Alabama leads South Carolina 35-10 at halftime, and here is what Alabama needs to do to close this game out:
Continue to get the football to playmakers
Alabama quarterback Keelon Russell was exceptional in the first half, and he found his top playmakers through the air multiple times. On the first play of Alabama’s second drive, Russell fired the ball to Lotzeir Brooks for a 75-yard touchdown. In the first half, Russell connected with wide receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams four times for 86 yards and two touchdowns.
Also, running backs EJ Crowell and Trae’shawn Brown created their fair share of explosive plays in the game. Even NC State transfer Noah Rogers got in on the action and caught a 36-yard ball from Russell.
The Crimson Tide are loaded with weapons, and as long as Russell continues to see the field as well as he did in the first half, this game could get worse for the Gamecocks.
Bend, Don’t Break on defense
For the most part, Alabama’s defense did a great job of keeping South Carolina out of the end zone despite all of the big plays that the Crimson Tide have allowed in this game early in drives.
Ideally, the Crimson Tide would want to give up no yards and come up with a stop every possession, but in reality, there will be times that mistakes happen or the other team makes a great play.
The Gamecocks shot themselves in the foot multiple times in the first half, especially on the first drive of the game. Running back Matt Fuller broke a massive run to get the Gamecocks in scoring position early, but the penalties that occurred on ensuing plays pushed the Gamecocks back. That drive resulted in a missed field goal for South Carolina. The Crimson Tide were able to stop the Gamecocks on the second drive in Alabama territory when South Carolina tried a sneak play on fourth down.
South Carolina has players that can make explosive plays, but putting points on the board is what matters. The Gamecocks did score a touchdown before the end of the half, so the Alabama defense will need to tighten up in the secondary to prevent a comeback.
Continue to neutralize South Carolina’s pass rush
One of the top things that was talked about a good bit ahead of this game was the pass rush of South Carolina. So far, South Carolina has failed to record a sack vs. Alabama, and the Gamecocks only have one quarterback hurry.
If Alabama’s offensive line continues to play well, Russell may have a monstrous stat line when this game is over.
