Both the South Carolina Gamecocks and No. 7 Alabama Crimson Tide entered Week 7 coming off deflating losses. The Tide lost to unranked Vanderbilt 40-35, marking the first time the Commodores beat a top-5 team in program history. South Carolina, on the other hand, got blown out by Ole Miss, showing no signs of a put-together football team six weeks into the season. To make matters worse for the Gamecocks, they had to travel to Tuscaloosa, to play one of the best offenses in all of college football. With both teams hungry for a bounce-back win, here is how it went down, and what we learned from it.
A tale of two quarters
This game began the way most college football fans expected it to, as the 19.5-point favorites struck first. Back-to-back 30-yard passing plays set up quarterback Jalen Milroe for a walk-in touchdown on a quarterback option.
4️⃣🙌 @JalenMilroe
📺: ABC pic.twitter.com/H8A2RWfwfO
— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) October 12, 2024
The next four drives didn’t tally any points. The two teams combined for four punts and a turnover, as the Gamecocks couldn’t convert a 4th and 11 from the ‘Bama 35-yard line. The Crimson Tide ended the scoring drought by adding another touchdown. This time, it a Justice Haynes 2-yard run, making it a 14-0 game.
Down two scores with 4:36 to go before halftime, the game looked as though it could easily get out of hand. However, quarterback LaNorris Sellers started to find his rhythm, leading the offense down to the Alabama 36-yard line with 1:43 left in the second quarter.
There, South Carolina faced a 4th and 9. A 53-yard field goal try was too much to ask of kicker Alex Herrera whose career long is only 46 yards. This left head coach Shane Beamer no option but to leave his offense out on the field. The Gamecocks made it work, as Sellers found Mazeo Bennett Jr. wide open in the end zone to get the ‘Cocks on the board.
That’s six 🤙 pic.twitter.com/4TBT401sJh
— Gamecock Football (@GamecockFB) October 12, 2024
Alabama was flagged for a personal foul on the ensuring kickoff, meaning they were backed up to their own 13-yard line to begin the drive. On the Crimson Tide’s first snap from scrimmage, the pocket collapsed on Milroe and he was backed up into his own end zone.
Right as Kyle Kennard closed in on him, Milroe desperately threw the ball away, but the pass didn’t land in the area of an eligible receiver. Milroe was flagged for intentional grounding in the end zone, resulting in a saftey and two more points for the Gamecocks. South Carolina had life, it was a 14-9 ballgame.
It looked as though South Carolina would keep the momentum rolling in this football game, but the Gamecocks immediately gave the ball up; as Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell recovered an ugly giveaway by Sellers.
With starting field position near midfield (but only 45 seconds before halftime) Alabama played aggressively, looking to extend their lead. After their first two plays went for a combined -9 yards, most fans would have expected the Tide to play conservatively and settle for a 14-9 halftime lead. However, Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer decided to gamble.
DeBoer burned his final timeout with 11 seconds to go, hoping by some miracle the Crimson Tide would be able to put points on the board. Instead, South Carolina defensive back Jalon Kilgore read Milroe’s pass beautifully and intercepted it. He returned it to the ‘Bama 19-yard line with one second remaining before half. Alex Herrera then nailed a 37-yard field goal, to make the score 14-12 Alabama at halftime.
After looking sluggish to start, South Carolina scored 12 points in the final 97 seconds to put the upset alert on.
Close, but no cigar
Receiving the opening kick of the second half, the Gamecocks kept the positives rolling with a long 16-play, 85-yard TD drive that chewed up 8:40 of game time. On this drive, they went 5-of-5 on third down (after not converting a single third down in the whole first half, 0/5).
One of the two biggest conversions was Sellers to Bennett Jr. for 22 yards on 3rd and 15 to push the Gamecocks deep into ‘Bama territory. The other was the drive sealer; an angry 1-yard run from Rocket Sanders on 3rd and goal to put South Carolina up 19-14.
🚀🚀🚀 pic.twitter.com/8yaVtjwGam
— Gamecock Football (@GamecockFB) October 12, 2024
Both teams punted on their next drive, but then the Crimson Tide started to get it going offensively. Starting from their own 46-yard line, Milroe led the Tide down to the redzone. However, he lobbed up a pass to the end zone that was intercepted by O’Donnell Fortune. Just two plays later though, Alabama would get the ball back on a fumble recovery after Sellers lost grip of the ball while trying to pull back a fake handoff.
Alabama took the short field position and cashed in, as Milroe ran for his second touchdown of the game. They lined up to go for two, but couldn’t get it, meaning the score held at 20-19.
QB POWER! 😤 pic.twitter.com/ueUAbRwS8u
— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) October 12, 2024
The following drive, Alex Herrara missed a 51-yard field goal that would have given South Carolina the lead.
Alabama extended their lead to eight points as Milroe found a wide open Germie Bernard for 34-yard TD pass. It was a drive that seemed to put the game just far enough out of reach. However, South Carolina wasn’t dead just yet. With just 1:54 to play, South Carolina needed to strike quickly, and the Gamecocks did just that.
It took them only 1:11 for Sellers to squeeze in a tight 31-yard throw to Nyck Harbor who had a beautiful toe-drag catch for his first touchdown of the season. That made the score 27-25, and a two-point conversion would tie it. Although Sellers had a receiver wide open on the conversion attempt, he sailed the pass and the try was no good.
With all hope seemingly lost for the Gamecocks, all the Crimson Tide had to do was recover an onside kick. South Carolina kicker Kai Kroger hit a wobbly kick that nobody on Alabama could field, and the Gamecocks ended up with the football.
Now down two points at the Alabama 49-yard line, the Gamecocks only needed about 25 yards to get into field goal range. Instead, Sellers tried to play hero by going for it all. He threw into double coverage and the ball was picked off by Domani Jackson, sealing the game for the Tide.
Final score, 27-25 Alabama.
What We Learned
- The Gamecocks defense can play at a high level. Four sacks and nine TFL doesn’t show just how well the front played. The pressure in the pass game forced Milroe into making quick decisions. They also excelled stopping the run. Alabama only rushed for 2.7 yards per carry; Milroe was essentially shut down in the run game apart from goal-to-go situations. The secondary did a good job limiting the Tide’s star receiver Ryan Williams to four receptions for 32 yards; they also nabbed two interceptions. Even though they let up 27 points, overall, it was a strong showing against the high-powered Alabama offense.
- Offensive turnovers will lose you close games like this every time. Three lost fumbles is never a winning recipe, especially against one of the best offensive teams in the nation.
- Rocket Sanders can be classified as a top power back when he is 100 percent healthy – which still might not be right now. He had 16 carries for 78 yards at 4.9 yards per carry. He aims to grind down defenses with his powerful running and his fight for extra yards, and he did a good job of that on Saturday.
- LaNorris Sellers is still learning. He went 23 of 31 for 238 yards. He also had two touchdowns to one interception. Even though he is a redshirt freshman, three turnovers is a problem that shouldn’t exist in Week 7. Even though Sellers had a good game overall, the turnovers must be corrected for South Carolina to win big games. In addition, the two-point conversion that would’ve tied the game is a play that must be made.
- The offensive line was better. They gave up four sacks but they weren’t as bad as they were last week against Ole Miss. A recurring problem is pressure off the edge in the passing game, especially from Sellers’ blindside; that’s where true freshman Josiah Thompson starts at left tackle. This constant pressure limits his play-making abilities.
The offensive unit is getting closer, but they just aren’t playing at a high enough level right now. A lot of the opportunities in this game were set up by the defense. With three of six remaining opponents for South Carolina are currently ranked, it’s going to be tough sledding for the Gamecocks if they can’t play better offensively.
