Four of Keelon Russell's first 11 completions went for touchdowns, and the Alabama Crimson Tide rolled to a 49-18 win over the South Carolina Gamecocks Saturday night at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Russell started 9-for-13 for 226 yards. He had two touchdown passes to Ryan Coleman-Williams and one each to Lotzeir Brooks and tight end Josh Ford before halftime. Red Morgan picked off a LaNorris Sellers pass and returned it 23 yards for an interception as the Tide built a 35-3 lead.
Alabama finished the night with 489 yards of offense. Russell had only six incompletions for the game, connecting on 21 of his 27 passes for 365 yards. He added a 9-yard touchdown run with 2:29 remaining in the game.
Alabama (4-0 overall, 2-0 SEC) will face the Mississippi State
Bulldogs (4-0, 2-0) in a battle of September unbeatens at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville in Week 5.
Kickoff for Alabama-Mississippi State is 11 a.m. CT. The game will be televised on ABC.
In the meantime, here's where the Crimson Tide are ranked in Sunday's new US LBM Coaches Poll.
Alabama football rises in Coaches Poll again as one SEC rival falls, another surges
Alabama is ranked No. 7 in the Week 5 US LBM Coaches Poll, up one spot from last week. The Crimson Tide are ranked one spot below the Ohio State Buckeyes and are one spot ahead of Florida Gators.
Alabama is now the third highest-ranked SEC team. The Crimson Tide moved past Ole Miss, which fell six spots to No. 12 following the Rebels' 52-28 blowout loss to Florida in Gainesville.
The Gators had by far the biggest jump in the Coaches Poll of any team that was ranked last week. Jon Sumrall's team rose 14 spots from No. 22 last week.
Penn State had the biggest drop of any team in the rankings, falling eight spots to No. 22 after giving away a 17-0 lead in a loss to Wisconsin.
New Coaches Poll top 25 rankings after top-10 shakeup
With Ole Miss falling in Week 4 and Florida entering the top 10, the upper-tier of the Coaches Poll look a bit different this week.
Here's a look at the full top 25 rankings in the US LBM Coaches Poll heading into Week 5.
Schools Dropped Out
No. 19 Louisville; No. 20 Texas A&M; No. 23 Washington; No. 24 Oklahoma;
Others Receiving Votes
Oklahoma State 126; Kentucky 123; Boise State 112; Pittsburgh 97; Virginia Tech 84; Nebraska 67; Wake Forest 48; Louisville 42; Wisconsin 39; Cincinnati 35; Auburn 22; Washington 20; James Madison 17; Virginia 15; Texas A&M 14; Northwestern 12; North Dakota State 11; Massachusetts 9; New Mexico 7; Minnesota 7; Oklahoma 6; Clemson 5; Arizona 3; Western Michigan 2; UTSA 2; West Virginia 1;
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 (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: How far did Alabama football rise in US LBM Coaches Poll after South Carolina win?
