Despite a loss to Vanderbilt last week, Alabama football’s College Football Playoff hopes are still very much alive, so long as the Crimson Tide doesn’t trip up again. UA will look to bounce back from the first defeat of Kalen DeBoer’s tenure as head coach on Saturday, when South Carolina comes to Tuscaloosa.

The Gamecocks are 3-2 on the season, 1-2 in SEC play. They’re coming off a loss to Ole Miss in Columbia.

Alabama and South Carolina are scheduled to kick off at 11 a.m. CT Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The game will be aired on ABC.

Before that, here are three keys to victory for the Crimson Tide.

Avoid another disaster early

Alabama is coming off one of the worst losses in program history. It started early.

Kalen DeBoer said throughout the week that the Crimson Tide had plans to better establish its offense early in the game. Those ideas went out the window when UA went down two touchdowns in the early going.

The Alabama defense has to be better across the board, but especially early in the game. The group is capable, everyone saw what it did against Georgia in the first two quarters of that win, so stifling the Gamecocks early isn’t out of the question.

One of Vanderbilt’s early touchdowns came on a fluke interception return when a Jalen Milroe pass bounced high into the air. Some weird plays are unavoidable, but the Crimson Tide offense has to respond when they do.

Alabama is a more talented team than South Carolina, just as it was against the Commodores. The Crimson Tide just can’t let itself get in trouble early.

Stop the mobile quarterback

Diego Pavia cemented his place as a college football folk hero against Alabama. If it wants to have success on Saturday, the Crimson Tide must stop LaNorris Sellers from doing the same.

UA look tentative on defense against Pavia. The Vanderbilt option attack was something the Tide had never seen before.

Sellers, South Carolina’s replacement for Spencer Rattler, can also move. The Gamecocks certainly don’t deploy him in the same way the Commodores do Pavia, but he can make Alabama pay with his legs if the Tide isn’t careful.

If the Crimson Tide can keep Sellers from beating them with his feet, it will be a welcome improvement from the Vanderbilt game.

Improve the run game

When Vanderbilt got up early, Alabama’s run game suffered. The Crimson Tide was unable to establish itself on the ground like it wanted to, due to playing from behind.

DeBoer and company will look to remedy that against the Gamecocks. It will be important to get the running backs going in the first half, with both Jam Miller and Justice Haynes eager to get carries.

Alabama has also seen great success from running Milroe from the quarterback spot this season. He scored a touchdown against the Commodores, but was largely quiet in the run game beyond that.

If the Tide wants to find success moving forward, showing off a dominant run game against South Carolina would be a nice step.