Alabama faced the possibility of suffering another upset in the Southeastern Conference, but they managed to pull through this time, albeit narrowly.
No. 7 Alabama (5-1, 2-1) mishandled the recovery of an onside kick, giving South Carolina one final opportunity. However, Domani Jackson intercepted LaNorris Sellers just as time ran out, allowing the Tide to secure a 27-25 victory.
This was Alabama’s third consecutive game decided in the final moments, having previously defeated then-No. 2 Georgia 41-34 before losing 40-35 to Vanderbilt.
“Another game down to the wire,” said Tide coach Kalen DeBoer. “We’re kind of getting used to these. There are things we can improve to prevent these situations, but we always talk about finding a way to win. Even when it seemed like we might not, we did.”
With just 43 seconds left, Sellers connected with Nyck Harbor for a 31-yard touchdown, but the Gamecocks (3-2, 1-3) failed to score on the two-point conversion.
They managed to recover the following onside kick, but Sellers’ last-ditch pass toward the end zone was intercepted by Jackson with 13 seconds remaining.
“We expected to win this game,” said South Carolina coach Shane Beamer. “No one was celebrating at halftime because we were close to Alabama. We anticipated this because we have a strong team. Competing in this conference is tough.”
Jalen Milroe contributed a 7-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter and later connected with Germie Bernard for a 34-yard touchdown to help Alabama escape the challenge. It wasn’t the convincing win they had hoped for.
“It’s not the victory we wanted,” said Alabama defensive lineman Tim Smith. “It should have been more dominant and physical, but a win is a win.”
Milroe stepped up when needed, despite throwing two interceptions and being called for intentional grounding in the end zone, which led to a safety. On a crucial third-and-10, he found Bernard open downfield with 1:54 remaining, capping a 10-play drive.
“There were several safe options we discussed for that play, and I think they were aggressive trying to cover those,” DeBoer explained. “There was a deeper route, and I’m glad Jalen recognized it.”
