South Carolina’s football team was on the verge of shocking Alabama and handing the Crimson Tide their second loss to an unranked team in two weeks. 

It was a hectic game that saw many turnovers, last-minute touchdowns and an onside kick recovery, but the Gamecocks ultimately came up short, losing 27-25. 

“Obviously a great college football game. Congrats to Alabama, they made more plays than we did,” Gamecock football coach Shane Beamer said. “Proud of the fight of our team coming down here. No one was surprised by our performance. We expected this.”

The Gamecocks overcame a 14-0 deficit to take a 19-14 lead into the fourth quarter. Two late touchdowns gave the Tide the lead. While South Carolina tried, the team failed to regain the lead. 

Alabama scored its final touchdown to go up 27-19 with 1:54 left in the game. Needing a quick touchdown, the Gamecocks moved the ball downfield and got within striking distance. 

Quarterback Lanorris Sellers threw a 31-yard pass to Nyck Harbor in the endzone that was initially ruled incomplete. On review, it was ruled Harbor did come down with the ball in bounds, and the Gamecocks were awarded a touchdown with 43 seconds left in the game and a two-point conversion away from tying. 

“It was one-on-one coverage with Nyck Harbor, big fast receiver, so why not throw it to him?” Sellers said. 

On the two-point try, receiver Vandrevius Jacobs broke open in the back right corner of the endzone. Sellers sailed the ball in his direction, but it was overthrown and out of Jacobs’ reach, meaning the try failed, and the Gamecocks were still down with almost no time left. 

The team’s only hope would be an onside kick recovery. Kai Kroeger came on for a drop kick attempt, and the ball wobbled off of two Alabama players, into the hands of South Carolina’s Colin Bryant. 

South Carolina would have one more shot to take the lead with 40 seconds left. The Gamecocks needed about 20 yards to get a 46-yard field goal attempt, which is kicker Alex Herrera’s career-long. 

The team struggled to get any yardage as Sellers faced pressure in the pocket. The Gamecocks moved just two yards forward before a deep pass was intercepted by Alabama, sealing the game. 

Turnovers did not just factor in that last play for the Gamecocks. South Carolina had four turnovers to Alabama’s two. Sellers had the pick and two lost fumbles, and Joshua Simon had a fumble. 

Alabama’s last two touchdowns came after a Sellers fumble and a missed 51-yard field goal try from Herrera. 

“When you come on the road in the SEC, you can't turn the ball over against really good football teams,” Beamer said. “We created some, but, when you lose a turnover battle, it's going to be hard to win.” 

It was the second time this season the Gamecocks were on the verge of upsetting a nationally ranked opponent, after going wire-to-wire with then No.16 LSU. South Carolina led in the fourth quarter in both games but fell short. 

“I've hurt for them for them because we're sick of this feeling,” Beamer said. “They work too hard during the week to come in here on Saturdays and feel like that in that locker room.” 

While the team lost in the end, South Carolina played much better than it did the previous week in the 27-3 blowout loss against Ole Miss. 

“We had a bad game last week. We played bad. We performed bad. We coached bad against Ole Miss,” Beamer said. “It doesn't mean we were a bad team. So, we expected to win this game.”

South Carolina’s record dropped to 3-3 with the loss and 1-3 in SEC games. The team still has a hefty schedule ahead of them with three top-20 teams left on the schedule. 

The Gamecocks are back in action this Saturday with a road contest against Oklahoma for the first-ever SEC meeting between the two schools. Kickoff is set for 12:45 p.m. on the SEC Network.