Correction: This article has been revised to correct the statistics on South Carolina’s third-down conversions and the turnovers caused by Alabama.

Following their surprising loss to Vanderbilt—their first since 1984—Alabama aimed to bounce back against South Carolina on Saturday.

While the Crimson Tide managed to achieve a win, it came down to a tense finish, culminating in a 27-25 victory at Bryant-Denny Stadium secured by a strong defensive performance late in the game.

At halftime, Alabama led 14-12, but South Carolina took the lead with a touchdown early in the third quarter to go up 19-14. In the fourth quarter, Jalen Milroe scored on a 7-yard run, and then connected with Germie Bernard for a 34-yard touchdown pass with only 1:54 left, extending the lead to 27-19.

South Carolina responded with their own touchdown drive, finishing with a pass from LaNorris Sellers to Nyck Harbor. They executed a successful onside kick and regained possession with just 34 seconds on the clock. However, Alabama’s defense stood strong, and Domani Jackson intercepted Sellers as time expired to secure the win for Alabama.

Initially, it appeared that Alabama would have an easy game. With rushing touchdowns from Milroe and Jam Miller, they built a 14-0 lead in the second quarter. However, South Carolina fought back, scoring 12 points in the final two minutes of the first half to narrow the gap.

The first touchdown for South Carolina came from a 36-yard pass from Sellers to Mazeo Bennett Jr. on a fourth-and-9 situation. On the next drive for Alabama, Milroe was pressured and threw the ball away in the end zone, leading to an intentional grounding call and a safety for South Carolina.

Later, Alabama managed to force a fumble on South Carolina’s next possession, taking over at their own 47-yard line with just 48 seconds left in the half. However, two plays later, Milroe was intercepted by Jalon Kilgore, who returned it to Alabama’s 19-yard line, allowing Alex Herrera to kick a 37-yard field goal as the half ended.

Last week, Alabama struggled with third-down stops against Vanderbilt, allowing the Commodores to convert 12 of 18 attempts (66.7%). Conversely, against South Carolina, the Crimson Tide limited the Gamecocks to 0 for 5 on third-down attempts in the first half. However, the situation changed in the second half, with South Carolina converting all five of their third-down tries when play resumed. They finished the game with 7 of 15 on third-down attempts (46.7%).

Turnovers and sacks were elusive for Alabama last week but proved plentiful this Saturday, as they forced four turnovers and recorded four sacks for a total of -36 yards.

While Alabama’s offense had consistently gained at least 393 yards in their first five games, they only managed 313 yards against South Carolina, compared to the 372 yards amassed by the Gamecocks.

For Milroe, this game marked his first time throwing multiple interceptions, as he had only two prior tosses leading to interceptions throughout the season. Nonetheless, he concluded the game with two rushing touchdowns and completed 16 of 23 passes for 209 yards with one touchdown.

Jamal Miller was Alabama’s leading rusher with 42 yards on 12 carries, while Germie Bernard topped the receiving group with four catches for 89 yards and one touchdown.