First look at South Carolina vs. Alabama: Gamecocks are three-TD underdogs vs. Tide

South Carolina’s football team came out on the wrong end of a difficult matchup with a talented Ole Miss team. A big issue was a range of missed chances and undisciplined mistakes that kill a team gunning for an upset.

Next up is another step in an absolutely brutal stretch of the season with No. 7 Alabama, a national title contender that’s coming off a stunning loss. The Crimson Tide knocked off Georgia two weeks ago but then lost at Vanderbilt in one of the more shocking upsets of recent memory.

SOUTH CAROLINA VS. ALABAMA GAME, TV INFO

Who: South Carolina (3-2, 1-2 SEC) vs. Alabama (4-1, 1-1 SEC)

Where: Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

When: Noon Saturday

TV: ABC

POINT SPREAD

The Gamecocks are 22-point underdogs against the Tide, according to Circa Sports. The over/under for points scored is 50.5 points.

LAST MEETING, TRENDS

South Carolina suffered a 47-23 loss the last time the Crimson Tide came to Columbia, as quarterback Ryan Hilinski’s first SEC start wasn’t enough against an offense loaded with future NFL talent. USC is behind in the all-time series 13-3.

STATE OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS

South Carolina is in the midst of a run where any win changes the complexion of the season. Between Ole Miss, this one against the powerhouse Tide, a trip to Oklahoma and hosting Texas A&M, Shane Beamer’s team will have multiple chances to win as an underdog.

The Ole Miss game showed a streak of sloppiness that the USC staff will have to get a handle on with the rest of the schedule starting to look more fearsome. There were bad penalties, odd decisions, an unforced turnover, blown coverages and even a banal physical error that led to a game-changing score. A team that doesn’t play clean will have a bad time in the SEC.

The offense once again had a rough showing coming out of the bye, averaging 4.1 yards per play. There were issues moving the ball and a noticeable lack of big plays. (The Rebels seemed to be playing to prevent that.) If this group can’t find more consistency or at least explosiveness, it will be a hard road ahead.

State of the Alabama Crimson Tide

Alabama is coming off one of the wildest two-week swings in recent memory and maybe they history of the sport.

They beat a loaded Georgia team in dramatic fashion after racing out to a big lead and then losing most of it. Last week, they lost to a Vanderbilt team that had won three of its previous 43 SEC games. The loss — Kalen DeBoer’s first as the Tide’s coach — dropped Alabama from No. 1 to No. 7 in the latest Associated Press Top 25.

Through most of the season, the Tide offense had been an absolute train, deploying quarterback Jalen Milroe’s deep passing and power running to perfection. They also have a pair of gifted receivers and a scheme that makes opponents defend the entire field. (Turnovers were a problem last week.)

The biggest issue in the 40-35 loss to Vandy was the defense, which got stung for some big passing plays. They gave up a 16-of-20 day to Commodore quarterback Diego Pavia and just didn’t have any shutdown moments. Every Vanderbilt drive got at least 25 yards, and only one was fewer than six plays.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

South Carolina QB LaNorris Sellers: The second-year signal caller came back from injury and didn’t show much consistency against Ole Miss. Trying to solve an athletic Tide defense will be another very tall task. He has thrown for 555 yards, with two scores and three interceptions, while running for 200.

South Carolina DT T.J. Sanders: If the Gamecocks are going to make a game of this, they will probably need some high-end disruptive playmaking. Sanders is an interior guy who can deliver that, with 21 tackles, including two for loss and sack, as well as a couple QB hurries.

South Carolina S Nick Emmanwori: South Carolina is going to have to corral an attack that blends a good bit of speed and downfield passing with a high-level of physicality. That’s where a guy like Emmanwori, who is big, hard-hitting and at his best can control things from the secondary, is extremely valuable. For the season he’s posted 29 tackles, picked off two passes and broken up two more.

Alabama QB Jalen Milroe: The second-year starter is an absolute bear to get a handle on. He is a tank of a runner and has a cannon on deep balls, so the offense mostly asks him to run with power, hit receivers deep and otherwise orchestrate short throws. For the season, he has 1,274 passing yards, 283 rushing yards and 20 combined touchdowns.

Alabama S Malachi Moore: If Moore had been playing at this level for the entirety of his career, it’s pretty unlikely he would be in year five with the Crimson Tide. There are stretches of games where he really seems to be everywhere, disrupting passes and delivering ferocious hits. As a leader of the back end of the defense, he has posted 19 tackles, 1.5 for loss, four pass break-ups and a forced fumble.