South Carolina vs Alabama: Taking an Early Look at the Crimson Tide

South Carolina's grueling schedule doesn't get any easier as the fourth ranked Alabama Crimson Tide come rolling into town this Saturday at 3:30 pm (ET). What should Gamecock fans be on the lookout for? We take a look below.

Every week we take an early look at each of the Gamecocks' upcoming opponents and Alabama is no different. Kalen DeBoer 's squad has turned things around since an opening week loss at the hands of Florida State. They have battled their way back into the top five of the AP Poll rankings and look like a potential national title contending team.

In this past weekend's win over Tennessee, the Tide showed their an efficient offense that has a defensive unit that is capable of making plays when it needs to. While the score was lopsided at 37-20, the game was closer than the score indicated. Alabama can beat any team in the country, but as week one showed, they can be beaten as well. South Carolina will have to have a lot of things go right to come away with an upset in this one and we will get to that this week, but for now let's focus on what the fans and team should be on the lookout for this weekend.

Ty Simpson

In Kalen DeBoer's offensive system, the quarterback makes a big difference. While not a bad team in 2024, that offense wasn't as efficient as it needed to be with a different style at the quarterback spot. Now in 2025, Ty Simpson is playing like one of the best players in the country despite only starting seven games in his career. Simpson is completing over 70 percent of his passes for 1,931 yards, 18 touchdowns, and only one interception. He's also added 66 yards on the ground and two more touchdowns.

Simpson is what makes this offense go despite not having a running game that lives up to the Bama standard. He's quick, decisive in his throws, and doesn't make mistakes by letting the game come to him. South Carolina's secondary is going to have to find a way to make him make a mistake on Saturday to slow this machine of an offense down.

Wide Receivers

The college football world was introduced to former five-star Ryan Williams on a national stage against Georgia in 2024. However, he may not be the biggest threat in this passing attack. The true sophomore has caught 26 passes for 423 yards and three touchdowns. He's the most explosive receiver on Bama's offense and is one of the best players in the country in yards after catch.

However, the player South Carolina fans may want to keep their eye on is Germie Bernard. Bernard is the do-it-all option in this offense. He has caught 33 passes for 472 yards and five touchdowns. He is a guy who is able to routinely separate from coverage and provide an open target for his quarterback. DeBoer and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb try to find ways to get him the ball routinely either through the air or on jet sweeps. Clayton White's defense will have to keep their eye on Bernard all afternoon long this weekend.

In the early looks each week we typically only look at a couple areas to watch out for this weekend. Alabama certainly offers more than just their overall passing game and we will get more into that, more so defensively, later in the week.

Join the community:

Follow Alex Joyce on Twitter: @AlexJoyceSI
Follow Matthew Peavy on Twitter: @TheMattPeavy
Follow Isaiah Collins on Twitter: @IsaiahCEC
Follow Joey Walraven on Twitter: @thejoeywalraven
Follow Luke Brumm on Twitter: @lukebrummcfb

You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the top right-hand corner of the page. Also, be sure to follow us on X at @GamecocksDigest and on Facebook!

You Might Also Like: