No. 4 Alabama survived its trip to Columbia and defeated South Carolina 29-22 Saturday night.
“The story of the game is resiliency,” head coach Kalen DeBoer said.
The Gamecocks won the coin toss and elected to receive, interestingly, putting some confidence in its 127th-ranked offense.
South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers and company ran offensive coordinator Mike Shula’s opening script to perfection, taking up 7:22 of the clock and advancing into the Crimson Tide red zone. However, a third down tackle by defensive lineman James Smith forced South Carolina to settle for a 24-yard field goal.
Alabama proceeded to go three-and-out, giving the home squad some momentum with a 3-0 lead and possession with 5:27 left in the first quarter.
That momentum lasted for all of one commercial timeout.
With an amped up Columbia crowd behind him, Sellers threw a pick six to Crimson Tide safety DaShawn Jones on the first play of the ensuing drive, giving Alabama a 7-3 lead just 10 seconds of game time after the punt.
The teams then traded three-and-outs. But a couple of Gamecock chunk plays set up South Carolina with a fourth down on the verge of field goal range as time expired for the quarter. Kicker William Joyce’s attempt hooked to the right, giving Alabama the ball back.
Despite converting a third-and-20 in its own territory, the Crimson Tide left the field without points. This came after quarterback Ty Simpson was sacked and fumbled at the Gamecock 42, breathing new life into the home crowd early in the second quarter.
After a drive that featured what seemed like penalty after penalty, South Carolina was once again forced to attempt a field goal. This time, Joyce drilled the chip-shot to make it a 7-6 game in favor of Alabama with 4:23 left in the half.
The Crimson Tide offense appeared to retrieve its lost mojo on the next drive, which ended with a touchdown reception by tight end Josh Cuevas on fourth-and-goal. Simpson and his unit marched 81 yards in nine plays to take a 14-6 lead with just under two minutes left in the half.
A sack of Sellers and two Gamecock incompletions later, and the Crimson Tide was taking over at its own 35 with 1:23 on the clock, looking to strike before the half. While it did put the ball near the red zone, Alabama ultimately was unable to add to its total before players departed for the locker rooms.
On the other side of the half, Alabama turned the ball over on downs after wide receiver Ryan Williams dropped a deep pass on fourth down. South Carolina took over in great field position at its own 47 with 11:08 on the clock in the third.
On the first play of the ensuing drive, Gamecock wide receiver Nyck Harbor dashed by the Crimson Tide defense and hauled in a 54-yard touchdown reception. South Carolina then attempted a 2-point conversion to try to tie the game;, however, Sellers’ pass was incomplete through the back of the end zone. The visitors were now grasping onto a 14-12 lead with 10:59 left in the third.
Alabama’s offense then returned to stagnation, going three-and-out again and giving the Gamecocks the ball and a chance to take the lead with 9:58 left in the third.
After both teams punted, South Carolina took over and drove onto the brink of field goal range. On fourth down from the Alabama 29, Joyce connected on a 47-yard field goal to put the Gamecocks ahead 15-14 with 1:38 left in the third quarter.
As if it were regularly scheduled programming, the Crimson Tide once again went three-and-out, punting right before the end of the quarter.
Now, with 15 minutes left to play and the sun setting in the capital of the Palmetto State, Alabama found itself on defense and down 15-14 to the 3-4 Gamecocks.
The Crimson Tide quickly forced South Carolina to punt; however, disaster struck. Returners Cole Adams and Jaylen Mbakwe collided under the hanging punt, resulting in the ball touching Mbakwe and being recovered by South Carolina. The Gamecocks took over in prime scoring position at the Alabama 30.
Sellers then put his team in control with 10 minutes left with a 10-yard touchdown rush to make the score 22-14.
Simpson led the Crimson Tide slowly down the field and threw a touchdown to wide receiver Germie Bernard. But that didn’t matter. Alabama still needed to convert on a 2-point conversion attempt to get the game tied.
The Crimson Tide converted on the trick play of all trick plays to tie the game at 22 with 2:16 left, as if it were clockwork and the offense hadn’t struggled throughout the previous 58 minutes of the game.
Both DeBoer and Simpson noted that the play is one that the team works on weekly.
With students lined up on the edge of The Cockpit, ready to add to the list of stormed fields this season, Sellers fumbled the football with the ball at the Gamecock 38.
Alabama linebacker Deontae Lawson scooped it up.
“God is amazing,” Lawson said. “I haven’t really been playing up to my standard that I want to, but I know I’ve been putting in the work, doing whatever I need to do.”
On third-and-10 from the USC 25, Bernard took a direct snap all the way to the end zone to give the Crimson Tide an improbable 29-22 lead with 34 seconds left in the game.
Alabama put an exclamation point on the victory by sacking Sellers as time expired.
DeBoer called it a “tough environment” and said that he was “proud of the way the guys hung in there.”
Alabama now heads into a much needed bye week after a brutal gauntlet of SEC showdowns.
