TUSCALOOSA — The crowd was settling, but AJ McCarron could still hear his mother howling.

No, this wasn't just another 3-yard pass in the middle of a blowout win. It was something this football family had always dreamed of seeing, and on the cold, windy afternoon, the McCarron to McCarron connection was made.

AJ to Corey — just like kids in the backyard.

"That's the reason why I stayed, for memories like this," AJ said. "It's just something that we'll be able to cherish for the rest of our life."

Alabama was already up four touchdowns en route to the 49-0 whipping of Chattanooga. This was AJ's final possession in Bryant-Denny Stadium and he had one request: the program's career passing leader and three-time national champion just wanted to throw one to his brother.

Dee Dee Bonner hugs her son, AJ McCarron after Alabama's 49-0 win over Chattanooga.

Corey McCarron transferred to Alabama before the 2012 season after playing at South Alabama. An H-back, he had to sit out last fall before becoming eligible this season. The 6-foot-2, 238-pound sophomore had seen action in only two games with the Crimson Tide and hadn't recorded any stats.

So the quarterback went to coach Nick Saban at halftime with the request for just one pass. Word was passed to offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier to get a play ready. Saban said that the boot leg pass "was a pretty sure thing when you knew he had a chance to be open."

And he was.

On the fourth play of the third quarter, the call came in. Little brother was wide open and the pass was a relatively easy one. Chattanooga linebacker Dee Virgin made sure the party was a quick one as he upended Corey almost immediately.

That only created the ultimate brotherly moment, though.

"I congratulated him, but I still chewed his butt out because he should have gotten up the field faster," AJ said in a joint interview with Corey. "I'm happy for him, but I'm still going to be the big brother."

There was relief from Corey after catching the equivalent of a wide-open layup.

"A lot (of relief)," Corey said. "Because if I would have dropped it, he would have yelled at me in front of a lot of people. It's just something we do every day since we were kids."

Still, he knows there was yardage left on the table.

"Yeah, I should have got a lot more yards, but the way we run that play usually we get hit in that place," Corey said. "I stopped and turned my head so I didn't get crushed. I should have gotten more yards, but it was still fun."

Linebacker C.J. Mosley cracked a big smile when asked about the play.

"We all laughed because we thought Corey was going to make a move," Mosley said. "But he kinda got stuck. But just little things like that, that will probably be the last time he throws a pass to his brother. That's a moment they'll share forever."

And it was a mother's cheer that'll be heard for at least that long. With some of the crowd already headed home, Dee Dee Bonner's cheer could be heard over anything else in Bryant-Denny Stadium.

"I could literally hear her screaming as soon as he caught it over everybody," AJ said. "The rest of the crowd was like 'alright, great, another five-yard gain.' And she was still yelling."

It accounted for just three of his 8,355 Alabama passing yards, but that moment ranks near the top of AJ's decorated career.

"This is the best five years of my life and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world," he said. "That's why I came back — for memories like this."