Alabama didn’t waste much time answering the call for a faster start.
After opening with the usual three-and-out, Keelon Russell lit the fuse on the fourth snap of the night, finding Lotzeir Brooks for a 75-yard touchdown. From there, the Crimson Tide kept pouring it on. Russell threw three more first-half touchdown passes, Red Morgan added a pick-six, and Alabama walked into halftime with a 35-10 cushion.
The second half never offered much suspense. Alabama stalled on three straight possessions to start the third quarter, then found the end zone twice more and finished off South Carolina, 49-18.
Russell keeps taking another step
Keelon Russell looked like a quarterback who has started to figure things out.
After an uneven showing in Lexington and a sharper second quarter against Florida State last week, he carried that momentum into this one. Against South Carolina, he produced 400 total yards of offense and five touchdowns.
The scoring sequence told the story. Russell connected with Brooks to jump-start the night, then hit Ryan Coleman-Williams for two touchdown passes and Josh Ford for another. He finished it off with a rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter.
After only four starts, Russell already looks like one of the best players in the country. The unsettling part for everyone else is that he still seems to be just getting started.
The tight ends are doing damage in the passing game
Alabama’s tight ends have already made their presence felt this season by helping move bodies at the line of scrimmage and powering a much-improved run game. Against South Carolina, they showed they can do a lot more than that.
Kaleb Edwards and Marshall Pritchett were both active in the passing attack, combining for six catches and 104 yards.
Then Josh Ford delivered the play everyone will remember from the group, rising to snag a Russell pass in the end zone with one hand.
That kind of production gives a clear answer to why Alabama’s offense is humming the way it is.
Protection held up when it mattered
South Carolina finished with two sacks, and Alabama didn’t run the ball quite as cleanly as it had over the previous three games. Even so, the Crimson Tide’s pass protection stood out.
Russell had time to work, and that mattered on throws like the first-quarter deep ball to Brooks. It was a slow-developing route, a double move stretching across the field, and Alabama’s line held long enough for Russell to drop in the dime.
With time like that, Russell is a tough problem. Add in the receivers around him, and the offense becomes even harder to slow down.
There was also a concern on the injury front. Left guard Will Sanders and right tackle Jayvin James both left the game and did not return. Mal Waldrep stepped in at left guard, while Tyrell Miller took over at right tackle.
EJ Crowell brings the juice, but the details still matter
The backfield talent is obvious, and the player who brings the most explosiveness is 5-star freshman EJ Crowell. He has another gear, his contact balance jumps off the screen, and every touch feels like it could turn into something bigger.
But the rough edges are still there.
Crowell missed a pass protection assignment that led to a sack on Russell. Later, on a 1st-and-goal play, he reversed field on a toss sweep, lost nine yards, and got swallowed up. That kind of move may have worked in high school, but it won’t hold up in the SEC.
He still finished as Alabama’s leading rusher, and DeBoer and Ryan Grubb keep working him into the mix. If he sharpens the pass protection and reins in the extra dancing, it’ll be hard to keep him off the field.
Metz and Morgan bring an edge on defense
Every defense needs a little bite, and Luke Metz and Red Morgan delivered it.
Metz came downhill with a couple of punishing hits, and Morgan played with the same kind of bad intentions. He picked off a pass for the second straight week and turned it into a pick-six that made it 35-3 in the second quarter. He also blew up a screen and smashed a South Carolina receiver.
That edge showed up all night, and Alabama made sure South Carolina felt it.
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UABs 24-20 win over Navy at Protective Stadium was the kind of result that reverberates a little louder around Alabama football circles, even with the Crimson Tide not on the field. It was UABs first-ever victory against Navy, a meaningful marker for a program still trying to carve out more moments that register beyond its own fan base.
Afterward, the scene in the press conference room added to the nights feel-good edge. Marlin Dean, Bam McReynolds and Ty Mims took time to thank every reporter by shaking hands, while coach Alex Mortensen praised the team and the importance of the win. The defensive effort also stood out, with Todd Granthams influence on that side of the ball drawing attention as UAB enjoyed a breakthrough that felt bigger than one November result. [Read more 🡒]
Kalen DeBoer Just Entered An SEC Debate Alabama Fans Know Well
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For Alabama fans, the larger debate is one they know well from years of living inside it, because the standard at this level is never just about competing, it is about surviving the games everyone expects you to win. LSUs heavy investment in football has only sharpened the stakes, and with a Texas A&M matchup carrying real playoff consequences, the entire conversation turns on one unsettling idea: in the SEC, a single result can change how a season, and a coach, is judged. [Read more 🡒]
Nick Saban Just Reopened Alabamas Favorite Tennessee Rivalry Wound
Nick Saban didnt need much time at College GameDay in Knoxville to remind Tennessee fans of one of the most lopsided chapters in recent rivalry history. By pointing to his record against the Vols and joking that his teams had smoked 16 of 17 cigars in those matchups, he brought an old sore spot right back to the surface, and the crowd let him know exactly how it felt about the reminder.
Saban kept going from there, backing Texas to beat Tennessee in the teams upcoming game and nodding to a past Vols celebration involving goalposts. For Alabama fans, it was the kind of familiar swagger that comes with years of dominance, but for Tennessee, it was another public reopening of a wound that never seems to fully close. [Read more 🡒]