Kalen DeBoer Believes 'We Aren't Done with the Stretch' of Tough Matchups

Alabama football made a bit of history following the 2025 edition of the Third Saturday in October this past Saturday.

Not only did Alabama become just the fourth team in SEC history to defeat four consecutive ranked opponents, but head coach Kalen DeBoer and company are the first-ever program in the conference to accomplish this feat without any open dates.

In other words, Alabama, which clinched bowl eligibility for the 22nd consecutive season following the victory, took down then-No. 5 Georgia and then-No. 14 Missouri on the road, plus then-No. 16 Vanderbilt and then-No. 11 Tennessee in each of the last four weeks.

Alabama is set to face unranked South Carolina on the road on Saturday. The Gamecocks are 3-4 this season, despite being ranked No. 13 in the preseason AP Top 25, and DeBoer is emphasizing the challenges that the Gamecocks will bring in Columbia, S.C.

"We aren't done with the stretch [of tough matchups]," DeBoer said during Wednesday's SEC coaches teleconference. "We're still in the stretch. We're not thinking ahead next week, where there's a bye week, we are thinking about where we're in the middle of our season. We're in the middle of the fight.

"And this is where teams really separate themselves, because some just kind of try to get through the back half here, we want to keep the pedal down, keep attacking and getting better. And I feel like our guys really have understood how we've gotten to this point, and the intentionality, the discipline to the process that goes into each and every week being successful on Saturday."

South Carolina didn't have the best start last season either, as the Gamecocks were 3-3 in the first half of the schedule. However, a switch flipped and South Carolina won its final six games of the regular season, four of which came against ranked opponents. The Gamecocks' last loss before the win streak came against Alabama, as the Crimson Tide scraped by 27-25 at home.

"Well, I think there are a lot of guys that understand, especially the ones that were here a year ago, how tough the game this was. South Carolina's in a similar spot, with a record and the way that they finished the season and the fight that they have, it was evident.

"They've got a lot of the same personnel, they've got a lot of Preseason All-Americans and projected draft picks on that team. We're going into their place, it's going to be a great environment, so we understand the challenge."

Kickoff between No. 4 Alabama and South Carolina at Williams-Brice Stadium is set for 2:30 p.m. CT on ABC.

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