The first SEC home game for the Alabama Crimson Tide, as well as the first night game of the year at Bryant-Denny Stadium, comes in Week 4 of the 2026 college football season. Coach Kalen DeBoer's team hosts the South Carolina Gamecocks.
Alabama (3-0 overall, 1-0 SEC) is No. 8 in this week's US LBM Coaches Poll and AP Top 25 poll after defeating the Florida State Seminoles, 50-36, behind quarterback Keelon Russell's best performance yet. South Carolina (2-1) is unranked after falling to Mississippi State, 41-34, in Week 3.
Russell, the five-star recruit in the class of 2025, had 376 all-purpose yards in the Crimson Tide's win over Florida State. He threw for 320 yards and three touchdowns, completing 23 of his 30 passes. Russell also took off
for an electric 57-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter.
For the second straight week, Alabama fell behind early but rallied thanks to a big second quarter and second half. The Tide ended the day with 567 yards of total offense and ran for 247 yards behind Daniel Hill and true freshmen Trae'shawn Brown and EJ Crowell, who all had touchdown runs.
South Carolina's loss to Mississippi State came after the Gamecocks raced out to a 16-0 lead in the second quarter. Quarterback LaNorris Sellers completed 25 of his 40 passes for 282 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also ran for 52 yards on 14 carries. South Carolina had 431 yards of total offense in the loss.
Alabama's last two games against the Gamecocks both went down to the wire. The Crimson Tide erased an eight-point deficit in the final three minutes to escape for a 29-22 win in Columbia last season and used an interception by Domani Jackson in the end zone to prevail, 27-25, when South Carolina visited Tuscaloosa in 2024.
Is another close game in store Saturday?
Quarterback among Gamecocks to know vs. South Carolina in Week 4
— Roll Tide Wire (@RollTideWire) September 22, 2026
📸 Jeff Blake, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect https://t.co/nGfQQrMsxx pic.twitter.com/W0AWs1Xge2
Will Alabama football beat South Carolina in Week 4 SEC showdown?
Ahead of Alabama-South Carolina, ESPN's Bill Connelly predicted the final score using his popular SP+ metrics. Connelly has the Crimson Tide winning by nine points, which is slightly below the oddsmakers' 12.5-point spread.
His final score prediction: Alabama 30, South Carolina 21.
Connelly gives the Crimson Tide a win probability of 72%.
Where Alabama football sits in ESPN SP+ rankings entering Week 4
Alabama is No. 11 in ESPN's SP+ team rankings, down one spot from last week.
The Crimson Tide have an overall rating of 19.5 (down from 21.2). Alabama is one spot below the Tennessee Volunteers (20.2) and one spot ahead of the Penn State Nittany Lions (19.1) in ESPN's team rankings.
To break down Alabama's rating by units, SP+ gives the Crimson Tide a 34.5 rating on offense (No. 18 nationally, up two spots from last week) and a 14.7 rating on defense, which is No. 10 nationally and up seven spots from before the win over Florida State. In special teams, Alabama is given a minus-0.3 rating, which ranks 104th nationally.
South Carolina is No. 26 in the SP+ team rankings with an overall rating of 13, one spot below Louisville and one spot ahead of Washington. The metrics give the Gamecocks a 31.7 rating on offense that's No. 34 nationally, a 19.3 rating on defense that's No. 25 nationally, and a 0.5 rating in special teams (No. 13).
What are ESPN SP+ rankings?
According to Connelly, SP+ is "simply a measure of the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football. If you're lucky or unimpressive in a win, your rating will probably fall. If you're strong and unlucky in a loss, it will probably rise."
"SP+ is not a résumé ranking, so it does not automatically give credit for big wins or particularly brave scheduling -- no good predictive system does," he adds.
Alabama football vs South Carolina: start time, channel for Week 4
TV channel, commentators for Alabama football vs. South Carolina
— Roll Tide Wire (@RollTideWire) September 22, 2026
📸 David Leong, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect https://t.co/0KdIZuW0FJ pic.twitter.com/gwPmkoR7Qy
Kickoff for Alabama-South Carolina in Week 4 of the 2026 college football season is 6 p.m. CT Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPN. Dave Pasch and Dusty Dvoracek will have the call of the game. Taylor McGregor will report from the sidelines.
Additionally, the Crimson Tide Sports Network feed of the game featuring Alabama radio voice Chris Stewart and Tyler Watts can be heard on SiriusXM channel 230 and The Varsity App.
Alabama football schedule 2026
All 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, 6 p.m., ESPN
- Oct. 3: at Mississippi State Bulldogs, 11 a.m. or 11:45 a.m., ABC, ESPN or SEC Network
- 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: 3-0 overall, 1-0 SEC.
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This article originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire: ESPN predicts the final score of Alabama football vs. South Carolina
