Alabama and South Carolina have played games in back-to-back seasons and are gearing up for a third, which is a rarity in this series. The last two games produced Alabama wins of 2 points in 2024 and 7 points in 2025, although last year’s game felt like it was separated by 7 microns, not necessarily points.
Coming into 2026, this was a game a lot of prognosticators had flagged as a potential upset special. Alabama would be coming into this game fresh off its game with Florida State, a rematch of last year’s shocking opening-week beatdown the Crimson Tide suffered in Tallahassee. South Carolina would be likely coming into this game undefeated, because after all, how could the Gamecocks lose a game to either Kent State, Towson or Mississippi State?
And then they did.
Mississippi State came into Columbia last week and put South Carolina on its rear, and in the process significantly heated up Shane Beamer’s seat as Gamecock head coach. Suddenly, the media’s darling-of-the-moment looks vulnerable, and Alabama’s vulnerability to a letdown after a physical win over Florida State may never come to pass.
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OFFENSE
When Alabama last saw South Carolina, Mike Shula was the Gamecocks’ offensive coordinator and was trying to graft a traditional pro-style attack onto an offense better-suited to running some kind of spread. Due to athleticism and size mismatches in the skill areas, South Carolina ought to be able to leverage its offensive talent to get better results. So far, that’s exactly what’s happening: South Carolina ranks 8th in total offense and 7th in rushing offense, and combined with a not-great-but-not-terrible passing attack (58th), USC ranks 14th nationally in scoring offense. Having said all of that, who a team plays matters, especially with such a small sample size, and the Kent-Towson-MSU trio are all defensively challenged.
What Alabama has to respect, though, is the inventiveness of new offensive coordinator Kendal Briles. Alabama’s offense has officially found its balance: Alabama is 34th in total offense, 36th in rushing offense and 52nd in passing offense against what is objectively a tougher slate of opponents. Alabama has been more efficient at scoring (7th nationally) but South Carolina isn’t struggling in that stat, either. Look for South Carolina to make heavy use of RPOs and other quick-hitting concepts.
QUARTERBACKS
Alabama was able to shut down LaNorris Sellers last year in Columbia, but that was when the Gamecocks were at their lowest in terms of complementary personnel. Sellers is a huge load at 6’3”, 238 pounds and he plays a lot bigger than even that. His best comp is Cam Newton when Newton was at Auburn, but he can spray the ball a bit and he’s thrown 3 interceptions already in 2026. Alabama scored on a pick-six against him last year in Columbia. Overall, Sellers is 54-of-86 (62.8%) for 648 yards, 5 touchdowns and those 3 picks. But he’s doing plenty of damage on the ground, too (23 carries, 172 yards, 7.5 avg., 1 TD). His backup, Cutter Woods, is several degrees less of everything across the board but can run similar plays.
Alabama counters with Keelon Russell, who lit the world up against Florida State and is 57-of-83 (68.7%) for 764 yards, 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Like Sellers, Russell is his team’s second-leading rusher with 24 carries for 133 yards (5.5 avg) and 2 touchdowns. Alabama strongly leads the backup quarterback comparison courtesy of the experienced Austin Mack. Sellers is very dangerous, especially if he gets on a hot streak – ask Alabama fans about South Carolina quarterbacks on a hot streak – but Russell has been more consistent against better competition so far. Advantage: Alabama
RUNNING BACKS
Prior to the start of the season, no one really believed in either of these two teams’ rushing attacks. Since then, eyes have been opened. The difference between the two teams is that South Carolina does most of its damage with Matt Fuller, while Alabama is more spread out across multiple rushers. Fuller will get virtually all of the carries that matter; against Mississippi State, it wasn’t necessarily the 73 yards on 17 carries that was noteworthy, but rather the fact he was also South Carolina’s leading receiver with 7 catches for 85 yards. Jabree Coleman and Christian Clark will split carries behind him as co-backups.
Alabama, meanwhile, has the three-headed attack of Daniel Hill, Ezavier Crowell and Trae’shawn Brown at its disposal, and this week adds in A.K. Dear, who missed the first three weeks with injury. Hill has been the blunt instrument of this group, while Crowell and Brown each bring something different to the table when they’re in the game. This one is basically a push but with the addition of Dear, we’re going to give it slightly to Alabama. But both teams deserve kudos for waking up their respective rushing attacks in 2026. Advantage: Alabama
WIDE RECEIVERS
Alabama will also be adding Noah Rogers to the depth chart this week, and the only question is whether Rogers will start the game. In Rogers’ absence, Lotzeir Brooks and Rico Scott did a fine job being complementary targets to Ryan Coleman-Williams, to the extent that Brooks leads the team in receptions (15) and Scott has become reliable a year after fighting several drops. The real edge, though, comes from the tight end group, which was all over the FSU game as a blocking squadron and provides several real receiving threats at the same time.
Alabama will mix together four tight ends primarily – Josh Ford, Kaleb Edwards, Danny Lewis Jr. and Marshall Pritchett – with Jay Lindsey also getting in some work. When Ford and Lewis are in the game together, it’s a bit like playing with seven offensive linemen, with at least Lewis also being able to catch the ball. Cederian Morgan and Derek Meadows provide depth at receiver. For South Carolina, the name to watch is Nyck Harbor. Harbor, who lines up as a split end on most downs, is 6’5” and 239 pounds. Alabama just got finished being terrorized by a similarly-built receiver, FSU’s Duce Robinson, and Harbor is noticeably faster. Nitro Tuggle and slot receiver Mazeo Bennett round out the starting group, but the team’s best receiver statistically in 2026 has been the first guy off the bench in most situations, Donovan Murph.
Tight ends Brady Hunt and Maurice Brown II are sort of a discount version of Alabama’s tight end group, but they’re capable, especially Hunt as a receiver. Alabama doesn’t have an answer for Harbor, but South Carolina will have matchup issues with both Coleman-Williams and the tight end group. The addition of Rogers pushes it to Alabama. Advantage: Alabama
OFFENSIVE LINE
It’s debatable whether you can call Alabama’s rebuilt line a “patchwork” effort, but that tag certainly fits South Carolina’s line, especially after the presumptive starter at left tackle, Josiah Thompson, was lost for the year with an injury prior to fall camp. Now, the Gamecocks are getting it done with a true freshman at left tackle (Darius Gray), Purdue transfer Hank Purvis at left guard, FCS Incarnate Word transfer Nolan Hay at center, East Carolina transfer Emmanuel Kojo Poku at right guard, and FCS Ferris State transfer Dayne Arnett at right tackle. Call it what you will, but it has been working; South Carolina ranks 28th in tackles for losses allowed, but has been noticeably worse at protecting the quarterback (70th in sacks allowed).
Alabama, meanwhile will start returning 2025 Tiders Will Sanders and Michael Carroll at the guards, another holdover (Jackson Lloyd) at left tackle, and Mississippi State transfer Jayvin James at right tackle and FCS Cal Poly transfer Racin Delgatty at center. Sack protection has been comparable to South Carolina (88th) but Alabama has given up far more in the rushing tackles for loss department (106th). The question again, though, is level of competition, as the presence of Kent State and Towson on South Carolina’s schedule so far may have skewed results. Alabama has more effective depth along the line for now, but the key matchup we’re watching here is a true freshman left tackle going up against Alabama’s edge rushers. Advantage: Alabama
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DEFENSE
Similarities in these two teams run up and down the defensive side of the comparison. Both teams will operate from a 4-2-5 base, with South Carolina’s being a bit more conventional than Alabama, but it’s close. Both teams have done well in rush defense so far this year (22nd for South Carolina, 5th for Alabama) but pass defense numbers are off for both. Both teams have been effective at creating negative plays and pressures.
DEFENSIVE LINE
South Carolina took a big hit when DT Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy was declared out for this game late Thursday. With Brownlow-Dindy not available, the bulk of the interior work will fall to three players: Tomiwa Durojaiye, who has gotten off to a hot start in 2026, and true freshman Noah Clark and Alabama transfer Kelby Collins. The big loss here is the beef that Brownlow-Dindy would have brought to the matchup, because Collins, while a decent option as a situational rusher, is too slender to be an every-down tackle in this defense. Size is not an issue for Clark, though, who rings the bell at 6’5”, 345. The biggest question for him will be stamina. Outside, Caleb Herring and Anthony Addison will probably get most of the work, but superstar Dylan Stewart is slowly being worked back into the rotation after being injured prior to the start of the season.
Alabama has seen enough of Stewart the last two seasons to last them for a bit. Alabama will start Terrance Green and Kedrick Bingley-Jones at tackle, with London Simmons and Isaia Faga being the primary backups. Devan Thompkins may be the best defensive lineman in the SEC right now; he’ll start at Bandit end but figures to work inside some as well. How much he’ll be able to shift around, though, depends on how Alabama replaces Desmond Umeozulu for this game, as Umeozulu had become a staple of a lot of Bama’s packages and had allowed Thompkins to work inside. Umeozulu, a South Carolina transfer, will miss multiple weeks. With him out, Fatutoa Henry will see a large snap load, and it’s not clear what Alabama will do behind him.
Caleb Smith and Nolan Wilson are next up on the depth chart, but neither are really ready yet. Edric Hill could be an option, as he is able to work both inside and outside. This is a close call but we like Alabama’s depth chart just a bit more. Advantage: Alabama
LINEBACKERS
Fred Johnson will man one of the two positions for South Carolina, with a pair of Alabama transfers, Justin Okoronkwo and Shawn Murphy, splitting the other spot. Murphy won’t be 100 percent for this game, but is still expected to play. Okoronkwo is is South Carolina’s leading tackler, but hasn’t made a ton of plays yet behind the line of scrimmage. All three are experienced players and are generally sound in their assignments. For Alabama, Caleb Woodson and Luke Metz will start inside, with depth provided mostly by Q.B. Reese along with Xavier Griffin, Duke Johnson and Abduall Sanders.
Yhonzae Pierre gives Alabama an elite rusher from the Wolf outside linebacker spot, but Alabama won’t have Justin Hill available for this game, and that’s a loss. Hill provides inside/outside positional flexibility and good instincts. Veteran Jah-Marien Latham becomes the backup Wolf, but Latham is mostly limited to run-defense downs. Look for more of Xavier Griffin to slide outside in obvious pass defense situations.
he next player down the depth chart is a true freshman, Jamarion Matthews, who is on the cusp of being ready to contribute but probably not in heavy rotation. The Woodson-Metz-Reese trio has better big-play metrics than South Carolina’s starters, which along with the presence of Pierre, affords Alabama a slim edge here. Advantage: Alabama
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Neither team has lived up to expectations, although Alabama has fallen further short of its preseason hype than has South Carolina. The Gamecocks rank 40th in raw pass defense and 84th in pass efficiency defense; Alabama ranks 95th and 89th in those two categories. Against Florida State, the problems were primarily corner busts on deep passes, mostly in Duce Robinson’s direction, but analysts had already seen some uncommon weakness in spurts both against Kentucky and East Carolina.
Now the question is whether it’s been fixed. Personnel-wise, this looks like a walkover for Alabama: Corners Zabien Brown and Dijon Lee are considered to be two of the best in the country, and the safety trio – Bray Hubbard, Rydarrius Morgan and Keon Sabb – have more experience playing together than just about any team’s safeties, three full years for this group. Carmelo O’Neal will back up the corner spots, while Chuck McDonald, Jireh Edwards and Dre Kirkpatrick Jr. provide depth at safety.
For South Carolina, Vicari Swain and Judge Collier will start at the corners, with David Bucey and Peyton Williams starting at the high safeties. The nickel safety will be either Quay’sheed Scott or Gerald Kilgore. J’Zavien Currence is the primary backup at safety, while Damarcus Leach is the primary backup at corner. Alabama has the edge in depth but it’s not overwhelming.
The real question is whether we’re going to bet on performance or reputation. If South Carolina had put up better raw numbers we’d probably take the Gamecocks at this point, but the difference on paper is minimal and Alabama has faced tougher opponents. Therefore, we believe the Crimson Tide will figure this one out. Advantage: Alabama
SPECIAL TEAMS
The one constant of any Shane Beamer team is excellent special teams. There isn’t really a weak spot on this Gamecock team, and the one thing that had been a bit shaky – placekicking – appeared to get solved against Mississippi State in the form of Malik Orsan taking over for Max Kelley. Orsan is 4-of-4 on field goals for the year, but the real news there is that he’s 2-of-2 from beyond 50 yards. Punter Mason Love is solid, and South Carolina ranks 36th in net punting. The Gamecocks are strong in the return game (7th in punt returns, 49th in kickoff returns), but it’s the kick defense that really gets noticed: 8th in punt return defense, 9th in kickoff return defense. Alabama leads the nation in net punting behind Alex Asparuhov, and placekicker Conor Talty has been perfect so far this season, but hasn’t been tested from long distance yet. Alabama ranks in the 70s in both kick and punt returns, with a couple of nice punt returns being wiped out by penalty, but the return defense has been solid: tied for 8th with South Carolina in punt return defense, and ranking 30th in kickoff return defense. We may get accused here of giving this one to South Carolina simply because of Beamer’s resume, but it’s hard to ignore the raw numbers, too. Advantage: South Carolina
OVERALL
Alabama leads in seven categories, South Carolina in one. But like both the Kentucky and Florida State games, it’s not the 7-1 advantage that is important, it’s the fact that a lot of the battles are close. In this case, all eight individual categories are competitive. As for the OL-DL cross-matchups, we think this is where Alabama will make its hay. We like the Alabama DL by a fair margin over the South Carolina offensive line, while the Alabama offensive line is in a push situation at worst with South Carolina’s DL, and may actually have a slight edge there.
For those reasons, we believe Alabama will be able to leverage its home-field advantage and post a victory in this game by an amount larger than the margins of the two most recent UA-USC contests. The key now, as it has been in both previous matchups, will be to keep South Carolina QB LaNorris Sellers contained. Not necessarily stopped, but at least limiting the damage. A lot of the weight will fall on the shoulders of a Tide defensive backfield that quite frankly, needs to prove it.
If Alabama can do that, and figure out the Mississippi State riddle next week in a visit to Starkville, it will set up a meeting of like undefeateds when Georgia comes to town on Oct. 10.
Alabama 31
South Carolina 20
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