The Alabama Crimson Tide
put their foot on the gas early and never truly let up against South Carolina
, but one stretch of play kept this from being a perfect night in Tuscaloosa.
The Alabama Crimson Tide
put the South Carolina Gamecocks
to bed on Saturday night. Maybe they put head coach Shane Beamer to bed, too, because that was an absolute dismantling on national television. Alabama
came out fast, hit hard, and put on a show from the opening whistle. So let's get into the winners and losers from what was a phenomenal Crimson Tide
performance.
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Brooks finished with 2 catches for 78 yards and a touchdown, and that score broke the game wide open. It was a huge pass from quarterback Keelon Russell
that absolutely exposed the safety. Brooks got wide open, and the rest was history. He and Russell continue to form rapport, and they look phenomenal together. That connection could be a massive weapon as the schedule stiffens.
Ryan Coleman Williams was all over the football field making plays, finishing with 5 catches for 98 yards and 2 touchdowns. No drops, involvement in the run-blocking game, and when the ball was in his hands, he was electric. When you allow Williams to have a two-way go, when you match him up in press man, he is as efficient a route runner as we have in the sport of college football. Phenomenal game from a player who looks locked in.
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The man distributing the ball to those playmakers had himself a night. Russell finished 21-for-27 for 365 yards and 4 touchdown passes. The past 2 weeks from Russell have been Heisman-worthy. They have been first pick in the NFL Draft-worthy.
Now, Alabama has yet to face the stiffest competition. That's going to change soon with Mississippi State
next week, and then the likes of Georgia, Tennessee
, Texas A&M
, and LSU
loom on the schedule. We're going to find out just how good Russell and this team are. But he was phenomenal again on Saturday night.
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Keelon Russell full stats vs. South Carolina
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77% completion percentage
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Winner: the offensive line
Russell and those wide receivers aren't going to get open and have time to throw if not for the pass protection from that unit. The run game didn't produce the gaudiest numbers compared to last week against Florida State
, but the displacement was still there. Running back EJ Crowell had a phenomenal game in terms of highlight-worthy plays, and that starts up front. Huge shout-out to the offensive line.
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Switching gears to the defense, Red Morgan delivered a huge pick-6 that solidified the game being over for Alabama despite it being in the first half. He had a great game with multiple tackles all over the field. Morgan plays the husky position, that star corner/nickel safety role, to a phenomenal standard. He looked incredible on Saturday night.
Winner: LB Luke Metz
Luke Metz tallied 13 tackles, a fumble recovery, and a big-time play on special teams. I thought he had a game of his life for Alabama. He looked very good and was involved in every phase of the game.
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Winner: OC Ryan Grubb
We know Ryan Grubb kind of stepped in it during the week with his comments
about the fans, but he didn't give the fans anything to boo about on Saturday. That was the hardest, fastest, and best that Alabama came into a game that we've seen in a long time. The first-half script was phenomenal. What Grubb and the offense did by putting their foot on the gas throughout the first quarter and into the second quarter was a great look. Shout out to Grubb for his early game plan.
Loser: the third-quarter Alabama Crimson Tide
My only loser is the third quarter Crimson Tide. Similar to what we've talked about in weeks past with slow starts, Alabama had South Carolina dead to rights. The Gamecocks' players were not quiet quitting but loud quitting on the sideline. We saw what Dylan Stewart
did to Beamer. The game was over, and Alabama let South Carolina creep back into it. The score was 35-18 at one point before the Crimson Tide finally put it away.
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This team needs to get to that next level. They need to have that foot-on-neck mentality that Russell preached about, where it doesn't matter what the score is. You go out for blood, go for the jugular, and get the job done. That's the only blemish on what was otherwise a phenomenal game, start to finish for Alabama.
This article was originally published on A to Z Sports. Read the full story here: 7 winners and 1 loser from Alabama's massive win over South Carolina: Crimson Tide cruise to victory after explosive start
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