Happy Friday, everyone. Next up for Alabama is a visit from South Carolina tomorrow night. Your previews:
South Carolina plays Alabama close no matter what trajectory the Gamecocks are on. That’s life in the SEC. That’s life with Sellers, Harbor and Stewart. But there seems to be something different in the air ahead of Alabama vs. South Carolina. Despite the murmurs of upset surrounding this game, the reality is that Alabama has already faced adversity and the Gamecocks crumbled under their first pressure of SEC play. Keelon Russell knows how to storm back. Alabama’s defense has revenge on its mind after a horrid performance against Florida State. Nothing is shocking when it comes to South Carolina, but this is a game Alabama seems to be ready for.
Prediction: No. 8 Alabama 35, South Carolina 14
Two years ago, Bama went up 14-0, gave up a 19-0 run and needed two scores and a two-point stop to survive. Last year, the Tide led 14-6, gave up a 16-0 run and needed two Germie Bernard TDs and a costly LaNorris Sellers fumble to win. Keelon Russell and the Tide have started the last couple of games slowly and would welcome a 14-0 start, but they’re landing knockout punches well before the final minutes regardless.
South Carolina indeed dominated Mississippi State early last week but kept settling for field goals and lost after MSU’s offense shifted into gear. The Gamecocks’ run game has improved but probably won’t dent a dominant Bama run front, so Sellers will likely have to make some big plays. He’s almost overcorrected in that department: He previously took too many sacks in hunting for game breakers, and he’s settling for shorter throws now, only his receivers are dropping passes and creating fewer chunk plays.
Current line: Bama -12.5 | SP+ projection: Bama by 9.1 | FPI projection: Bama by 13.2
Sellers is one of the more talented quarterbacks in the SEC, and the Gamecocks only lost by one score against a now-ranked Mississippi State team in Week 3. South Carolina has the No. 32 defense in the country in EPA/Play, and it’s elite against the run (25th in EPA/Rush).
That’s a major concern for this Alabama offense (112th in EPA/Rush), especially since Russell has been a little up and down as a passer through three weeks. The Crimson Tide were in trouble in the first half against Kentucky and fell behind early (14-3 in the first quarter) against Florida State.
Russell ended up having a huge Week 3, but can he repeat that against a strong SEC defense?
Alabama should be favored at home since South Carolina ranks outside the top-100 in both EPA/Pass and EPA/Rush, but I’m not sold on the Crimson Tide winning in a blowout.
The last two seasons, Sellers has kept the Gamecocks close against Alabama, losing by two in 2024 and seven in 2025. I’ll take the points in Saturday’s meeting.
If there’s any silver lining for South Carolina fans, it’s this: There are plenty of other SEC fan bases in turmoil right now. Auburn looks terrible. Oklahoma might be running a Mike Shula offense. And Texas A&M will be 0-2 in SEC play if it loses to LSU this week.
So let’s take a look at South Carolina’s remaining schedule.
Likely losses: vs. No. 8 Alabama (9/26), at No. 21 Florida (10/10), vs. No. 14 Tennessee (10/24), vs. No. 2 Georgia (11/21) Sure-fire win: at Arkansas (11/14). Toss-ups: vs. Kentucky (10/3), at Oklahoma (10/31), at No. 23 Texas A&M (11/7), vs. Clemson (11/28).
Even if South Carolina loses to Alabama on Saturday, there is still a very clear path for the Gamecocks to become bowl-eligible. If they fall to the Tide, then drop a home game against Kentucky — well, good luck.
PREDICTION: Alabama 35, South Carolina 25
South Carolina 30, Alabama 27: Third time is a charm for Sellers, who really needs a win as does Beamer, who is trying to avoid another week of “Fire Beamer” chants. Alabama takes the lead in the fourth but this time it’s Sellers and new offensive coordinator Kendal Briles who set up a chance to take the win in the final minute.
Those last two are from the South Carolina beat, courtesy of The Greenville News and The State out of Columbia.
This game should make every Alabama fan nervous. You have an opponent coming off of a loss, with a strong running game that includes a veteran athletic QB, and an Alabama front that just lost two key rotation pieces to injury. Alabama has dug itself a hole the past two weekends. The offense looked great once they found their footing against Florida State, but the Noles are a legitimately terrible defense. South Carolina is not, and they are getting their best player back to full time duty.
This game will tell us plenty about this Crimson Tide squad. If the game has truly slowed down for Keelon Russell, and the offensive line is coming together as they seemed to be last week, then the Tide could put 40 on the board again. If the offense looks more like the one we saw at Kentucky, and Florida State exposed some major flaws in the defense, then it could be a nail biter.
Alabama will need to clean things up on the edges defensively, and this will be a concern especially when Jah-Marien Latham is on the field. But, the interior of the Alabama defense has been stout. My guess is that Kane Wommack goes back to his roots, forcing LaNorris Sellers to throw through zones. South Carolina’s run game won’t get shut down completely, but that won’t be enough to keep up with Alabama’s offensive weapons.
Let’s go Alabama, 38-20.
Of course, that is merely my opinion. Give us yours in the comments.
William Sanders is pleased with what he’s getting from Adrian Klemm.
“He played it at a high level, coached it at so many high levels,” Sanders said of Klemm, who was a three-time Super Bowl champion as a player with the New England Patriots, and has coached at both the NFL and college levels. “He’s such a teacher, before he’s a coach. A lot of times in the film room, he’ll break it down. He preaches technique so much, I think the guys are really starting to understand it, because he’s finding new ways to teach it to us, finding new drills.”
Former Pro Bowl center LeCharles Bentley concurs.
Last, Emilee Smarr is quite bullish on Alabama basketball this season.
Alabama’s breakout freshman will be Anderson Diaz
Diaz reclassified from the 2027 recruiting class to join the Crimson Tide one year early. Based on what the 6-1 lefty point guard has shown over the summer, don’t be surprised if you see him on the floor enough to join the annals of breakout freshmen like Amari Allen and Labaron Philon Jr. He’s a three-level scorer flashing on the defensive end, too, and should only improve as the season progresses.
October is just around the corner, and our basketball coverage will be ramping up as the calendar changes.
That’s about it for today. Have a great weekend.
Roll Tide.
