There would be no one-score game between Alabama football and the South Carolina Gamecocks this time around. The Crimson Tide made sure of that with a dazzling first-half performance from quarterback Keelon Russell.
Russell threw touchdown passes on four of his first 11 completions, and Red Morgan returned a pick six 23 yards as the Crimson Tide rolled to a 49-18 victory over South Carolina at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday.
Heading into Saturday, the previous two matchups between Alabama and the Gamecocks had been decided by a combined nine points. Not this one.
Alabama (4-0 overall, 2-0 SEC), which was No. 8 in the US LBM Coaches Poll entering Week 4, ran 27 plays in the first half and scored 28 points on offense. The Crimson Tide had 318 total
yards at halftime, including 234 passing yards from Russell. The first-year starter and former five-star recruit had only two incompletions in the first half.
Russell opened the scoring with a deep ball to Lotzeir Brooks, who took it the remaining 30 yards for a 75-yard touchdown strike 5:53 to play in the first quarter. He then found Ryan Coleman-Williams wide open in the end zone for a 32-yard touchdown for a 14-0 lead with 30 seconds left.
Russell found Coleman-Williams again on a coverage bust at the 15-yard line for a 42-yard score that made it 21-3 in the second quarter. Josh Ford made a brilliant one-handed grab for a touchdown on Alabama's next drive, and Morgan jumped a Sellers pass and waltzed into the end zone for a 35-3 lead.
By the end of the night, Alabama totaled 489 yards of offense. Russell finished with only six incompletions, connecting on 21 of his 27 passes for 365 yards. He added a 9-yard touchdown run with 2:29 remaining in the game.
On the other side of the field, all South Carolina coach could do was watch. After the game, Beamer met with reporters to discuss his team's loss to the Crimson Tide. Here's what the Gamecocks' coach said:
Shame Beamer reflects on South Carolina's 'embarrassing' performance in loss to Alabama football
"Give Alabama credit. That's a really good football team. We knew that coming in here. They're explosive and really talented. We knew that, and they showed that tonight. Having said that, we were too inconsistent tonight. And when you have the inconsistencies that we had, you get your ass embarrassed in this league, and that's what happened. You get beat by 31 on the road when you're inconsistent and up and down.
"We're not a consistent enough football team right now, and that's what I just told the players. We've got to be more consistent. We showed signs tonight of some really good football. Really proud of the way we competed in the second half, the way we responded in the second half. It's no surprise. I knew our guys would, but in this league, if you don't finish drives in the red zone and you turn the ball over and you give up explosives on defense, which is what we did tonight, that's a recipe for what happened tonight.
"I'm the head coach. It's on me, and I've got to get us playing more consistent football throughout four quarters and not as up and down as we are right now."
What South Carolina football coach, players saw on Alabama DB Red Morgan's pick six
Linebacker Justin Okoronkwo, who finished with seven tackles, said:
"They weren't set. We were trying to play fast and we knew that we were going to have to (get) stops this week. He ran out there, collision defender. He made a good play on the ball."
"And on that, I think you've got to give their guy credit," Beamer added. "(Morgan) is a really good football player and he made a really good play on that play."
Shane Beamer discusses Gamecocks' coverage busts in loss to Alabama football
"Yeah, that's just really disappointing. I mean, we gave up a touchdown in 3-deep coverage and it wasn't like we were unorthodox in anything we were doing. It was some base zone coverages tonight, 2-deep and 3-deep. Give (Alabama) credit. They had some really good calls at times, or a lot of the times, for the coverages we were in. Give them credit. They have a really, really good offense and a really good offensive scheme. Put us in some tough positions, but we've got to be able to make plays.
"I thought our guys settled down and were better in the second half. That last drive was really disappointing to give up another explosive (play) down the middle when some of those coverages should have been dead plays for what we were in, just to be totally honest. We've got to look at who we have out there, at what we're calling, and continue to put our guys in positions to make plays. We've played way too good a defense around here for a long time to give up whatever it was tonight, 365 yards in the passing game.
"Coming into this game, we said we needed to do two things to win the football game: run the ball and affect the quarterback. We clearly did not affect the quarterback enough."
Shane Beamer offers terse response about confrontation with star defensive end Dylan Stewart
Beamer and Stewart were seen in a heated exchange in the first half. Beamer downplayed the incident in his postgame remarks and said:
"We're both fiery and competitive guys, and it's a fiery, competitive environment. That's what being in the arena is like."
It wouldn't be the first time ESPN's cameras caught Stewart in a contentious moment.
South Carolina coach 'embarrassed' by player's personal foul against Alabama
South Carolina was assessed a 15-yard penalty after Dylan Stewart threw a punch at Alabama tight end Josh Ford following a 1-yard touchdown run by Daniel Hill in the fourth quarter.
Stewart was not disqualified from the game, though ESPN's rules analyst said he believed Stewart's actions should have resulted in an immediate ejection.
Beamer told reporters after the game:
"It's OK to play with emotion, but not be emotional. I saw the play that he got the penalty on. I didn't see it until just now (but) that's unacceptable. That's not how we do things around here. I'm embarrassed to see that because that's not what we're about.
"Didn't see it during the game. I knew we had a penalty. I didn't know what happened. We've got a lot of fiery, emotional, competitive guys, and I love that. When you're in the arena, the emotions are high. I love the way that he plays, but we've got to make sure -- and not just with Dylan but with all of our players -- to make sure it's not affecting us in a negative way."
Shane Beamer discusses bizarre fourth-down play call against Alabama
South Carolina faced fourth-and-2 from the Crimson Tide 25-yard line with just over six minutes to play in the first quarter. Rather than put the ball in Sellers' hands, the Gamecocks ran a direct snap to tight end Brady Hunt that Alabama stuffed for no gain.
Beamer said of the play call:
"It was something that we talked about on the first short-yardage situation that we were going to get to. We liked it, We ran the exact same thing basically two years ago on a fourth-and-1, fourth-and-2 play against Kentucky up in Lexington. We did the same thing. Brady motioned in, got under center and we converted on it. We dressed it up a little bit differently with how we aligned, but (it was) the same play we did against Kentucky two years ago. So, it was successful in Lexington in 2024. LaNorris was on the field and it wasn't successful tonight, and you open yourself up to criticism.
"So, give (Alabama) credit. They defended it really well. We had the look that we wanted, but both of their defensive tackles did a nice job of pitching into the A gaps and recognizing what was going on. They defended it. When you don't convert on fourth (down) in a short-yardage situation, you certainly look at plays you could have (done) differently.
"But I liked our short-yardage plan coming into the game. I heard (Kendal Briles) make the play call and I was good with it. Give (Alabama) credit. They did a nice job of defending it."
Is LaNorris Sellers the right quarterback to lead South Carolina after Alabama loss?
Beamer was asked that question in his postgame news conference. Sellers was 18 of 30 for 185 yards with one touchdown and one interception for a quarterback rating of 77.5. He also rushed 13 times for 72 yards.
"Yeah, I thought he made some really gutty plays tonight and gave us a chance with some of the throws he made. We thought that was a great response when he threw the ball to Nyck Harbor for the touchdown right before halftime and gave us some momentum going into it. Had a nice drive there and did some good things. Like anybody, there are some plays that he'd like to have back, but he gave us a chance with his arm and his legs. We've got to continue to help him as coaches and then also the players on the field around him, too."
Watch Beamer's full postgame press conference below.
Alabama football schedule 2026
All start times Central.
- Sept. 5: vs. East Carolina Pirates (W, 48-10)
- Sept. 12: at Kentucky Wildcats (W, 45-17)
- Sept. 19: vs. Florida State Seminoles (W, 50-36)
- Sept. 26: vs. South Carolina Gamecocks (W, 49-18)
- Oct. 3: at Mississippi State Bulldogs, 11 a.m., ABC
- Oct. 10: vs. Georgia Bulldogs, prime time
- Oct. 17: at Tennessee Volunteers, TBA
- Oct. 24: vs. Texas A&M Aggies, TBA
- Nov. 7: at LSU Tigers, TBA
- Nov. 14: at Vanderbilt Commodores, TBA
- Nov. 21: vs. Chattanooga Mocs, 1 p.m., SEC Network+
- Nov. 28: vs. Auburn Tigers, TBA
Record: 4-0 overall, 2-0 SEC.
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This article originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire: What South Carolina coach Shane Beamer said about Alabama after loss
