Tag: South Carolina Gamecocks

Duke men’s and women’s basketball both play the preseason No. 1 team in the country

With the preseason AP Poll for both men’s and women’s basketball now released, the Blue Devils play both No. 1 teams this winter.

The Associated Press released its preseason men’s basketball rankings on Monday and preseason women’s basketball rankings on Tuesday, but the two lists featured one constant for the Duke Blue Devils.

The Kansas Jayhawks took the top spot on the men’s side while defending national champion South Carolina remained atop the women’s rankings, and both teams will play the Duke Blue Devils before the end of the calendar year.

The men’s basketball team travels to Las Vegas for a battle with the Jayhawks on Tuesday, November 26, just days before Thanksgiving. Kansas is one of five teams in the preseason top 25 on Duke’s schedule, including four teams within the top 11. The Arizona Wildcats (No. 10) and Auburn Tigers (No. 11) are on the slate between November 22 and December 4, the most intimidating stretch of the year.

On the women’s side, the Gamecocks host the Blue Devils on Thursday, December 5, as a part of the ACC/SEC Challenge. While South Carolina hasn’t lost a game since the 2022-23 season, Duke begins the season as the No. 11 team in the country after retaining six of its top seven scorers, recruiting a five-star freshman, and pulling a former five-star from the transfer portal.

Duke basketball fans will get a healthy dose of ranked matchups across both teams before the conference schedule even starts.

Where does ESPN’s FPI rank Alabama after disappointing South Carolina win?

How did Alabama’s win over South Carolina affect their ESPN FPI standing?

Even despite coming away with a 27-25 victory over the South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday afternoon, there is still no denying that it was an overall disappointing performance from the Alabama Crimson Tide.

After jumping out to an early 14-0 lead, Alabama had a rough end to the first half where South Carolina scored 12 points in under two minutes, and even took the lead early in the third quarter. The Crimson Tide also nearly blew the game late in the fourth quarter after taking a 27-19 lead with 1:54 left on the clock, and used a much-needed Domani Jackson interception to seal the victory.

As a result of this win, Alabama also did not change in the latest AP Poll and US LBM Coaches Poll entering Week 8, which could be a surprise to some across college football. How does ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI) rank the Crimson Tide after this win however?

Similar to those polls, Alabama did also not move in ESPN’s FPI after their struggle win, staying put at No. 3 nationally. FPI also gives Alabama a 68.9% chance of making the College Football Playoff as of Sunday, October 13, as well as a 14.2% chance to win the SEC and a 9.9% chance to win out.

Alabama’s next opponent, the Tennessee Volunteers, were the highest-ranked team to drop in FPI after Week 7, moving down a spot to No. 7.

Photos from Alabama’s victory over South Carolina

The Crimson Tide defeated South Carolina by a final score of 27-25.

After a shocking loss at Vanderbilt the week prior, the Alabama Crimson Tide got back in the win column Saturday afternoon in Tuscaloosa, as the program defeated the visiting South Carolina Gamecocks by a final score of 27-25.

A result that improved the Crimson Tide to 5-1 overall, Alabama however struggled against the Gamecocks in what was nearly Alabama’s second consecutive shock upset loss to an unranked SEC team.

Let’s take a look at some of the top photos from Alabama vs. South Carolina in Week 7:

Photos from Alabama Crimson Tide’s 27-25 win over South Carolina Gamecocks

Alabama football fans react to Week 7 win over South Carolina

Alabama picked up a close victory over the Gamecocks on Saturday.

On Saturday afternoon in Tuscaloosa, the Alabama Crimson Tide got back on their winning ways with a closer than expected 27-25 victory over the South Carolina Gamecocks in SEC action.

Even despite the win however, this game simply did not go as many across college football thought it would, as the Crimson Tide narrowly avoided their second-straight loss to an unranked team. The Crimson Tide did secure their fifth win of the 2024 season however, which was in part due to a late fourth quarter interception.

A game in which the Crimson Tide struggled, here is what people are saying on social media about Alabama’s Week 7 victory over the South Carolina Gamecocks:

Alabama holds off South Carolina in thrilling 27-25 victory

South Carolina’s road upset was held off by late Domani Jackson INT.

At the end of the day, the Alabama Crimson Tide moved to 5-1 on the year after beating South Carolina 27-25, and it was anything but pretty. The Tide rushed out to an early 14-0 first-half lead before surrendering 19 straight points and having to come from behind to win in the fourth quarter.

For Alabama fans, it was a frustrating day all around, especially given last week’s performance against Vanderbilt. It’s hard to feel too excited about the win given how poor the defense was on third down, Milroe threw two interceptions, the penalties are adding up and the Tide failed to recover a crucial onside kick, among other things.

While getting the win is all that matters, Alabama has a lot to clean up before traveling to Knoxville next week. The Playoff path is still there, but I think the confidence is starting to teeter a little bit in Tuscaloosa. Alabama looks simply too undisciplined and the coaching staff hasn’t done enough to address it yet.

https://twitter.com/AlabamaFTBL/status/1845183822070993247

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

Instant reactions to Alabama barely surviving South Carolina

Alabama narrowly survived the upset Saturday afternoon.

It was not pretty, but the Alabama Crimson Tide moved to 2-1 in the SEC and 5-1 on the year after knocking off South Carolina. The Tide were able to secure the win and that’s all that will matter in the eyes of the committee, but this Alabama team has a lot of stuff to clean up before traveling to Knoxville next weekend.

Fortunately, QB Jalen Milroe played his best when it mattered, as he accounted for three total scores on the day. With two interceptions, it wasn’t his best game either, but he’s still in the middle of the Heisman race. But my biggest takeaways from today’s game was:

Penalties are still a problem

Things looked a little bit better in the second half, but the Crimson Tide still finished the day with seven penalties for 66 yards. The biggest issue with the penalties is how untimely they are, such as a roughing the passer flag on a third-down incompletion.

Jalen Milroe reliant

Milroe carried the ball 18 times, passed another 23 times and was responsible for three of four scores today. At some point, the Tide are going to need someone other than Milroe and Williams to step up. Although, the running backs were both quite good today.

South Carolina’s front seven was really good

The Gamecocks had four sacks in the first half and wreaked havoc on Milroe all day long. It felt like Miller and Haynes were able to convert when they needed to, but Alabama only averaged 2.7 yards per carry and no receiver for Alabama had more than four catches.

The secondary will be a weakness all year long

The Alabama secondary struggled again today allowing Sellers to complete 23/31 passes for 238 yards and two scores. But it just feels like anytime the Alabama defense needs to make a big third-down stop they can’t quite do it. However, an interception on the last play of the game got the Tide out alive.

Outside of Mercer, Alabama has no guaranteed wins

The SEC is the deepest conference in the country, and as we’ve seen for three weeks straight, no game is a give me. Alabama has glaring errors to fix with several ranked matchups still on the schedule, even Auburn won’t be an easy win.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

Alabama survives upset bid by huge underdog South Carolina

Alabama almost lost a second straight SEC game as a huge favorite

Alabama avoided a second straight stunning upset … barely.

Coming off a loss at Vanderbilt, the Crimson held on to down 21-point underdog South Carolina, 27-25, in SEC play.

The final quarter saw ‘Bama scored 13 unanswered points to turn a 19-14 deficit into a 27-19 lead.

Jalen Milroe scored on a run and threw a TD pass.

South Carolina wasn’t done, however, scoring on a touchdown pass from LaNoris Sellers to Nyck Harbor with 43 seconds left.

All that separated the Gamecocks from a tie and a chance to force overtime was a two-point conversion.

South Carolina then recovered an onside kick that Alabama had numerous chances to corral.

The Gamecocks’ last chance evaporated when Sellers was picked by Domani Jackson on the final play of the game.

Still, in Kalen DeBoer’s first season, questions are going to build especially with Alabama facing a massive game up next at Tennessee. Coming into play Saturday, four of the next five opponents of the Crimson Tide were in the Top 25.

Chiefs scouting report: South Carolina Gamecocks DT T.J. Sanders

The Kansas City #Chiefs should consider taking a look at South Carolina Gamecocks DT T.J. Sanders in the 2025 NFL draft.

The Kansas City Chiefs built a quality defensive front over the past few seasons, but there’s room to improve its depth along the interior. Having several options along the interior is crucial for Kansas City as superstar Chris Jones enters his thirties and the team continues to battle through long playoff runs.

Besides needing to add some weight to his 6 foot 4 inch, 290-pound frame, South Carolina Gamecocks defensive tackle T.J. Sanders possesses all the key traits for a slashing 3-tech. He explodes off the line of scrimmage vertically to shoot gaps or uses sudden horizontal steps to switch gaps and attack unsuspecting offensive linemen.

Sanders’ pass rush plan is still in its developmental stages. It might take another year or two before he unlocks an NFL starting player’s arsenal of moves and counters. In the meantime, his raw athleticism, swipes, spins, rips and surprising bend are enough to make him a valuable rotational piece along the interior.

Sanders struggles to anchor against double teams in the run game but performs well against single blocks. He stacks, peaks, and sheds blocks by locking out offensive linemen with his long arms. His violent upper body and powerful hands make it easy to keep offensive linemen out of his frame and discard blockers.

The Gamecocks are facing their toughest opponent of the season at Bryant-Denny Stadium against No. 7 Alabama. The Crimson Tide are coming off a loss to Vanderbilt.

TV info, start time announced for Clemson basketball vs. South Carolina

Here’s when Clemson will take on South Carolina in the annual matchup between the Tigers and Gamecocks on the hardwood.

Tipoff time and TV information for the Clemson Tigers’ annual men’s basketball contest with the rival South Carolina Gamecocks was announced on Friday.

The Tigers and Gamecocks’ Dec. 17 matchup in Columbia will be a 7 p.m. ET tipoff. The game will be televised on SEC Network.

Clemson won last year’s meeting, 72-67, on Dec. 6 at Littlejohn Coliseum. That was part of a 9-0 start to the 2023-24 season that saw the Tigers climb to No. 11 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.

Brad Brownell’s team went on to finish the season 24-12 and made the NCAA Tournament as a No. 6 seed. The Tigers then defeated No. 11 seed New Mexico, No. 3 seed Baylor, and No. 2 seed Arizona to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1980.

South Carolina went 26-8 last season and also made the NCAA Tournament as a No. 6 seed. The Gamecocks fell 87-73 in a first-round loss to the Oregon Ducks in the Midwest Region in Pittsburgh.

Clemson has won five of the last seven meetings in the series against South Carolina dating back to 2016.

RELATED: College basketball expert offers projected ACC order of finish for Clemson Tigers

The 2024-25 season will be Brownell’s 15th as head coach of the Tigers. Clemson opens the regular season at Littlejohn Coliseum against Charleston Southern on Nov. 4. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET.

Contact/follow us @Clemson_Wire on X, and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Clemson Tigers news and notes, plus opinions. 

Staff predictions for Week 7 matchup between Alabama and South Carolina

Alabama will welcome South Carolina to Tuscaloosa on Saturday.

On Saturday afternoon in Tuscaloosa, the Alabama Crimson Tide and South Carolina Gamecocks will collide for the first time since 2019.

An important game for the Crimson Tide, this will be Alabama’s first action since their shocking Week 6 upset at Vanderbilt, meaning that there could be a significant amount of attention on the program this Saturday.

Ahead of Saturday, here are our Roll Tide Wire staff predictions for Alabama vs. South Carolina:

Matt’s Prediction: Alabama 43, South Carolina 20

While always a chance the Crimson Tide could get upset once again, it’s hard to see it happening Saturday afternoon in Tuscaloosa as Alabama will likely look to send a message. South Carolina has had an up-and-down season, and with their lone road game so far this year having been a disappointing 31-6 loss at Kentucky, it’s hard to see the Gamecocks coming into Tuscaloosa and leaving with a win.

Sam’s Prediction: Alabama 42, South Carolina 21

Both sides are coming off ugly losses as the Gamecocks just fell to Ole Miss 27-3. Fortunately for the Tide, the game will be in Bryant-Denny Stadium as they have some major adjustments to make before going to Tennessee the following week. Alabama is a much more talented roster and I expect them to win and clean things up, but as we saw last weekend, anything can happen.