South Carolina’s Upset Bid Implodes Against Alabama

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by WILL FOLKS

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Long-suffering South Carolina football fans have learned to live with disappointment. They’ve grown accustomed to heartbreak – acclimated themselves to underachievement.

Semper annus alter erit (“there’s always next year”) is a refrain invariably uttered at some point during every Gamecock football season. And more often than not, its echoes can be heard long before the leaves start to turn.

“This year was supposed to be different,” Gamecock fans mutter to themselves once the inevitable letdown materializes.

“No it wasn’t,” the more honest ones tell themselves. “We let ourselves believe that because we are in an abusive relationship with a college football program.”

After a disappointing start to its 2025 campaign, the Gamecocks entered the second half of the season facing one of the hardest rows to hoe in all of college football – five consecutive games against opponents ranked in the nation’s top fifteen.

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Fifth-year head coach Shane Beamer‘s team entered that brutal stretch already in the midst of a frustrating backslide. Entering the season ranked No. 13 – and climbing as high as No. 10 in the nation – South Carolina was badly exposed during a humiliating home loss to then-unranked Vanderbilt on September 13, 2025.

Since then, the wheels have continued to come off… especially on offense.

After an embarrassing home loss to No. 14 Oklahoma last week, the Gamecocks (3-5, 1-5 SEC) appeared destined for a potentially season-saving upset win over No. 4 Alabama on Saturday evening (October 25, 2025) at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C.

Everything was breaking Beamer’s way late in the game… with the Gamecock faithful firmly believing they were on the verge of reliving the program’s historic upset over then-No. 1 Alabama fifteen years earlier (and Beamer no doubt believing he was about to lower the steadily escalating temperature under his seat).

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Coordinator Clayton White‘s defense was playing lights out – holding the potent Crimson Tide offense to just 20 yards on its first four drives of the second half. And while embattled Gamecock offensive coordinator Mike Shula‘s unit continued to struggle mightily, a lucky special teams break put South Carolina in the driver’s seat late in the game.

As the fourth quarter got underway, standout wide receiver Nyck Harbor – who previously caught a 54-yard touchdown strike – recovered a Gamecock punt that deflected off the leg of Alabama wide receiver Jaylen Mbakwe. It was more of a fortuitous bounce than a “Beamerball” moment, but either way – it set South Carolina up in the red zone with a one-point lead.

Six plays later, preseason Heisman Trophy candidate LaNorris Sellers faked an inside handoff and sprinted around the left edge – dodging a diving tackle attempt from Crimson Tide linebacker Yhonzae Pierre to give the Gamecocks a seven-point advantage with just ten minutes left on the clock.

Alabama was now officially on upset watch… but the seeds of the coming implosion were already being sown.

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LaTOUCHDOWN. pic.twitter.com/FEDouxj0SS

— South Carolina Football (@GamecockFB) October 25, 2025

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With momentum squarely on its side, South Carolina surprisingly declined to attempt a two-point conversion after Sellers’ touchdown – even though a successful attempt would have given the Gamecocks a two-score lead over the Tide.

“A two-score game would have drastically increased the urgency of the Crimson Tide offense,” Alabama football reporter Josh Yourish noted. “Down eight, offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb had leeway to reestablish the run game on a 14-play 79-yard touchdown drive that ate nearly eight minutes off the clock. Alabama converted its two-point try to tie the game at 22.”

“The Gamecocks had every opportunity to knock off Alabama,” Yourish continued. “Beamer didn’t take it.”

Bama proceeded to grind out a 79-yard, 14-play drive to tie the game – and two plays later, Sellers fumbled at the Gamecock 38-yard line to give the Tide the football back. A second consecutive touchdown from wide receiver Germie Bernard – this one on a direct snap from center – dashed South Carolina’s upset aspirations once and for all.

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Despite the “gut-wrenching” loss, Beamer insisted after the game that “the culture in our program is stronger than ever.”

Really?

Based on the outcomes, that would seem to be a dubious assertion, at best… especially considering South Carolina’s roster is loaded with talented players like Sellers, Harbor and pre-season All-American defensive end Dylan Stewart.

With the loss, Beamer fell to 32-27 (.542) at South Carolina – including a 16-22 (.421) record against conference opponents and a 7-19 (.269) mark against ranked foes. Since Shula took over as offensive coordinator, South Carolina has posted a 3-6 record – and is 0-5 against ranked foes.

Things don’t get any easier in the coming weeks. The Gamecocks travel to Oxford to play No. 7 Ole Miss next weekend. After a bye week, South Carolina is back on the road against No. 3 Texas A&M in College Station on November 15, 2025. The season ends (mercifully) with home games against Coastal Carolina and Clemson.

If South Carolina hopes to go to a bowl game, it must win three of those four contests…

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…

Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.

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