Gamecocks Host No. 4 Alabama Saturday
South Carolina’s official game notes can be found here.
Alabama’s official game notes can be found here.
QUICKLY: It’s Homecoming Week on the University of South Carolina campus. The week’s events culminate when the Gamecocks (3-4, 1-4 SEC) host the No. 4/4 Alabama Crimson Tide (6-1, 4-0 SEC) on Saturday, October 25. Game time is set for 3:30 pm ET at Williams-Brice Stadium (77,559) in Columbia.
OVER THE AIRWAVES: This week’s game will be televised nationally on ABC. Joe Tessitore will call the action with Jesse Palmer providing the color commentary. Katie George will patrol the sidelines. Westwood One has a national radio broadcast with Nate Gatter and Derek Rackley in the booth. The Gamecock Sports Radio Network features a pair of Gamecock Hall of Fame quarterbacks in play-by-play voice Todd Ellis (34th season) and analyst Tommy Suggs (53rd season). Chet Tucker returns for his third year as the sideline reporter.
WELCOME HOME: As part of the Homecoming Week festivities, on Thursday, Oct. 23, six former standout student-athletes will be inducted to the University of South Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame, sponsored by the Association of Lettermen. This year’s class includes Natasha Hastings (Women’s Track 2005-2007), Brandon Hulko (Men’s Diving 1999-2002), Paul Jubb (Men’s Tennis 2016-2020), Akram Mahmoud (Men’s Swimming 2014-2018), Mollie Patton (Women’s Soccer 2006-2010), and A’ja Wilson (Women’s Basketball 2014-2018). In addition, the 2010 South Carolina Football team that defeated top-ranked Alabama and captured the SEC Eastern Division, will celebrate a 15-year reunion over the weekend.
HOW WE GOT HERE: The Gamecocks enter this week’s contest with a 3-4 mark overall including a 1-4 record in SEC play. Carolina opened the season with a 24-11 non-conference win over Virginia Tech in Atlanta, then rolled past South Carolina State by a 38-10 margin in the 2025 home opener. The Gamecocks had their eight-game regular season winning streak and their 16-game winning streak against Vanderbilt snapped in a 31-7 decision in the SEC opener, then fell by a 29-20 count at Missouri before bouncing back with a convincing 35-13 win over Kentucky in Columbia. After a bye week, the Gamecocks went to Baton Rouge and came up on the short end of a 20-10 decision to the 11th-ranked LSU Tigers, then dropped a 26-7 decision to No. 14/13 Oklahoma last week in Columbia.
NOT ALL SCHEDULES ARE CREATED EQUAL: South Carolina is in a stretch in which they could play five ranked teams in a row, something that has never happened in school history. They played at No. 11/11 LSU on Oct. 11 and hosted No. 14/13 Oklahoma last week. After this week’s game against No. 4/4 Alabama, No. 8/8 Ole Miss and No. 3/3 Texas A&M wait on deck. Including the Crimson Tide this week, South Carolina will have faced 12 ranked opponents over a 19-game stretch.
RISING TIDE: Gamecock linebackers Colin Bryant, Shawn Murphy and Justin Okoronkwo along with defensive tackle Monkell Goodwine all spent time as part of the Alabama football program. They are four of the eight Gamecocks who will be on the opposite sideline of their previous team this season. The others are Jaylen Brown (Missouri), Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy (Texas A&M), Jordan Dingle (Kentucky), and Jawarn Howell (South Carolina State). South Carolina offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Mike Shula was the Crimson Tide’s starting quarterback from 1984-86 and served as their head coach from 2003-06.
