No. 8 Alabama football will welcome South Carolina to town as the Gamecocks enter a pivotal stage of the Shane Beamer era.
A collapse against Mississippi State last week only furthered calls for Beamer’s axing, but a strong showing — and perhaps a win over Alabama after two years of coming up short — could do well for the sixth-year coach’s hopes to keep his job.
The Crimson White spoke with John Davis, the sports editor of The Daily Gamecock — the University of South Carolina’s editorially independent student newspaper — ahead of the Week 4 nighttime matchup.
Isbell: With Shane Beamer’s job potentially on the line, do you think the Gamecocks bring their A-game and make this game a close one, as they’ve done the past two years?
Davis: “I’d like to say yes, and before last week, I would have said yes, undoubtedly. I will give pause, because last year, this team really struggled to show signs of life. This team really struggled to put out an offensive product that was impressive, and somehow, some way, [LaNorris] Sellers played really well [against Alabama]. The offense played really well. I think it was one of their better-called games, and then in Carolina fashion, they fumbled it at the end. I think it would shock me if they came out and they kept this game within 10 points. They’ve shown me no reason to believe that they’re capable of operating the offense for four quarters.
“From what I’ve seen from Bama this season, and from what I’ve seen from South Carolina this season, these look like two teams on completely opposite trajectories. Excluding the defensive outing from Bama [in its] last game, they look like they’re gaining their footing offensively, and like you said, Russell’s getting more comfortable. For South Carolina, it looks like it’s a downturn that’s waiting to happen and I don’t know if Beamer makes it past Week 6. I know the buyout’s huge, but the culture that you’d expect on the sideline from an SEC football team leading by nine points, entering halftime, was absent. It’s an eye test thing, and it’s evident in the output and the record, but I don’t think South Carolina has the means to hang in this game this season.”
Isbell: When he was at Arkansas, Kendall Briles’ offense gave Alabama trouble in 2021. Do you think he and Sellers could have their best game thus far?
Davis: “I think the public sentiment around LaNorris Sellers right now is the most negative it has ever been. There’s a larger crowd than you’d expect asking for Cutter Woods to come and take over. I guess it is the SEC so there’s a little bit of understanding as to why some people might say something like that, but nonetheless, I think it makes things difficult leaving [the] Mississippi State [game]. But that isn’t to say, even when South Carolina is terrible — the first game after they fired Mike Shula last year, they went into Kyle Field at Texas A&M and went up 30-0.
“They could be spunky enough to hang in there and give them [Alabama] trouble, I will say that. From a logical standpoint, it makes no sense, but from a narrative standpoint, and an SEC standpoint, I think that there’s a way where this team outplays what they’re actually capable of on the field.”
Isbell: What is the key to the game for South Carolina and what is your score prediction?
Davis: “If I were to pick a key to the game, I think it’s four quarters of football, especially offensively. You can’t have your offense lulled asleep, and then your defense, despite how they’re playing, is on the field for 12 of the 15 minutes in a quarter. Or 20 of the 30 minutes and a half, because they’re going to get tired, and the other team is gonna have a field day, getting warm and being on the field as much as they are. So, it comes down to finding the groove of tempo, which the team has focused on all offseason and all the first three weeks. You need to find a balance of running hurry-up early and then also controlling the game and knowing how to kind of keep momentum and not shooting yourself in the foot, and playing like you’re up by 40 when you’re up by seven. So four quarters of football is gonna be vital for South Carolina, but I don’t think it’ll be enough. I don’t know if there’s a better environment in the country than a night game in Alabama. South Carolina, this past Saturday, played like they were on the road, and they were at home against a 19-year-old quarterback. You could tell in the first quarter they were going against a 19-year-old quarterback in his first road SEC start, and then it looked like it was the other way around. It looked like Mississippi State was comfortable enough, ‘cause they were in front of their home fans, and LaNorris Sellers was the kid on the road, and that was not the case. And I think those [struggles] return this week. I’ve seen nothing to believe that this team can overcome adversity because they haven’t in two calendar years. I think Alabama walks away with this one. I don’t think it’ll be as high-scoring, just ‘cause that’s what I think everyone will expect. I’ll go Bama 33, South Carolina 21.
The Crimson Tide and Gamecocks will kick off Saturday at 6 p.m. CT, and the game can be seen on ESPN.
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