What We Learned from Alabama's Commanding Win over South Carolina: Tide Takeaways

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— No. 8 Alabama has made it through the month of September with an unblemished record. The Crimson Tide beat South Carolina 49-18 at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday night.

Alabama (4-0, 2-0 SEC) was ready to play in the first half, and Keelon Russell's dynamic night started with a 75-yard touchdown to Lotzeir Brooks on the second offensive drive of the game. The Gamecocks (2-2, 0-2 SEC), put up a good fight, but a Daniel Hill touchdown in the fourth quarter and a forced fumble by Dijon Lee on the ensuing position killed the already small chances of a South Carolina comeback.

"What we did tonight was very special, so I really wanna thank the guys for playing their butts off, having an amazing game offense and defense," Russell said after the win.

The Crimson Tide looked like a dominant team at times on Saturday and showed even more flashes of the potential that is on this roster heading into the toughest month of the season.

Here are five of my biggest takeaways from the Alabama win for the latest postgame edition of Tide Takeaways:

Keelon Russell is growing up before our eyes

Russell is starting to make the plays in games that show why he was getting so much hype behind the scenes during spring and fall camp. Just four starts into his young career, and the quarterback had 400 total yards of offense and five total touchdowns.

With each game that passes, Russell looks more and more comfortable in the offense. Whether that's with some of the jaw-dropping throws he made, how much better he's already gotten at decision-making and protecting himself when running the ball, protecting the ball with no turnovers, stepping up in the pocket or avoiding sacks, he looks like a guy that's been starting for more than a month.

"I thought he made some more strides again tonight with his play-making ability and just putting the ball on the money, especially with the balls farther down the field," Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer said after the game.

Russell was very accurate, completing 78 percent of his passes. A few of the incompletions were accurate throws that were dropped by his targets. Russell connected on seven passes of 20 yards or more. His connection with the receivers keeps growing.

The deep ball to Brooks in the first quarter is the prettiest we've seen inside Bryant-Denny Stadium in a while. Alabama's starting quarterback last season, Ty Simpson, literally got picked in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, but Russell is already making plays that elevate what the Alabama offense can do at quarterback.

His poise will be tested as he heads back out on the road this week, but Russell is starting to look like a seasoned player despite his inexperience.

Some fans owe Ryan Grubb an apology

Alabama running back EJ Crowell breaks a tackle in the first half of the game against South Carolina on Sept 26, 2026. | Sarah Munzenmaier/Alabama Crimson Tide on SI

Alabama offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb had to issue an apology earlier in the week after criticizing fans for booing the offense early in the win over Florida State. While this reporter didn't hear many boos inside Bryant-Denny Stadium last week, it didn't take much scrolling through social media to find a large amount of fan displeasure with Grubb.

But the Crimson Tide has now put up at least 45 points in each of its first four games. (The defense has scored a touchdown in three of the four games to help boost the point total.) This is the first Alabama team to accomplish that feat since 2018.

Has it always been smooth sailing? No. Has this offense reached its full potential? Not even close.

Of the 11 players who started on offense against South Carolina, only two (Ryan Coleman-Williams and Michael Carroll) were regular starters for the Crimson Tide last season. It was going to take time for this offense to settle in with a new quarterback, an entirely new offensive line, young receivers and running backs.

Despite all that and some slow starts to games, Alabama still has one of the top scoring offenses in the country and still has room to grow. There will be better defenses that the Tide faces over the next eight weeks of the regular season, but maybe Grubb knows what he's doing with the offense he's been working with since January.

Defense showed maturity after first play, but there are still some concerns with explosive plays allowed

Alabama linebacker Luke Metz evades a tackle after recovering a fumble in the second half of the game against South Carolina on Sept 26, 2026. | Sarah Munzenmaier/Alabama Crimson Tide on SI

In his opening statement on Monday, defensive coordinator Kane Wommack called the explosive runs given up on the first two drives against Florida State "very disappointing things that we had worked specifically on," and Alabama gave up a 56-yard run from South Carolina's Matt Fuller on the first play from scrimmage.

The defense buckled down to force a field goal on that opening drive, which the Gamecocks missed. South Carolina followed it up with another drive right down the field, and Alabama got a turnover on downs in its own territory, once again stepping up when it mattered most.

The Tide's "Swarm D" had two key turnovers that led to the margin of victory being as large as it was. They also did a much better job getting off the field on third down, allowing the Gamecocks to convert on 3-of-14 tries.

However, the overall numbers the Gamecocks put up are slightly concerning, especially considering the performance against Florida State in the week prior. South Carolina had 419 yards of total offense, including a whopping 216 rushing yards. Alabama allowed seven rushing plays of 10 yards or more and six pass plays of 15 yards or more.

South Carolina has some really good pieces on offense, starting with quarterback LaNorris Sellers, but Alabama has the capability to be an elite defense. The tests will keep getting tougher, and Wommack will have to clean some things up on the defensive end if Alabama wants to make the College Football Playoff.

Red Morgan deserves more love in Alabama's DB room

Alabama's secondary was the biggest strength of the team coming into the season with names like Zabien Brown, Bray Hubbard, Keon Sabb and Dijon Lee on the roster, but it is junior Red Morgan leading the team in interceptions after he collected his second in as many games on Saturday night with a 23-yard pick-six in the second quarter.

🏡📞 @Rydarrius1

📺: ESPN pic.twitter.com/hQzEniecIB
— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) September 27, 2026

Morgan read the RPO perfectly.

"I was just trying to match them up, and I seen that he was trying to throw to No. 1, so I just got outside," Morgan said after the game.

The in-state junior is putting together a great season in his first year as a starter for Wommack's defense. Morgan had eight tackles against the Gamecocks and is up to 18 on the season through four games. He had 25 total tackles in all of 2025.

Alabama has a secondary loaded with talent, and Morgan has proven why he earned the trust of the coaching staff to be the starter at Husky this season.

"He's made some crazy plays," Alabama linebacker Luke Metz said. "Y'all have seen what in the game, but in practice... some crazy plays."

This feels like Kalen DeBoer's closest team at Alabama

Alabama wide receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams celebrates his touchdown in the first half of the game against South Carolina on Sept 26, 2026. | Sarah Munzenmaier/Alabama Crimson Tide on SI

I know talking about a team's energy or togetherness might sound a little woo woo to some of you, but the actions and words of this Crimson Tide team lead me to believe that this is the closest group of DeBoer's three teams in Tuscaloosa.

"This team is amazing," Russell said. "I love the dudes. I’m not even just talking about on the field. I’m extremely proud of everybody on this team. We’re a brotherhood. It’s a brotherhood like no other. The way they pick each other up on and off the field, the stuff they correlate with, the stuff they connect with. Everybody’s character is positive. We’re always going, we’re always sharpening each other. Defense sharpening the offense. Offense sharpening the defense. If it’s a bad play or a bad down or a bad drive, we count on each other, and that’s how we’re going to get through this year. It’s a lot of brotherhood into this. Our memo is ‘one’ for a reason.”

DeBoer commended the energy on Alabama's sideline, and Coleman-Williams feels like he has a big role in making sure the energy is in the right place for the team as a captain.

"Everyone on that sideline has done something," Coleman-Williams explained. "We’re all doing the same things. We’re grinding together, whether that’s a guy that never touches the field and had an excellent scout look throughout the week, he deserves it just as much as us. For us to have that energy on the sidelines because at the end of the day, we love our fans with all our might, but it’s about the 74 that’s on the field and how we execute in order for our fans to get excited for us."

Belief is a funny thing. When a team believes in each other, truly has "Mudita" and wants the guy next to him to succeed as much as he does himself, it can take a team a long way. Can DeBoer's closest team all be his best team? That's what we'll find out over the next three months starting with a top-25 clash at Mississippi State this week.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Twitter/X, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok for the latest Alabama news.

Add us as a preferred source on Google