No. 4 Alabama 29, South Carolina 22: Upon Further Review

The veteran Crimson Tide defensive tackle was unable to make his 2025 season debut until September 27 at Georgia. The four tackles he amassed against the Gamecocks, in his best game of the campaign, represented a season-high output in that regard.

2. Ryan Williams had seven catches but was targeted 11 times.

Sophomore standout Ryan Williams caught all of his targets against Tennessee, making some tough catches along the way. Though he had two more receptions at South Carolina, he also had six more targets than the previous game. Perhaps the biggest instance where this made an impact on the game was in the third quarter, when Williams couldn't haul in a pass at the South Carolina 30 on a fourth-down conversion attempt. On the very next play, Sellers threw a 54-yard touchdown pass to bring his team within two points.

3. Ty Simpson's 43 pass attempts tied for the most he has had in a game this season.

Ty Simpson has only thrown 40 or more passes in a game twice this fall: in the season opener at Florida State and on Saturday at South Carolina. In both instances, he made 43 pass attempts, passing for one more yard against the Seminoles. Despite that, he made one more completion against the Gamecocks. He finished the South Carolina game with 253 yards and two scores.

4. Germie Bernard led Alabama in rushing against Tennessee. In the next game, a tailback led the team in receiving.

Sophomore running back Daniel Hill has received increased playing time this month and taken advantage of the opportunity. Days after offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said he thinks Hill's role is poised to expand more, the tailback made four catches for 76 yards in Columbia, with a long of 41 yards on Alabama's touchdown drive to end the first half.

5. Germie Bernard's touchdown run, his longest of the game, eclipsed his total number of rush yards in the contest.

Bernard was not the Crimson Tide's leading rusher again on Saturday, but he had the most important run play of the game for the visitors. The 25 yards he gained on that play pushed him to 23 yards overall on the ground. He has made himself one of the wrinkles to the Alabama rushing attack, showcasing his versatility.

6. Both teams were perfect in the red zone.

Alabama converted on both of its chances in the red zone in the game; South Carolina did the same with its three opportunities. The difference? When the Crimson Tide made it that far down the field, it scored touchdowns. Three of South Carolina's first four scoring plays in the matchup were field goals; the Gamecocks also had a miss in there.

7. DaShawn Jones' pick-six was a key moment, and was also his first interception since 2023.

Defensive back DaShawn Jones making a first-quarter house call on a Sellers interception proved to be a crucial moment in the game, as the play ultimately accounted for half of Alabama's scoring in the first 30 minutes, and every point counts in a one-possession game. It was also the first interception Jones brought in since 2023 at Wake Forest, when he had three while Nick Saban was still the Crimson Tide's coach.

8. Alabama's linebackers were a wrecking crew.

Lawson, Justin Jefferson and Nikhai Hill-Green have all been playing great football in recent weeks. The tandem came together on Saturday for 21 combined tackles, with each member of the group recording seven. All of Hill-Green's tackles were of the solo variety. Lawson and Jefferson tallied nine solo tackles between them.

9. South Carolina's leading receiver among those who had more than one catch was a running back.

Nyck Harbor has been a thorn in Alabama's side for two seasons, and he made his lone catch in the 2025 game count: a 54-yard touchdown grab in the third quarter. Running back Rahsul Faison led the home team in catches, with four, and receiving yards by a Gamecocks player with more than one reception (47). Sellers can make an opposing defense hurt in more ways than one, and he was South Carolina's leading rusher with 67 yards.

10. South Carolina won the battle for time of possession on the strength of a lopsided first half in the category.

The total time of possession in Saturday's matchup favored South Carolina by approximately five minutes (32:38 to 27:22). The bulk of that can be credited to the first half, when the Gamecocks had the football for 19 minutes and 24 seconds. Alabama still went into the locker room with a 14-6 lead.