Alabama narrowly escaped an upset against South Carolina with a thrilling finish in the fourth quarter.
In Tuscaloosa, Alabama faced the possibility of enduring a second consecutive Southeastern Conference defeat but managed to secure a 27-25 victory over South Carolina. The No. 7 Crimson Tide (5-1, 2-1) initially struggled with a botched recovery of an onside kick, which provided the Gamecocks (3-2, 1-3) a final shot at scoring. However, Domani Jackson intercepted a last-second pass from LaNorris Sellers, sealing the win for Alabama.
This match marked the third consecutive game for Alabama that went down to the wire, following a victory against then-No. 2 Georgia and a loss to Vanderbilt. Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer acknowledged the team’s recent patterns, noting, “We’re kind of getting accustomed to those… As many times as it looked like we weren’t, we did.”
With just under a minute left in the game, Sellers connected with Nyck Harbor for a 31-yard touchdown, but South Carolina’s attempt to convert a two-point play was unsuccessful. After recovering the onside kick, Sellers’ final attempt toward the end zone was intercepted by Jackson.
South Carolina coach Shane Beamer expressed the team’s determination, saying, “Nobody was coming in here at halftime doing cartwheels because we were in a tight game with Alabama… Life in this conference is really hard.”
Alabama’s Jalen Milroe contributed significantly with a 7-yard touchdown run and a late 34-yard pass to Germie Bernard, although the victory wasn’t as convincing as the team had hoped. Defensive lineman Tim Smith reflected on the game, stating, “It should have been a lot more dominant and physical, but a ‘W’ is a ‘W,’ man.”
Milroe’s performance included 16 completions on 23 attempts for 209 yards, along with two rushing touchdowns. Sellers completed 23 of 31 passes for 238 yards with two touchdowns, finishing with the interception.
Despite heading into the fourth quarter with a lead, South Carolina missed a golden opportunity to extend it when Alex Herrera’s 51-yard field goal attempt fell short. Milroe capitalized on a fumble from Sellers, scoring a touchdown that brought Alabama within one point after a failed two-point conversion attempt.
The momentum swung drastically before halftime as South Carolina reduced Alabama’s early 14-0 lead down to just two points with a mix of timely plays and Alabama’s mistakes.
Beamer noted the resilience of his team, stating, “There was some crazy stuff but our guys just kept hanging in there.”
In light of this game, South Carolina appeared to have improved since their previous loss to No. 9 Mississippi, while Alabama’s performance raised questions about their earlier dominant displays.
Looking ahead, South Carolina is scheduled to face No. 18 Oklahoma on October 19, while Alabama will take on No. 8 Tennessee the same day.