Alabama football looks to keep rolling in SEC opener at South Carolina

Alabama football heads to Columbia to battle South Carolina in their SEC opener, looking to avenge a bitter defeat in the same venue nine years ago.

Alabama football coach Nick Saban can dismiss the 2010 loss to South Carolina all he wants, but undoubtedly he has used that game as motivation for his team as they open SEC play on Saturday afternoon in Columbia.

Nine years ago, the Crimson Tide was ambushed by Stephen Garcia, Alshon Jeffery, and the rest of the Gamecocks, and, borrowing a line from Saban this week, got the linen beat out of their britches.

That particular defeat has nothing to do with this game as most of the key players on the field were in middle school on that day in 2010, but that loss should serve as a warning for this iteration of the Crimson Tide to come ready to play.

Alabama will once again be a heavy favorite after dominating both Duke and New Mexico State to open the season. This will be its toughest test of the young season, but unless lightning strikes twice in the same venue, and South Carolina freshman quarterback Ryan Hilinski catches fire much like Garcia did nine years ago, then Alabama should have little trouble dispatching Will Muschamp’s Gamecocks.

Hilinski was terrific in his first career start, relieving an injured Jake Bentley and throwing for 282 yards and a pair of touchdowns as South Carolina defeated Charleston Southern 72-10 last week. As impressive as that performance was, Alabama’s deep and talented defense will provide a much stiffer challenge.

Will history repeat itself in Columbia, or will Alabama once again dominate an overmatched SEC foe?

Here’s how you can watch Saturday afternoon’s game between the Crimson Tide and Gamecocks:

Date: Saturday, Sept. 14
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Location: Columbia, SC
Venue: Williams-Brice Stadium
TV: CBS
Live Stream: CBS Sports Live | FuboTV

Keys to Victory

Tua Tagovailoa and Alabama’s deep receiving corps has looked as good as advertised through two weeks, but if Alabama is going to compete for another national championship, the running game is going to have to be more productive.

Last week’s 318 yards on the ground looks great on paper, but 149 of those game on two plays. Najee Harris and Brian Robinson have struggled to find running lanes behind a revolving door of offensive linemen. It might take the return of Deonte Brown in a couple of weeks for the Crimson Tide to reach their full potential up front, but maintaining offensive balance will be key on the road.

For South Carolina, can running back Rico Dowdle find some running lanes against a young Alabama front seven? The Crimson Tide has a lot of talent on the defensive front, but they’re still starting three true freshmen who have yet to be truly tested.

The Gamecocks will look to take advantage of them and get Dowdle going early in the game to open up the play-action game with Hilinski. Muschamp will want to be careful to not put too much on his freshman quarterbacks shoulders, so establishing the run will be paramount for the Gamecocks to have any opportunity at pulling the upset.

Betting Odds

Odds courtesy of Bovada

Point Spread: Alabama -26
Over/Under: 62

Prediction

Alabama’s defensive youth is a bit of a concern, but a deep secondary, and a talented pass rush, will make life tough on Hilinski on Saturday afternoon. South Carolina’s secondary is likely to find the sledding tough against Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs, and Alabama’s embarrassment of riches at wide receiver. Look for Tagovailoa to hit a big play early in the game to quiet a raucous crowd at Williams-Brice, and for Alabama to ultimately roll to an easy victory in its SEC opener.

Final Score: Alabama 48, South Carolina 14