Alabama football got its fifth win of the 2024 season on Saturday, beating South Carolina 27-25 in Tuscaloosa. The win was uglier than most fans would have liked, but it moved the Crimson Tide to 5-1 on the season, and climbing back in the win column after a loss at Vanderbilt.

Here are three takeaways from Alabama’s victory.

Same thing, different day

South Carolina clearly watched the Vanderbilt film. Alabama obviously didn’t fix the problems.

On its first drive of the second half, the Gamecocks methodically moved down the field. They utilized their mobile quarterback, LaNorris Sellers, and the UA defense never caught on.

USC even ran a shovel pass to great success. The book on beating Alabama is available to anyone who wants to read it.

Alabama survived. That’s not saying much though, as South Carolina isn’t very good.

Since halftime of the Georgia game, it’s been mostly downhill for the Crimson Tide, and with better teams on the horizon, UA’s lingering issues have the potential to tank what was once a promising season.

A better start. Kind of. We guess.

Many of Alabama’s problems in the Vanderbilt game stemmed from an abysmal start. The Crimson Tide went down two touchdowns early, and never recovered, with the deficit forcing UA to abandon key elements of its game plan.

Not the case against South Carolina. Alabama got the ball first and marched down the field for a score, and eventually went up 14 to nothing.

Unfortunately for the Tide, Justice Haynes run for the second touchdown of the half was the end of its good play in the first two quarters. South Carolina hadn’t scored a single point in the final two minutes of a first half this season entering the game, but that would soon change.

First, a coverage bust allowed LaNorris Sellers to hit Mazeo Bennett Jr. for a 36-yard score. Then, Jalen Milroe was called for intentional grounding in the end zone for a safety.

UA made a stop on the next drive, but facing a long third down on offense, called a timeout with 11 seconds left, deep in its own territory. Milroe threw an ugly pick, and the Gamecocks were able to add a field goal as time expired to cut the Tide lead to 14-12 at the half.

Alabama went to the locker room in the lead. But the across the board awful play to end the half didn’t inspire much confidence.

Another rough one

After a week of external panic following the Vanderbilt loss, Alabama did what it needed to do.

The Crimson Tide faced a less-talented opponent at Bryant-Denny Stadium and won. It’s the thing UA is expected to pull off, but after last week, for DeBoer’s sake, it’s a great thing.

Alabama remains in the hunt for a College Football Playoff spot after the win. However, it doesn’t get easier the rest of the way.

UA heads to Knoxville next week, a place it lost last time, to face Tennessee. After that, it hosts Missouri, with the rest of the schedule including Oklahoma, LSU and Auburn.

Beating the Gamecocks might not settle down the fan base completely. Losing to Vanderbilt won’t be easy to forget.

However, it’s a step in the right direction for Alabama.