re: Bama Football Tidings

2-4-7 Primer: Alabama at South Carolina (BamaOnLine)

Nick Saban on WR group: 'The best that I've ever had on a team' (BamaOnLine)

crimsontater

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He had one during the National Championship game against UGA

i had totally forgotten about that. i know it freaked me out watching the replay last saturday. sure hope they get that straightened out for him.

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Reportedly: his mom said that he has a history of seizures... wondering if this had any play in his deciding to transfer? Bama could have told him they were going to have him thoroughly checked out and he was afraid of what they may have found out and chose to move on where he would be clean? (wild arse speculation, only thing I have here)

9/12/2019 6:27:00 PM

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Crimson Tide Holds Final Full Practice Prior to Saturday’s SEC Opener
Alabama will take on South Carolina for the 16th time this weekend
Story Links

South Carolina Preview 1:33 Tua Tagovailoa, Jerry Jeudy, & Terrell Lewis Preview South Carolina Matchup

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama wrapped up preparations for this weekend's Southeastern Conference opener with a helmets and shorts workout at the Hank Crisp Indoor Facility on Thursday.

Thursday's practice was the Tide's final tune-up prior to the team's 2019 SEC Southeastern opener at South Carolina. The Tide and the Gamecocks will meet Saturday, Sept. 14, at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C. The matchup will air at 2:39 p.m. CT on CBS with Brad Nessler and Gary Danielson in the booth and Jamie Erdahl working the sidelines.

Alabama and South Carolina will meet for the 16th time in series history when the two teams square off on Saturday with the Crimson Tide holding a 12-3 (10-4 NCAA) advantage in the series. The matchup will also be the ninth time the two schools have met since South Carolina joined the SEC in 1992 with Alabama leading, 5-3, in league parings. The Crimson Tide also maintains a 3-2 mark in Columbia.

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Get all the latest information on the team by following @AlabamaFTBL on Twitter and Facebook and AlabamaFBL on Instagram. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.

Alabama offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood (70) leans back in reaction to a touchdown by Alabama wide receiver Jerry Jeudy (4) in the first half of the New Mexico State-Alabama game on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019, at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Laura Chramer)
A look at the key factors in Alabama-South Carolina By Mike Rodak | mrodak@al.com

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No. 2 Alabama (2-0) vs. South Carolina (1-1)

When: 2:30 p.m. CT, Saturday
Where: Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia, SC
TV: CBS
Line: Alabama -25.5

This game will determine...
If any of the flaws Alabama showed in its first two games will be a concern in SEC play. Alabama outscored Duke and New Mexico State, 104-13, but played far from perfect football. “I think it’s going to be important that we learn how to focus for 60 minutes and play a complete game,” Nick Saban said Wednesday. Alabama went three-and-out on back-to-back drives at home against New Mexico State but still dominated the scoreboard because of their superior talent. That task will be tougher against a conference opponent in a true road environment.

Three things to look for...
1. Can offensive line settle in? Bama’s front line has been in flux early this season because of injuries to Chris Owens and Emil Ekiyor. Both missed last Saturday’s win over New Mexico State, forcing Landon Dickerson to slide over to center. The shuffling seemed to have an effect on the running game at times, as Alabama had 10 runs of three yards or less in non-short yardage situations against the Aggies. South Carolina’s notes for its game against Alabama describe the Gamecocks as having “easily the best defensive front in both depth and talent assembled at South Carolina since the days of Jadeveon Clowney and company raised havoc throughout the SEC.”

2. Will Alabama find non-traditional ways to run the ball? Tua Tagovailoa took a friendly jab this week at the official scoring of his 75-yard backward swing pass to Henry Ruggs III to open last Saturday’s game with a touchdown. While Tagovailoa surely wanted the passing stats, the play was scored as a run and highlighted how offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian can succeed in giving his athletic receivers the ball, whether it’s through downfield passing or not. End-arounds and the screen game involving Ruggs, Jerry Jeudy and Jaylen Waddle might be an effective substitute if the backfield cannot move the ball.

3. Can Will Reichard carry over his confidence to the road? The freshman kicker earned some trust from his teammates when he converted 48 and 49-yard field goals in last Saturday’s home win. The kicks drew huge cheers from a Bryant-Denny Stadium crowd that had grown restless from past kicking woes. The next test for Reichard will be making big kicks on a road stage in the SEC, beginning Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium. Saban said Wednesday he had yet to decide whether Reichard or Skyler DeLong would punt, but Saban emphasized the strength of South Carolina’s special-teams units.

Key matchup
Alabama’s wide receivers vs. South Carolina’s cornerbacks. Alabama can claim the country’s best receiver depth chart and it includes two likely first-round picks in Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III. The Gamecocks are young at cornerback, with a pair of sophomores (Jaycee Horn and Israel Mukuamu) expected to start with a freshman, Jammie Robinson, in the slot.

By the numbers
4.64 — Alabama’s top three running backs in terms of carries (Najee Harris, Brian Robinson Jr. and Jerome Ford) are averaging 4.64 yards per carry, the worst mark by a Bama backfield trio through the first two games of any season during the Saban era.

South Carolina player to watch
Ryan Hilinski, quarterback. The Gamecocks lost starting quarterback Jake Bentley for the season because of a foot injury suffered on the final play of a season-opening loss to North Carolina. That forced Hilinski, a true freshman into the starting lineup last week against Charleston Southern. He threw for 282 yards and two touchdowns while playing three quarters of a 62-point blowout, but now must face the nation’s No. 2 team in his second career start. All eyes will be on Hilinski against Nick Saban’s defense.

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Alfano is still not in the transfer portal per Charlie Potter:

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As expected, Antonio Alfano did not travel to Columbia. But the freshman defensive lineman is still not in the NCAA transfer portal.

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South Carolina - Total Yards ...459

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Just garbage. Is there any value in defense anymore?

#2 Alabama vs South Carolina Highlights | NCAAF Week 3 | College Football Highlights
11:42
not the greated video... but its the 1st one out there
Wheels
21.7K subscribers
Alabama visited South Carolina in week 3 of the 2019 college football season. It was relatively close in the first half, however the Crimson Tide were able to pull away in the second half, and pick up another win.

Alabama vs South Carolina 2019 college football highlights Week 3
11:11
All sports Highlights

Alabama's Najee Harris rushes past South Carolina's Zacch Pickens for a first down during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Richard Shiro)
AL.com instant analysis: How Alabama finished off South Carolina on wild day By Michael Casagrande | mcasagrande@al.com

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For a while, that 2010 magic hovered over Williams-Brice Stadium on a hot afternoon.

As the sun dipped, the fleeting South Carolina momentum slipped unlike the last time these two met on this field. Alabama, though uneven in its performance, did enough to finish off the Gamecocks 47-23 on a weird day in Columbia.

Tua Tagovailoa did his thing with 444 passing yards on a career day for DeVonta Smith as a young Gamecock quarterback announced his arrival. Ryan Hilinski just couldn’t sustain the four-quarter performance of Stephen Garcia from the 14-point upset South Carolina pulled in 2010.

Tagovailoa’s five touchdown passes tied the school record while completing 28 of 36 passes for a passer rating of 227.2.

South Carolina (1-2) made it interesting when cutting the edge to 14-10 late in the first quarter. The hosts just couldn’t finish enough drives while rolling up 459 total yards to Alabama’s 572.

Big plays in different ways

Alabama’s offense came out firing with a steady dose of the RPOs that were almost primarily passes. In fact, the Tide running backs ran it just six times in 31 first-half plays. They were, however, still active in the offense.

Najee Harris caught two touchdown passes before halftime including a career-highlight play. His 42-yarder in the second quarter saw him stiff arm one tackler before hurdling another. One more broken tackle and it was 24-10. Harris also had the first score on an efficient five-play, 65-yard drive that also set the tone for DeVonta Smith’s busy day. A wheel route to Harris made it 7-0.

Of note, Alabama had 16 receptions before halftime and only one by All-American Jerry Jeudy. He was targeted on a pass into the end zone in the second quarter but an underthrown ball was almost intercepted. Jaylen Waddle also had a quiet day with his first catch coming in the fourth quarter and the Tide up 40-16.

Smith and Henry Ruggs got most of the looks including a slant to Ruggs that went 81-yards for a touchdown and a 14-3 edge.

The key moment for Alabama’s offense came on Harris’ second score. They handed it to the junior from California three straight plays for nine yards. With the ball on the South Carolina 42, they went for it on fourth down. And when no Gamecocks shadowed Harris out of the backfield, he had the space to catch it, turn up field and set up the twin moves that dropped jaws.

Alabama’s ability to throw the ball effectively to running backs was a question with such proficient pass-catchers Josh Jacobs and Damien Harris now in the NFL. Brian Robinson also had two catches for 37 yards to go with Najee Harris’ 87 on five carries.

There were still issues to correct coming from this one. There were pass protection issues on the second drive and the running backs didn’t have a run longer than 12 yards.

South Carolina wasn’t playing it safe

South Carolina wasn’t there Saturday to cover the spread.

Will Muschamp went gambling a few times with varied success. First, a fake field goal was a touchdown called back by a holding flag that drew vigorous disagreement from the home crowd.

A fake punt in the second half deep in Gamecock territory was not as well conceived or executed. Alabama, however, didn’t make them pay since a facemask penalty took the following drive off rhythm and Will Reichard missed a 37-yard field goal.

The freshman from Hoover was 2-for-3 on field goals with successful chip shots from 23 and 21 yards, respectively. An old Alabama nemesis popped up late, however, when attempting an extra point in the fourth quarter. A drilled upright evoked memories of the Tide’s nine missed PATs from 2018.

South Carolina’s third risky move came on the final play of the first half when it threw for the end zone on fourth down instead of kicking a field goal. The Gamecocks were 2-for-4 on fourth downs.

Defense did enough

It’s clear Ryan Hilinski will be a name for the future in the SEC. A composed freshman making his first start in a league game, the true freshman had three drives of 60-plus yards in the first half.

He also took advantage of a few Alabama mistakes to cover up a couple of his own. Patrick Surtain’s interception on the first drive was negated by a substitution infraction -- the first of 11 Tide penalties for 92 yards Saturday. That drive ended in a field goal.

The Gamecock touchdown before halftime came on a 31-yard pass to Shi Smith the Alabama safety Jordan Battle seemed in position to defend. Instead, it slipped to a small window between Battle and Shyheim Carter for a touchdown that set off Williams-Brice Stadium.

Hilinski also engineered a dink and dunk 77-yard drive just before halftime that ended without points when the fourth-down pass fell incomplete on the final snap.

It appeared South Carolina was targeting passing plays to exploit Alabama’s youth at linebacker. Sophomore Ale Kaho -- a five-star recruit a year ago -- started the second half in the place of Christian Harris as the Tide used a variety to lineups to combat a Gamecock offense that had success.

A few of the young guys had big plays early in the game, though. Sacks that ended the first two Gamecock drives were recorded by Battle and D.J. Dale, respectively.

Hilinski finished 36-for-57 for 324 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in his SEC debut.

Alabama bent for a good part of the afternoon but didn’t break. South Carolina rolled up 148 yards on the two drives that closed the first half and opened the second only to net 3 points on the scoreboard.

Anfernee Jennings’ forced fumble on the following drive deflated the crowd even more with 10 Tide points sandwiching that moment.
And the South Carolina student section had mostly emptied by the time Xavier McKinney intercepted Hilinski with 9:51 left.

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Michael Casagrande is an Alabama beat writer for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.