Alabama looks to keep its win streak going as it hits the road to face South Carolina. Alabama is on a six-game winning streak, ever since Kalen DeBoer switched back to wearing the black hoodie on the sideline. Black hoodie or not, Alabama comes in as a big favorite in this game, and there are bold predictions to be made on the contest.
Alabama has moved to 6-1 on the year and is one of the top teams in the nation. After falling in Week 1 to Florida State, the team has been great. This includes wins over four straight ranked teams. They defeated Georgia on the road, then Vanderbilt at home, and Missouri on the road. Last week, the Crimson Tide faced Tennessee. Alabama dominated early, including taking an interception back for a touchdown on the last play of the first half. They went on to win the game 37-20.
Meanwhile, South Carolina may be one of the worst teams in the SEC this year. South Carolina got off to a 2-0 start with wins over Virginia Tech and South Carolina State, but is just 1-4 in SEC play. The only win was a 35-13 victory at home over Kentucky. Last time out, the offense struggled heavily. South Carolina faced Oklahoma, and a second-quarter touchdown kept the game close early, with the Gamecocks down just seven at halftime. Regardless, the third quarter saw three three-and-outs plus an interception, as South Carolina fell 26-7.
Jam Miller gets going again
The Alabama offense has been solid this year. They are 19th in the nation in points per game while sitting 34th in yards per game. While the offense has been good, the run attack has not been. Currently, Alabama is 94th in the nation in rushing yards per game this year. Alabama also has just two players with over 100 rushing yards this season.
One of those is Kevin Riley. Riley has 181 yards on the year and has played in all seven games. He started the year strong in place of Jam Miller, running for 100 yards over the first two games, but has not done much with limited opportunities since then. Miller is the other one over 100 yards this season.
He has run for 282 yards over four games, after missing the first three of the season due to injury. In his first game back, Miller struggled, running the ball 16 times for just 46 yards. The next two weeks were better, running a total of 44 times for 221 yards and a touchdown. Last week was back to struggles, though. He ran the ball 12 times for 15 yards and one score.
South Carolina is allowing over 160 yards per game on the ground, which is 86th in the nation. This is a perfect chance for Miller to get going again, and he will. Expect him to have nearly 100 yards and to score in this game.
Ty Simpson strengthens his Heisman campaign
Ty Simpson is starting to get some major Heisman buzz. He has been great this year, leading Alabama to the 11th-ranked passing attack in the nation. He has completed 153 of 218 passes for 1,931 yards and 18 touchdowns. He does have one interception, but has also scored twice on the ground. Meanwhile, he has thrown for over 200 yards in every game this year and accounted for at least two touchdowns in each game.
The South Carolina defense, as a whole, has been solid. They are 29th in the nation in opponent points per game while sitting 39th in opponent yards per game. The passing defense has been great as well. South Carolina is 22nd in the nation in opponent passing yards and ninth in interception rate.
Just last week, South Carolina held John Mateer to just 18 of 26 passing for 150 yards and one touchdown. They also held Beau Pribula of Missouri to just 171 yards, a touchdown, and an interception.
Ty Simpson is going to prove to be different in this one. He has yet to have a game under 200 yards of passing, and will not in this one either. Further, he is also not going to lose his streak of multiple touchdown passes. Simpson may not throw for 300 yards, but he is still going to have the best game a quarterback has had against this defense this year.
Alabama gets the shutout
The Alabama offense has been solid, but the defense has been just as good. They are currently 16th in the nation in opponent points per game while sitting 17th in opponent yards per game. Moreover, they are third in opponent red zone score. Finally, they are 18th in the nation in 19 takeaways per game.
Meanwhile, South Carolina has struggled on offense. They are 121st in the nation in points per game while sitting 122nd in yards per game. They have not been good in the red zone, sitting 127th in red zone scoring this year. They also give the ball away a lot, averaging 1.3 turnovers per game this year.
In the last four losses, South Carolina has scored over ten points just one time. Meanwhile, the team has been held to just seven points twice, and while Oklahoma and Vanderbilt have good defenses, Alabama is better.
Alabama has been allowing a fair amount of points recently, allowing 14 or more points in each of its last four games. Regardless, that was agaisnt four ranked opponents, and the lowest total was against Vanderbilt.
This gam is a complete mismatch. Where South Carolina struggles, Alabama can exploit. Where South Carolina is good, Alabama is elite. South Carolina has won three of the last seven times these two teams have faced off. They have also won two of the four times at home. The Crimson Tide is just too good in this one. Alabama is going to win this game with ease and take the shutout in the process.
