No. 7 Alabama needs a fourth-quarter surge and defensive poise to hold off South Carolina and avoid disaster

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – There are SEC teams that pride themselves on their quiet, tireless march to victory, and there are teams that live in chaos, every game an adventure where victories are not certain, but madness is. Alabama used to be one of the former teams. Now, in the Kalen DeBoer-Jalen Milroe era, it's exactly the latter.

No one within a hundred miles of Tuscaloosa would admit it, but last week's loss to Vanderbilt shook the Tide to its core. You could see it in the secondary ticket market that collapsed in the hours after last week. You could see that in the empty seats all over the top of Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday. And you could see that in the final 97 seconds of the first half, when the Tide defense completely fell apart, allowing 12 points — on three different possessions — to the visiting South Carolina Gamecocks.

Yes, Alabama won in a deeply unconvincing 27-25 victory after intercepting South Carolina on a potential game-winning drive in the final seconds.

The Gamecocks were stopped on a potentially game-winning two-point attempt in the final minute and got another shot when they recovered the ensuing onside kick. But Domani Jackson singled out SC quarterback LaNorris Sellers in the final seconds to save the day for the Tide.

But wow, are there problems in T-Town?

It makes sense, the flood's shattered self-image. If you base your identity on a generational expectation of excellence, you're not exactly designed to take Vanderbilt's defeat to your core. If the sun rose blue in the west, that would be pretty annoying too.

Given a chance to redeem itself for Vanderbilt with a home game against South Carolina, Alabama once again inexplicably fell far short of expectations. Instead, the Tide did a whole lot to reinforce the idea that the team that hung straight on Georgia in 28 was the aberration, and the team that beat the Commodores is much closer to the true 2024 Tide.

Alabama took the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards to the end zone in just four minutes, and for a moment the Crimson Tide's fortunes seemed to have turned back in the expected direction. When the Tide took a 14-0 lead with 4:38 left in the first half, it wasn't pretty, but at least it was a two-possession lead, something the Tide never did against Vanderbilt.

But then came the final 1:37 of the half, 97 seconds that defined this year's Tide program and likely ended the Heisman hopes of Alabama QB Jalen Milroe. First, the Alabama defense suffered another stunning defensive blunder that allowed Gamecock receiver Mazeo Bennett Jr. to get deep in the end zone on a fourth-and-9. This reduced the lead to 14-7.

On the ensuing possession, Milroe, under pressure, intentionally dropped the ball on the ground, resulting in a safety. Alabama forced South Carolina to punt, but Milroe then threw the first of his two interceptions. The clock appeared to have expired, but officials reset a second… and that's not good news for Alabama. South Carolina kicked a field goal to get through halftime and make it 14-12.

The Gamecocks kept the rhythm going in the third, putting together a monster 16-play, 85-yard, 8½-minute drive that ended with a touchdown. The stunned aura of What the hell is going on? hung thick over Bryant-Denny Stadium, and when Milroe threw an interception in the end zone on the Tide's next possession, disbelief turned to fatalism.

But this is the Alabama of 2024, where nothing goes as expected. On the very next play, South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers fumbled the ball away, and Alabama converted it into a touchdown to retake the lead in just 1:23.

From then on, Milroe and his crew righted the ship and fought for victory. Milroe made some amends by running for a 7-yard TD and throwing the game-winning 34-yard score to Germie Bernard on third-and-10 with less than two minutes left in the game.

Alabama fans could breathe a sigh of relief right now.