What looked like a short pass to the tight end just after 11 a.m. Saturday in Arkansas just continued one important Alabama football trend.

Irv Smith took the Tua Tagovailoa pass, turned upfield and followed his blockers 76 yards for the Crimson Tide's second first-play touchdown of the 2018 season. The next possession needed two plays before a marathon eight-play march after that to give Alabama three first-quarter touchdowns in the 65-31 blowout in Fayetteville.

For the season, Alabama scored touchdowns on 19 of 26 possessions that started in the first quarter. That's right at 73 percent. Take the last three games and it's 11 for 13 or 85 percent.

"We've always had a good plan," Nick Saban said. "I think the coaches have done a really good job of developing those first plays in the game that you want to run from a script standpoint. That has been able to take advantage of some situations that we see from the defense. And I think the quarterbacks have done a really good job of executing the reads on a lot of these plays."

The nation's top scoring offense is outscoring the opposition 124-21 in the first quarter. For perspective, the 2015 Alabama team that won a national title scored just 88 first-quarter points in 15 games.

It's all about efficiency. The Tide is 12-for-14 converting first downs in that first period with just two punts.

The Tide's scored a touchdown on the first drive of all six games.

"Obviously, everyone was all pumped up and excited to play right off the bat, but whenever we can go and execute exactly what you wanted to do right off the bat, it brings a lot of confidence to the game plan. Especially, I obviously like seeing it when Irv Smith scores. That makes me really happy. So, that made it even better."

Missouri, in five games, is outscoring the opposition 51-21 in first quarters entering Saturday's trip to Bryant-Denny Stadium.

"We need to try and do the same thing to withstand the first punch, so to speak," Missouri coach Barry Odom said. "We have to be ready and prepared to do that. The challenge in any environment, once you get into the moment is focus on opportunity. Be in the right here, right now. Don't get in a position where you're trying to focus on things that don't matter. And for six seconds at a time, we need to be great competitors."

The Tigers (3-2, 0-2 SEC) haven't scored more than 14 points in a first quarter this season. Alabama's hit 28 twice so far against Ole Miss, then Louisiana-Lafayette.

Alabama's passing game has been particularly effective in the early going. It is averaging 22.3 yards per completion in the first quarter with nearly two thirds of the catches going for more than 25 yards. There have been 10 passing touchdowns and seven more on the ground.

Running back Damien Harris explained why he thinks this team has looked so sharp early in games.

"I think our preparation every single day at practice," Harris said. "Focusing on the details, the little things. We're not focused on how many points we score, how many yards we have in a game; just how we can make every play as efficient as possible."

Michael Casagrande is an Alabama beat writer for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.