Tuscaloosa, Ala. ? Alabama produced everything from long touchdown passes to a goal-line stand in its biggest game in nearly six years.

Then, the Crimson Tide players wondered why people seemed so surprised at their 31-3 rout of No. 5 Florida on Saturday.

“This is exactly where we thought we’d be,” quarterback Brodie Croyle said.

Few others were expecting such a dominant performance from No. 15 Alabama (5-0 overall, 3-0 Southeastern Conference), which proclaimed itself perhaps the league’s team to beat with the victory.

Croyle threw for three TDs, including an 87-yarder to Tyrone Prothro and a 65-yarder to Keith Brown, and the defense was even more impressive in shutting down Urban Meyer’s offense.

A Meyer-coached team had never been held without a touchdown, and the Gators (4-1, 2-1) hadn’t been kept out of the end zone since 1992.

“Tell him not to feel so bad, because he played a very good defense,” Tide defensive back Charlie Peprah said.

No. 3 Virginia Tech 34, West Virginia 17

Alabama's Travis McCall sacks Florida quarterback Chris Leak (12) during the second half. The Crimson Tide beat the Gators, 31-3, Saturday in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Morgantown, W.Va. – Marcus Vick threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, and Virginia Tech converted two West Virginia turnovers into scores in the finale of a 33-year series between the former Big East rivals. Vick, facing the Mountaineers (4-1) for the first time, ran for a season-high 74 yards and was 15-of-17 passing for 177 yards. The Hokies (5-0) never trailed and kept the Mountaineers offense off the field for most of the second half.

No. 4 LSU 37, Miss. State 7

Starkville, Miss. – An efficient JaMarcus Russell threw two touchdown passes to Dwayne Bowe for LSU (2-1, 1-1 SEC), which scored on three consecutive first-half possessions and rolled to its 13th victory over Mississippi State (2-3, 0-3) in 14 meetings.

No. 6 Florida State 38, Syracuse 14

Tallahassee, Fla. – Drew Weatherford passed for 234 yards and three touchdowns, including a 71-yard swing pass to Lorenzo Booker, and Florida State (4-0) defeated Syracuse (1-3). FSU sacked Syracuse quarterback Perry Patterson seven times.

No. 9 Miami 27, S. Florida 7

Miami – Tyrone Moss matched a career-high with three touchdowns for Miami (3-1). South Florida (3-2) finished with a season-low 174 total yards.

No. 10 Tennessee 27, Mississippi 10

Knoxville, Tenn. – Gerald Riggs ran for a touchdown, and Jonathan Wade returned an interception for another score in the first quarter, and Tennessee (3-1, 2-1 SEC) beat Mississippi (1-3, 0-2) for the 12th straight time.

Michigan 34, No. 11 Michigan State 31, OT

East Lansing, Mich. – Mike Hart ran for 218 yards and a touchdown in his return from an injury, and Garrett Rivas made up for missing a field goal in the final minute of regulation by kicking a 35-yarder in overtime for Michigan (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten). Drew Stanton was 20-of-30 for 282 yards with a TD and an interception for the Spartans (4-1, 1-1).

No. 12 Cal 28, Arizona 0

Berkeley, Calif. – Marshawn Lynch ran for 107 yards and a touchdown in his first game back from an injury, and California (5-0, 2-0 Pac-10) shut out Arizona (1-3, 0-1) for the second straight year.

No. 13 Notre Dame 49, No. 22 Purdue 28

West Lafayette, Ind. – Brady Quinn passed for 440 yards and three touchdowns, two to Jeff Samardzija, leading No. 13 Notre Dame (4-1) past Purdue (2-2). Quinn was 29-of-36- a career-high 80.5 percent completion rate – and threw a TD pass for a 10th straight game.

No. 17 Wisconsin 41, Ind. 24

Madison, Wis. – Brandon Williams caught two touchdown passes and returned a punt 63 yards for a score. The Badgers (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) won for the 10th straight time at Camp Randall Stadium and denied the Hoosiers (3-1, 0-1) their first 4-0 start in 15 years.

Penn State 44, No. 18 Minnesota 14

State College, Pa. – Derrick Williams and Tony Hunt each rushed for two touchdowns as Penn State’s stifling defense held Laurence Maroney to 48 yards rushing. The Nittany Lions (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) beat the run-first Gophers (4-1, 1-1) at their own game, building a big lead by rushing over a porous Minnesota defense.

Maryland 45, No. 19 UVA 33

College Park, Md. – Lance Ball ran for 163 yards and scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns, and Maryland (3-2, 2-1 ACC) amassed 570 yards in offense to hand Virginia (3-1, 1-1) its first defeat.

No. 21 BC 38, Ball State 0

Boston – Backup quarterback Matthew Ryan ran for a pair of first-half scores and threw a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, leading Boston College (4-1) over suspension-riddled Ball State (0-4).

No. 24 Louisville 61, Florida Atlantic 10

Louisville, Ky. – Michael Bush ran for a career-high 204 yards, and Louisville (3-1) spoiled Howard Schnellenberger’s homecoming by beating Florida Atlantic (0-5).