Alabama overcomes botched onside recovery to beat South Carolina 27-25

Alabama held off South Carolina 27-25 with an interception on Saturday after giving the Gamecocks a chance to hand the Tide their second straight SEC loss by botching an onside kick before the game's final play.

LaNorris Sellers hit Nyck Harbor for a 31-yard touchdown with 43 seconds left, but the Gamecocks (3-2, 1-3) failed to convert their two-point attempt. They recovered the ensuing onside kick, but with 13 seconds left, Sellers' desperate attempt to lunge toward the end zone was intercepted at the goal line by Domani Jackson.

Jalen Milroe rushed for a 7-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter and then hit Germie Bernard for a late 34-yard score to help No. 7 Alabama (5-1, 2-1) survive the scare.

The Crimson Tide narrowly avoided another upset after losing to Vanderbilt last week, ending a brief stint as the top-ranked team in the country.

Milroe delivered when he had to in a game in which he was intercepted twice and flagged for a safety for intentional grounding on a sack in the end zone. Facing third-and-10, he found Bernard downfield without a defender anywhere nearby with 1:54 left to cap a 10-play drive.

Milroe was 16 of 23 passing for 209 yards with one touchdown and two rushing scores. Sellers was 23 of 31 for 238 yards with two touchdowns and the final pick.

The Gamecocks entered the fourth quarter with a lead and had a chance to take it back. But Alex Herrera's career-long 51-yard field goal attempt came up short.

Milroe capitalized on a Sellers fumble with a 7-yard touchdown run with 10:42 left, but the two-point pass failed and the score was 20-19.

Alabama's 14-0 lead was cut to two in the final 1:37 before halftime due to a series of big plays by South Carolina and the Tide break. That included a safety, turnovers by both teams and Sellers' fourth-and-9 pass to a wide-open Mazeo Bennett Jr. for a 36-yard score.

The takeaway food

South Carolina: The Gamecocks largely turned things around after a 27-3 home loss to No. 9 Mississippi, with Sellers outplaying Milroe most of the way.

Alabama: That dominant first half and win over Georgia seems like a different season now. But like that game, the Tide managed to hang on.

Impact on the survey

Alabama could fall in the rankings despite the win.

Next

South Carolina: At No. 18 Oklahoma on Saturday, Oct. 19

Alabama: No. 8 Tennessee on Saturday, Oct. 19

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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