South Carolina forces safety to close the gap against Alabama

South Carolina projects as a darkhorse team team that is flying a bit under the radar, quietly giving every quality team it comes in contact with a headache.

That includes the No. 7 Alabama Crimson Tide, as South Carolina forced a safety off of an intentional grounding call on quarterback Jalen Milroe to make it 14-9 after previously trailing 14-0 early on in the game. In what’s been a wild series of events, South Carolina also added a field goal to shorten Alabama’s lead to 14-12 before both teams walked into the locker room at halftime.

Here’s a look at the play the Gamecocks got the safety on:

INTENTIONAL GROUNDING SAFETY! pic.twitter.com/1bVQbPA0Gq

— Mr Matthew CFB (@MrMatthew_CFB) October 12, 2024

It was the second safety that South Carolina has forced in five years. The South Carolina defense has been a factor in this game, and key plays have told the story of how the Gamecocks are hanging with one of the best teams in the nation right now.

Forcing mistakes off of Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe isn’t an easy thing to do (just ask the Georgia Bulldogs about that) but South Carolina has successfully thrown him off a bit. To this point in the game, Milroe has completed 8 of his 11 passing attempts for 100 yards with 1 interception.

What the second half holds will be something to keep an eye on.

Crissy Froyd

Crissy covers SEC football news for Saturday Down South.