It’s been a rough year for the South Carolina football team. 

The Gamecocks had an opportunity to generate some momentum for the rest of the season, leading No. 4 Alabama late in the game. However, like in many other games this season, South Carolina’s own mistakes came back to bite them, and the team lost 29-22. 

"Obviously, a gut-wrenching loss to say the least,” head coach Shane Beamer said after the loss. “To be down on the road, going into the fourth quarter, by eight points, and to do what they did in the fourth quarter, give them credit. I just told our team in the locker room, 'We’ve got to finish, got an eight-point lead at home, crowd is losing their minds in there. It's electric, and we’ve got to go finish.’”

Here are three takeaways from South Carolina’s loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide.

The Gamecocks continue finding ways to lose games

It seems like every week, South Carolina finds new ways to lose games.

Fresh off their blowout loss to Oklahoma, the Gamecocks came out swinging against Alabama. The team led by eight in the fourth quarter and the fans could smell the upset in the air as they pushed towards the bushes behind the endzone, ready to storm the field in celebration. 

Instead, the Gamecocks allowed a game-tying touchdown and two-point conversion with just over two minutes to go. While the score was deflating, on the bright side, there was plenty of time to get in scoring position and go for the win.

It took two plays before disaster struck. 

Quarterback LaNorris Sellers took a designed run two yards before meeting an Alabama defender and losing the ball in Gamecock territory. The Crimson Tide jumped on the fumble and went on their own game-winning drive after South Carolina purposely conceded a score to get the ball back. 

“When it was 22-all, I told Mike [Shula] on the headphones, 'In my mind, we've got the best player in the stadium today. Let's let him go win it,”' Beamer said. “We just weren't quite able to do that."

There were just 34 seconds left on the clock for the Gamecocks' final shot. The team completed a seven-yard pass to Brady Hunt, threw an incompletion and then took a sack, ending the game. 

It was another brutal loss for the Gamecocks, who are playing well under their preseason expectations. The team fell to (3-5) overall and (1-5) in SEC games, with blowouts against Vanderbilt and Oklahoma, and close losses against Missouri, LSU and Alabama.

LaNorris Sellers put the offense on his back

While the late-game fumble led to the game-winning score, Sellers' play against Alabama was nothing short of heroic. He was the offense.

He finished the game 18-of-32 passing for 222 yards and a touchdown. He was also the only one to see any success in the run game, rushing for 67 yards, sack adjusted, and a touchdown on 18 carries. 

“We wanted to be able to run him. We threw a couple wrinkles in there with just some formations and run schemes,” Beamer said. 

The next best runner was Matt Fuller, who took 12 carries for 19 yards.

This has been a common theme all year for the Gamecocks. The team has struggled to find consistent contributions from its halfbacks and has had to ask Sellers to do a lot of running around. 

Sellers has taken the most rushing attempts on the team and would have the most yards if sacks weren’t taken into account. And yes, some of those sacks were a result of him hanging around in the pocket too long, but they’re not exactly a rushing attempt. 

While the Gamecocks’ quarterback has also played a bit below his preseason expectations, he still shows flashes of being a dangerous playmaker who could find himself playing on Sundays. 

This has to spark something, or the season is over

South Carolina is (3-5) overall with four games to go. If you’re doing the math, that means the Gamecocks must win three out of the last four to reach bowl eligibility. 

Weeks ago, when the team started its gauntlet of ranked SEC opponents, the Gamecocks knew they needed to steal one game. Thus far, they’ve been unable to do so. 

The team will be on the road in Oxford to take on Lane Kiffin and his No. 7-ranked Ole Miss Rebels. Last season was a brutal showing for the Gamecocks against the Rebels, losing 27-3 at home. 

South Carolina will hope for different results this year in a season where the two teams are playing on opposite ends of the spectrum. After that, the team plays No. 3 Texas A&M, Coastal Carolina and Clemson.

Maybe a close loss at home against a top-four team can spark a fire in the Gamecocks to end the year strong. There were positives to take away against Alabama with Sellers and the defense. This team, however, has been looking for the spark all year, and until it catches fire, it won’t spread.