Alabama stayed at No. 8 in ’s rankings after beating South Carolina in Week 4, but the win came with a familiar kind of unease: two starting offensive linemen did not finish, and the most immediate question now is how the Tide holds up on Saturday.
Noah Rogers gave one answer on the field. In his first play since joining the Crimson Tide after a lower-body injury in the spring game, he turned a short touch into a 36-yard gain inside the South Carolina 5-yard line. It was the kind of snap that changes the feel of a game fast, and Ryan Grubb said the staff wanted to put him in exactly that kind of spot.
That play also helped explain why Alabama can win and still remain at 8th. The Tide got the result, but did not move them, and the ranking reflects how much weight still sits on every quarter of work. The offense has enough playmakers to create a sudden jolt, yet the line remains part of the discussion because William Sanders and Jayvin James were both out by the end of the game.
The coverage breakdown that led to South Carolina’s lone passing shot of real consequence was just as instructive. Alabama had largely kept the explosives in check, but Nyck Harbor still got loose for a 41-yard touchdown in the second quarter, with Dijon Lee in coverage and appearing to lose his footing. Wommack said Alabama limited the passing game outside of that throw in the 2-minute drill, but the play still stood out because it came after a night in which the defense had otherwise controlled the space downfield.
The bigger concern may be what Alabama is left to patch up up front. Mal Waldrep stepped in at left guard for Sanders, and Tyrell Miller replaced James at right tackle, which is the kind of reshuffling teams try to avoid once the calendar turns to a week with another game coming quickly. DeBoer said Monday that Sanders, who left with an upper-body injury, would be expected to play on Saturday. James was described as having a lower-extremity injury, and that leaves a harder read on the line’s short-term stability.
Alabama has enough talent to beat South Carolina and stay put in the polls, but the ranking does not erase the part of the night that matters most now: whether the Tide can keep its front together long enough to make the next game look as clean as the final score did.
