Alabama's Monstrous First Half Sparks Victory Over South Carolina

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — No. 8 Alabama's kryptonite of starting slow was vanquished during Saturday night's 49-18 home win over South Carolina.

The Crimson Tide beat Kentucky and Florida State by multiple possessions over the past couple of weeks, but UA was trailing near the halftime mark in each of those contests. It's been a priority for head coach Kalen DeBoer, offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb and defensive coordinator Kane Wommack to fix, and Alabama couldn't have started much stronger against the Gamecocks.

Well, to be exact, the beginning of the game made it seem like the slow starts would continue to be a theme after South Carolina running back Matt Fuller ran 56 yards on the very first play. It would be all for none as the Gamecocks proceeded to miss a field goal, but the Tide went three-and-out on its first possession.

But then a switch flipped. South Carolina made its way near the red zone, but Alabama's defense stuffed the run on fourth-and-short. And on Alabama's very first play — and quarterback Keelon Russell's first throw — that followed, he found wide receiver Lotzeir Brooks streaking over the middle for a 75-yard touchdown.

The party was just getting started in Tuscaloosa, as the Crimson Tide's next three drives resulted in touchdowns, all of which were passes by Russell. It's only the sixth time since 2018 that an Alabama quarterback threw four touchdowns in the first half of an SEC game. The full-game program record was set by Tua Tagovailoa with six against Ole Miss in 2019.

Wide receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams scored the first two on Saturday night from 32 and 42 yards out. Tight end Josh Ford dropped around 100,000 jaws in Bryant-Denny Stadium after leaping for a one-hand catch in the end zone. And speaking of offseason transfers making big plays, Russell connected with Noah Rogers on the wide receiver's first snap of the season (knee injury) for a 36-yard gain one play before Ford's touchdown.

Alabama's defense mostly responded well to the offensive onslaught during the first half, and an exclamation point was provided by Husky Red Morgan, who picked off South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers on USC's first play of the drive and returned it to the house to give the Tide a 35-3 lead.

Alabama and South Carolina's meetings over the last two seasons have been nail-biters, with a combined nine-point score margin (both Tide victories). Alabama had 27 offensive plays in the first half with 35 points on the scoreboard — over one point per snap.

That said, the Gamecocks ended the first half on a strong note via a 41-yard touchdown catch by Nyck Harbor. That may have left a bad taste in the mouths of the Alabama as UA failed to do much of anything in the third quarter. The Crimson Tide tallied just 40 total yards in the period compared to the 172 in the first quarter and 146 in the second.

South Carolina scored again and converted the two-point attempt, but that woke Alabama up early in the fourth quarter following a subpar third period. Russell proceeded to lead a 10-play, 74-yard drive that ended in a one-yard touchdown run by Daniel Hill. The run game wasn't at its best for the Crimson Tide on Saturday, but the air raid more than made up for it.

The defense finished the game out from that point forward, as linebackers Luke Metz and Caleb Woodson each logged double-digit tackles. Metz also recovered a fumble forced by cornerback Dijon Lee Jr. Shortly after, Russell had his fifth touchdown and first on the ground with two minutes remaining.

Alabama moves to 4-0, including a 2-0 clip against the SEC. The Crimson Tide will have another intraconference game next Saturday on the road against Mississippi State.

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