No. 4 Alabama will travel to South Carolina to face the Gamecocks for just the 18th time on Saturday.
The Crimson Tide lead the series 14-3 overall, with a 4-2 record in games played in Columbia. Alabama won last year’s meeting in Tuscaloosa 27-25.
Here are a few things to watch this Saturday.
- Limit Lanorris Sellers
This season has been a fairly disappointing one for Lanorris Sellers. Coming into the season, he was thought to be one of the first quarterbacks taken in the 2026 NFL Draft and a Heisman hopeful, but the season has not gone as planned. Despite the low numbers, Sellers’ dual-threat capabilities are usually what give the Alabama defense fits. Keeping him inside the pocket will be a must.
- Trap Game
Coming off a stretch of facing four straight top 25 opponents, Alabama will finally square off against a non-ranked team in South Carolina. To avoid a slip-up, the Crimson Tide must take the Gamecocks seriously, even though they aren’t a ranked opponent. Head coach Kalen Deboer has had great success at home and against ranked opponents, but four of his five losses at the helm of the Crimson Tide have come against unranked opponents on the road.
- Rush the Passer
The Alabama pass rush should have a coming-out party on Saturday. So far this season, a pass rush has been nonexistent until last week’s four-sack performance. South Carolina’s offensive line is battling injuries and is allowing 3.71 sacks per game. The 26 sacks allowed to date marks 133rd in the nation.
- Avoid Non-Offensive Touchdowns
On paper, Alabama should run South Carolina out of their stadium, but in the SEC, anything can happen. The South Carolina offense is not very intimidating, but the Gamecocks find other ways to score when not on offense. South Carolina leads the country with six non-offensive touchdown,s including a pick six, two fumbles scooped up for touchdowns, and three punt return touchdowns. A non-offensive touchdown could keep the game close and turn up the pressure on the Crimson Tide.
- Establish the Run
Alabama’s lack of a run game hasn’t slowed the offense yet, but it has to get going to take the pressure off Ty Simpson and the passing game. Against the struggling rush defense of South Carolina, the Crimson Tide could build some momentum in the run game to help open up the field for the passing game.
Alabama will face South Carolina on Saturday at 2:30. The game will be televised by ABC.
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