5 things Alabama must do to avoid a big letdown and win at South Carolina
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When Alabama walks into Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday afternoon, it will see an unranked team on the other side of the field for the first time in 42 days.
That’s 6 weeks. And that’s a really long time to wait without facing a team with a number next to its name. During that interminable time, Alabama has done a little something about its own ranking, methodically inching up the AP Poll to No. 4 after that Week 1 loss at Florida State left it at No. 21.
But wait just a minute. South Carolina is surely sulking right now, in every way, as the Gamecocks sit at 3-4 to go with a disaster of a 1-4 SEC record. There’s no denying their reality near the bottom of the conference. There’s also no denying that South Carolina was itself ranked early this season, even if that feels like a lifetime ago.
These same Gamecocks were ranked 10th once upon a time in 2025. They were No. 11 when Vanderbilt came to Columbia in Week 3 and put a 31-7 beating on the Gamecocks that included an injury to star quarterback LaNorris Sellers on a helmet-to-helmet hit. South Carolina has never been the same since that dark night at Williams-Brice, losing 4 out of 5 after a 2-0 start.
Can the Gamecocks get that early season mojo back? That’s highly doubtful. But they can certainly summon up the strength for 4 hours, on national TV and in front of their home fans, to at least scare the heck out of an Alabama team that’s probably feeling a tad invincible right now after 4 ranked SEC wins in 4 weeks.
All the human nature ingredients are there for a big letdown on Saturday, which the Tide simply can’t afford to let happen after all they’ve built, and here are 5 things they must do to avoid that massive pitfall:
1. Stay humble and remember last year’s narrow escape at home
A litter over 12 months ago, South Carolina traveled to Tuscaloosa and nearly left with a victory. There wasn’t any letdown that day, so you can’t blame it on that, because Alabama had just returned home after that stunning loss at Vanderbilt. If anything, the Tide should’ve been sky-high motivated to show how much of a fluke the Vandy loss was, but instead they almost lost again, needing to dig out of a 4th-quarter deficit before holding on for dear life.
That gritty Gamecocks team was quarterbacked by a freshman phenom named LaNorris Sellers, and so is this year’s team. Even though South Carolina has fallen off the wagon this fall, if Sellers can nearly beat Bama on the road as a freshman, he can surely give the Tide more fits at home as a sophomore. You just know Sellers has been thinking about that missed opportunity constantly and relishes a 2nd shot.
And Kalen DeBoer was there, too. He was in Year 1 and leading a shell-shocked team coming off the harrowing Vanderbilt experience, and so it would be a good idea for him to remind his players about what nearly happened that day. Yes, DeBoer has his team rolling right now, but Bama’s 1 loss this season did come on the road against a seemingly inferior foe.
South Carolina outgained Alabama last season, almost won despite turning it over 4 times and was likely a failed 2-point conversion away from sending the game to overtime. Shane Beamer is desperate for a win right now and so is his sinking program, and so there’s no other choice for Alabama then to remain humble, hungry and keenly aware of the tricky situation that awaits in Columbia.
2. Stay humble and remember South Carolina was once ranked
Look, there’s a reason that Alabama is a healthy favorite on Saturday but not an overwhelming favorite. The midweek spread sat at just 11.5 points, and for a team that’s ranked 4th in the country, coming off 4 straight SEC wins over ranked teams and facing a team that’s just 1-4 in the SEC, that’s really not a lot. There are multiple reasons for that and, sure, 1 of them is that South Carolina is at home.
But the Gamecocks aren’t getting more points because those who shape the spread don’t have short memories. They realize that South Carolins was actually in the top 10 for goodness sakes early in the season before it all went wrong. Largely the same young men will be putting on Gamecock helmets on Saturday, and you just get the sense that Shane Beamer’s beleaguered bunch has 1 more stand left in them.
That stand could very well arrive Saturday, whether it’s for a half, 3 quarters or just maybe a full 60 minutes. LaNorris Sellers has to be sick over how his sophomore season has gone after such a breakout in 2024. South Carolina even fired its offensive line coach a few weeks ago amid the free-fall. Frustration is rampant right now, and Saturday’s ABC stage against arguably the most high-profile program in America is the perfect opportunity to let it all out.
South Carolina never would’ve been ranked 10th in the first place if there wasn’t talent below the surface. It’s there, somewhere. Alabama needs to show up for the 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff with this knowledge, place a 2nd order of that humble pie and make believe it’s playing that ranked South Carolina team from early September.
3. Understand that this game is South Carolina’s Super Bowl
The Gamecocks’ season is on the precipice of total destruction. If South Carolina doesn’t come up large on Saturday in front of its loyal fan base, brutal road challenges against Ole Miss and Texas A&M are what follows. Good luck with all that, Gamecocks, who could very well be 3-7 by mid-November.
Williams-Brice Stadium can be a really hard place to win on the right day, and South Carolina knows what’s at stake in a few days. The Gamecocks can either make their season or see it really spiral out of control. Expectations were through the roof in 2025 after that 6-game win streak to end the regular season last year, getting to 9 wins and having LaNorris Sellers back with a year of experience under his belt.
Sure, Clemson comes to Columbia to end the season, and that’s always big. But if things don’t go right on Saturday and the losses really start piling up, then how much will the Clemson game really matter if South Carolina is, say, 4-7? A victory over Alabama at home would be a season resuscitator and a season maker. This is the Gamecocks’ Super Bowl, and Kalen DeBoer’s surging team can’t feel above the fray on Saturday.
The Tide have to be ready and willing to get dirty in this one. These are the spots where your team captains earn their stripes. It’s just as important, maybe more so, that Ty Simpson leads like a 2025 season captain than plays like a Heisman candidate. Alabama must match South Carolina’s desperation.
4. Don’t let LaNorris Sellers give Williams-Brice a whiff of belief
The first quarter will tell the tale. Sellers was so special as a redshirt freshman last season, right down to that thrilling 20-yard touchdown run late in the 4th quarter to stun Clemson on the road. He really was 1 of the stories of the 2024 season, but the promise of a follow-up in 2025 has fizzled.
Sellers rushed for 674 yards and 7 touchdowns last season. This year, more than halfway through the regular season, Sellers has somehow rushed for just 108 yards on 84 carries, which calculates to 1.3 yards per carry. No wonder South Carolina is struggling to score points with embattled coordinator Mike Shula. The head of the snake has been shut down, and if Kane Wommack’s defense can keep that snake from getting loose, especially early, then the doubts creep in again and that home crowd will get restless again.
You know the way upsets by home teams are usually cooked up. The seeds for something special are planted early, the crowd senses it and starts believing, and then it’s survival time for the road favorite. It’s all about that 1st quarter for Bama’s defense, and it’s all about continuing Sellers’ miserable 2025 narrative.
5. Keep feeding Germie Bernard, keep winning games
Yes, Ryan Williams is still the most explosive weapon Alabama has, and, sure, Jam Miller is probably its most invaluable weapon, because basically the entire running game revolves around him being available. So, where does that leave Bernard? He just might be the most crucial weapon to Bama’s success.
Through Williams’ inconsistencies and Miller’s injuries, Bernard has been a rock for the Tide in 2025. He leads Bama in receiving in late October, not Williams, with 33 catches for 472 yards and 5 touchdowns. And what about last week’s win over Tennessee, when Bernard even led Bama in rushing with 49 yards on 4 carries. Where would the Tide be in 2025 without the senior from Las Vegas?
They wouldn’t be on a 6-game win streak and ranked 4th in the country, that’s for sure. His success has meant the Tide’s success, and to get out of Williams-Brice with its win streak still intact, it would be wise to stick with that winning formula. Keep Bernard heavily involved and keep stacking victories.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
