Alabama’s Past Experiences Prepared It for Fourth-Quarter Comeback at South Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C.–– Doubts were piled on Kalen DeBoer and his Alabama team after the Crimson Tide's season-opening loss at Florida State. It looked like the same old issues from his first season in Tuscaloosa were going to plague Alabama once again.

It also appeared that was on Saturday night as the No. 4 Crimson Tide trailed South Carolina by eight points with 10 minutes to go in the fourth quarter. Instead, Alabama found a way to rally with a methodical drive on offense capped by a trick play two-point conversion to tie the game followed by a timely turnover forced by the defense.

Germie Bernard was in the end zone five plays later with the game-winning touchdown as the Crimson Tide came back to beat the Gamecocks, 29-22.

"I don't know if it's something we could have done, maybe right at the beginning of the season as far as finding a way to win this thing," DeBoer said after the game. "But our guys got fight. They certainly believe that sooner or later, they're going to make a play – either themselves or the other side of the ball."

Alabama came into Saturday's matchup in Columbia the winners of four straight games against ranked opponents, but the reason why Crimson Tide fans were fearful of the game was because of Alabama's road struggles against unranked opponents under DeBoer.

Much of the game was ugly for the Crimson Tide, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Alabama only had two rushing yards at halftime and had three straight three-and-outs in the second half before the game-tying touchdown drive.

Gamecock quarterback LaNorris Sellers gave Alabama all it could handle and had success through the air and on the ground. He finished with 222 passing yards, 67 rushing yards and two total touchdowns.

Mistakes in the second half allowed the South Carolina crowd to get back into the game. It got really loud inside Williams-Brice Stadium in the fourth quarter, and the fans around the student section were inching toward the field as the clock wound down, hoping for an opportunity to storm the field after an upset victory.

Alabama rallied when it needed to, sending the Gamecock fans in the opposite direction of the field as the clock hit zero.

"We knew that this was going to be a dog fight coming in, and if we didn't do what we needed to do it was going to take it into the fourth quarter," Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson said. "There was no ounce of unbelief."

Last season, Alabama lost to unranked Vanderbilt and Oklahoma on the road, plus a neutral-site loss to unranked Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl. The Crimson Tide opened the season with a defeat against, you guessed it, unranked Florida State.

Alabama's road results against unranked opponents under Kalen DeBeor

Date	Opponent	Result	Score
9/14/24	Wisconsin	W	42-10
10/5/24	Vanderbilt	L	35-40
11/23/24	Oklahoma	L	3-24
12/31/24	Michigan	L	13-19
8/30/25	Florida State	L	17-31
10/25/25	South Carolina	W	29-22

"I think the experiences we've had since then where we have come through and found a way," DeBoer said. "Understand that getting points at the end of the first half, and we didn't separate ourselves – I know we fell behind – but knowing that we've scored a lot of points over the course of the year.

“All you need is one touchdown drive. Again, that's easier said than done against a really good defense. But it's the resiliency piece. Leave it all on the football field and have no regrets. That's how I want our guys living and how I want our guys playing.”

When Alabama got punched in the mouth in those games, it folded. On Saturday night, the Crimson Tide showed its resiliency.

Obviously, this is a new team with new players, but there is still a lot of carryover from the 2024 squad with both coaches and players. The difference in 2025 is that Alabama is finding a way to win the tough games in critical moments.

"I think our experiences together from last year helped us be able to weather any storm this year, especially coming off the week-one loss and then fighting week after week," Alabama linebacker Deontae Lawson said after the game. "We know we’re built for any moment, and we can always find a way to win.”

Alabama is now heading into its second bye at 7-1 (5-0 SEC) with all of its big-picture goals still on the table. After the way the Tide looked against Florida State, I'm not sure there's anyone outside of the Alabama locker room that believed this is where the team would be seven games later.

The Crimson Tide won't have to leave the state of Alabama for the rest of the regular season. Alabama's next three games are all at home (LSU, Oklahoma and Eastern Illinois) before ending the season in Auburn for the Iron Bowl. Auburn, barring a huge turnaround over the next few weeks, will likely be unranked when it faces Alabama.

Alabama cleared a major test by beating the Gamecocks on Saturday night, but the final four games will really prove what this team is really made of and where it can go in the postseason.

"We've just got to refresh ourselves, refresh our minds and understand that this next stretch coming up is gonna be tough as well," Simpson said. "Every game in the SEC is going to be hard. This is gonna be refreshing–– get our mind right, get our body right so we can go into this next stretch with one thing in mind, and that's go 1-0."

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