The South Carolina Gamecocks (3-2, 1-2 SEC) are back on the road for the second time this season as they travel to Tuscaloosa, Alabama for the first time since 2009 to take on the No. 7/7 Alabama Crimson Tide (4-1, 1-1 SEC) in an SEC showdown on Saturday, Oct. 12. Game time is set for 12:00 PM ET (11:00 AM CT) at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium (100077).

ABOUT AVIATION: This week’s game will be broadcast nationally on ABC. Joe Tessitore will provide play-by-play, while Jesse Palmer will provide color commentary. Katie George will patrol the sidelines. Gridiron Radio also has a national audience with Noah Britt providing play-by-play voice, Jon Reynolds providing color commentary and Jason Crowder on the sidelines. The Gamecock Sports Radio Network features a pair of Gamecock Great quarterbacks in play-by-play voice Todd Ellis (33rd season) and analyst Tommy Suggs (52nd season). Chet Tucker returns for his second year as a sideline reporter.

HOW WE GET HERE: The South Carolina Gamecocks are off to a 3-2 start overall and 1-2 in SEC play. They opened the campaign with a hard-fought 23-19 victory over Old Dominion, then dominated Kentucky in the SEC opener, winning 31-6 in Lexington, the biggest road victory of South Carolina’s Shane Beamer Era. The Gamecocks were unable to hold a 17-0 first-half lead in a heartbreaking 36-33 setback against No. 16/17 LSU, despite rushing for 243 yards, forcing two turnovers and a punt blocked. They bounced back with a convincing 50-7 rout of Akron to improve to 3-1. After Enjoying a down week, the Gamecocks came up on the short end of a 27-3 decision against No. 12/11 Ole Miss in Columbia last weekend. The Gamecocks are 3-2 for the third time in the last four years after five games.

A LITTLE HISTORY: 2024 marks the fourth year of the Shane Beamer Era and the 131st season of intercollegiate football at the University of South Carolina, dating back to 1892. It is the 118th consecutive year in which South Carolina has competed on the field of play. The university fielded a team in neither 1893 nor 1906. Carolina owns an all-time record of 637-615-44, a winning percentage of .508. Since the turn of the 21st century, the Gamecocks are 171-133, a .563 winning clip. In four seasons under Coach Beamer, the Gamecocks are 23-20, a .535 winning percentage, including wins in six of their last eight games.

IT JUST MEANS MORE: The 2024 season will be South Carolina’s 33rd year in the Southeastern Conference. South Carolina and Arkansas joined the SEC before the 1992 campaign. The Gamecocks won the SEC Eastern Division title in the 2010 season. The Gamecocks are 110-150-1 (.423) all-time in the SEC regular season, but posted a 42-38 (.525) record during conference action from 2010-19. Under Coach Beamer, the Gamecocks are 11-16 in SEC play, a .407 winning clip.

STRONG SLATE: South Carolina will once again have one of the toughest schedules in the country in 2024, as seven of its 12 regular-season opponents ranked in the nation’s preseason top-20. The Gamecocks’ 2024 slate includes games against preseason top-20 teams Alabama (5/5), Ole Miss (6/6), Missouri (11/11), LSU (13/12), Clemson (14/ 14), Oklahoma (16/16) and Texas A&M (20/20). All seven of those teams remain in the top 25 through the first six weeks, with five of those opponents still on the schedule. Carolina’s next three opponents, Alabama, Oklahoma and Texas A&M, have a combined record of 13-3.

THE SERIES AT A GLANCE: Alabama holds a 13-3 lead in the all-time series between the two programs, including wins in each of the first ten meetings between the schools from 1937-2000, but the teams have evenly split the last six meetings. The Crimson Tide has an 8-1 lead going into the game in Tuscaloosa and has won four of the six meetings in Columbia. Alabama also won the 1945 game played in Montgomery.

It’s been a while: This is only the second meeting between South Carolina and Alabama since 2010 and the first in Tuscaloosa since 2009. The teams met six times between 2000 and 2010, but have only played once since (2019).

THE LAST TIME THEY MET: Tua Tagovailoa completed 28 of 36 passes for 444 yards and five touchdowns as the No. 2/2 Alabama Crimson Tide posted a 47-23 win over South Carolina on Sept. 14, 2019, in Columbia. True freshman Ryan Hilinski, making just his second career start, did his best to keep pace with Tagovailoa, completing 36 of 57 passes for 324 yards and two touchdowns. The Gamecocks ran 86 plays and rolled for 459 yards against a Bama defense that featured nine players on the media’s preseason All-SEC teams, compared to just one South Carolina offensive player (third-team selection Bryan Edwards).

THE FINAL GAMECOCK VICTORY: Stephen Garcia threw three touchdown passes, two to Alshon Jeffrey, and Marcus Lattimore scored three times as 19th-ranked South Carolina defeated No. 1 Alabama 35-21 on Oct. 9, 2010, in Columbia. Never before had the Gamecocks beaten a No. 1 team — at least not in football. The defending national champions had won 19 straight games since losing the Sugar Bowl to Utah after the 2008 season. South Carolina destroyed the nation’s top-scoring defense and scored the most points on Alabama since a 41-34 loss to LSU in 2007. The Gamecocks scored four touchdowns getting into the Bama 20 — double what the Crimson Tide had allowed. in. Garcia was a decent 17 of 20 for 201 yards and the lone interception. He also grabbed a crucial fourth-and-1 on the Gamecocks’ final scoring drive. Jeffery had seven receptions for 127 yards, including TD catches of 26 and 15 yards.

THE LAST TIME IN T-TOWN: Mark Ingram rushed for a career-high 246 yards and a game-clinching touchdown, leading No. 2 Alabama to a 20–6 win over No. 22 South Carolina on Oct. 17, 2009, in Tuscaloosa. Ingram’s tackle-breaking, running back runs and punishing defense helped the undefeated Crimson Tide overcome four turnovers. The only other touchdown of the game came from a defense that sacked Stephen Garcia five times. Safety Mark Barron stepped into the middle of the field for Garcia’s first pass attempt and returned it 77 yards for a touchdown. Garcia finished 20 of 46 for 214 yards after completing just 4 of 18 passes in the first half. South Carolina managed just 64 yards rushing. Alabama’s Greg McElroy was also shaky against the nation’s No. 6 pass defense. His first pass – and two of his first four – were picked off after he completed 135 consecutive passes without an interception.

SWEET HOME ALABAMA: Walk-on linebacker from South Carolina Colin Bryant began his career as a walk-on at Alabama and spent his 2021 true freshman season on the Tuscaloosa campus. Defensive tackle Monkel Goodwine He logged three seasons with the Crimson Tide, seeing limited action in five games before transferring to South Carolina in January. Quarterback Robby Ashford and kicker Peyton Argent are both from Hoover, Ala.

OLD FRIEND WARNING: Alabama assistant head coach/running backs coach Robert Gillespie was on Steve Spurrier’s staff at South Carolina from 2006 to 2008 as running backs coach. Gillespie and Shane Beamer worked together under the HBC during the 2007 and ’08 seasons.