3 keys to victory for Alabama Football against South Carolina

The Alabama Football team has heard all the noise. They've learned now how quickly everyone will turn on you. They rode the highest of highs following a thrilling win over Georgia two weeks ago that propelled them to the No. 1 ranking in the AP Poll for the first time in two years.

It all came crashing down in Nashville, and now after hearing how good they were for a week, they've now heard the opposite. Scribes who have been waiting and wanting to write the obituary of the Crimson Tide have jumped at the opportunity. The sharks are circling. It's up to the Crimson Tide to keep them at bay.

The best part of the college football season is that it doesn't give you long to dwell on a failure. Alabama has another game to play, with kickoff against the South Carolina Gamecocks just a little over 48-hours from now.

The team and coaches have said all the right things this week as they look to rebound and get back to the Alabama standard, but we won't know for sure until the team takes the field on Saturday.

What does Alabama need to do to take care of business against South Carolina?

3 Keys to Victory

3. Win the turnover battle

The main reason Alabama pulled out a win over Georgia two weeks ago was due to being +4 in the turnover margin. The main reason for the Crimson Tide's defeat in Nashville to Vanderbilt was due to being -2 in the turnover margin. Football is fickle like that.

Winning the turnover margin is of the upmost importance, and Alabama has to take care of the football offensivley, and a young defense needs to be able to come up with a turnover or two to get off the field due to their unreliability to do so by forcing punts.

Alabama created a lot of havoc, particularly in the first half against Georgia, and that directly led to two interceptions by Carson Beck and a safety.

Alabama got too comfortable on defense in the second half against the Bulldogs, and that extended for four full quarters against the Commodores, ultimately leading to way too much predictability that Vanderbilt was able to take advantage of.

As poor as the defensive performance was, Alabama wins that game without the two turnovers on offense. And they probably win the game if you take away just one of the turnovers.

2. Keep Jalen Milroe upright

South Carolina has an outstanding front seven that will get after the quarterback. Kyle Kennard and freshman Dylan Stewart are one of the best edge combos in the country. They've combined for nine sacks between them, and have spearheaded a Gamecocks pass rush that ranks 12th in the country in sacks-per-game.

Alabama's offensive line has settled in after early struggles, coinciding with the return of left tackle Kadyn Proctor, who missed the first two games of the season. This will be the most challenging test for Proctor and right tackle Elijah Pritchett.

The OL didn't allow a sack against Georgia, but allowed two against Vanderbilt, none more devastating than the strip-sack in the fourth quarter with the Crimson Tide driving to potentially take its first lead of the game.

That came off of a whiff by Pritchett, and Milroe never saw it coming.

Milroe has been better at standing in the pocket and not drifting because he's had faith in his offensive line to hold up this season where he didn't a year ago. He needs to do a better job of feeling that front-facing pressure, though, and be able to get free of pressures.

The Gamecocks will get pressure on Milroe, no matter how well the Crimson Tide plays up front. Kennard and Stewart are too good to be stymied all game long. But Milroe can turn that pressure into big plays with his arm and his legs if he's ready for it.

1. Get off the field on third down

A lot of Alabama fans were incensed at the lack of adjustments made by defensive coordinater Kane Wommack in the second half last week. But the truth is that the defense did adjust, whether any of us saw it or not. The stats don't lie.

After the first drive of the game where Vanderbilt went straight down the field, Alabama held the 'Dores to just 2.8 yards-per-carry.

After allowing Vanderbilt to stay on schedule the first couple drives of the game, Alabama had a lot of success defensively on first and second down. Vanderbilt's average third down distance to go was 7.5 yards after the first two scoring drives.

That makes it even more inexcusable how poorly Alabama did on third downs defensively. Forcing an opponent into 18 third downs is generally a recipe for success, but not when you allow them to convert 12 of them for first downs. And one of the six stops on third down didn't matter because Alabama had two No. 2's on the field for the punt and gave the 'Dores the first down anyway.

Another turned into a touchdown pass by Diego Pavia on a fourth-and-one.

So in reality, out of 18 third downs, Alabama really got stops on four of them. Two turned into Vandy field goals, and two were actual punts. Not good enough. Not even close.

If Alabama wants to avoid similar issues against another physical opponent like South Carolina, they have to find success on third downs and force punts. Multiple. More than two. Maybe even five or six, just for kicks?

If the Tide can win third downs defensively, then we'll see a more vintage looking Alabama defense on Saturday, and it should lead to a big bounce back.