut.

Playing in its home away from home, Alabama’s stellar record in Arlington’s AT&T Stadium remained intact after putting up 52 and only allowing six points to the Trojans Saturday night.

Despite the massive margin of victory, Saban didn’t necessarily sound pleased with his team’s overall performance during his post-game comments:

“I wasn’t pleased with the way we played,” Saban said. “We have some really tough games against some tough teams and some of those in tough plays to play… I’m happy we won.. but at this point in the season I’m worried about what we can do to get better…”

Nick Saban: "Consistency in execution needs to be much improved."

— Charlie Potter (@Charlie_Potter) September 4, 2016

Saban post game: "We need to get more players that can play winning football."

— Cecil Hurt (@CecilHurt) September 4, 2016

Of course the big topic coming into the game was Alabama’s quarterback position. While true freshman Jalen Hurts appeared to have won the team over during fall camp and was initially rumored to be the Tide’s starter for the game, Saban said leading up to the game that Cooper Bateman or Blake Barnett would be the two players in contention to start.

Barnett ultimately would get the start against USC but was outplayed by Hurts who turned in an epic performance -after looking shaky early on.

“We expected both guys are talented and we wanted both guys to play in the game,” Saban said. “Both guys were a little shaky but Jalen got more comfortable in the game and I think that actually opened up the running game… I thought he settled in and did a nice job.”

Saban was asked about the possibility of a rotation moving forward?

“I made a decision for this game that would be for now,” Saban said. “I made a decision for now… so I’m not speculating about who will play (in the future).”

Saban: "I never said Jalen Hurts wasn't going to play." The plan was to choose the starter between Blake Barnett and Cooper Bateman.

— Charlie Potter (@Charlie_Potter) September 4, 2016

Saban said he thinks Jalen Hurts' ability to run opened up things for the entire run game.

— Charlie Potter (@Charlie_Potter) September 4, 2016

While the final passing numbers for each quarterback were similar by the game’s end (Hurts: 118 passing, two touchdowns, 32 rushing, two touchdowns; Barnett: 100 passing, one touchdown), Hurts’ added dimension in the run game appears to have made the Tide’s offense lethal. Aside from the freshman’s solo rushing numbers, the team rushed more effectively while he was in the game.

Expect Saban to remain coy for another week but there is no hiding the fact one Alabama quarterback emerged Saturday night in Arlington.

Michael Wayne Bratton

A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com