Alabama Crimson Tide offensive line will be tested against South Carolina

The South Carolina defensive front and inside linebackers will pressure the Alabama Crimson Tide offensive line. Saturday's game will be the toughest challenge to date; for an Alabama offensive line that showed some flaws in the loss to Vanderbilt. One of the main reasons the Commodores upset the Crimson Tide was the fumble caused by a Vandy rusher that Elijah Pritchett could not prevent.

Among SEC teams, the Gamecocks are near the top in both sacks and tackles for a loss. Senior Georgia Tech transfer, Kyle Kennard leads the SEC with five sacks. Former 5-star freshman, Dylan Stewart is 10th among SEC players with 3.5 sacks. Kennard also leads the SEC in total yardage losses caused by tackles for a loss. In the interior of the South Carolina defense, both Tonka Hemingway and TJ Sanders can create problems by pushing pockets.

Another defensive strength for the Gamecocks is experience. Eight of South Carolina's defensive starters have three or more seasons of college experience, with six of them being seniors or graduates.

In last week's 27-3 loss to Ole Miss, the South Carolina offense was ineffective, which is being kind. However, the Gamecock defense held Ole Miss rushers to a 3.4-yard average. Lane Kiffin's vaunted Ole Miss offense was only 3-for-13 on third downs and 1-for-3 on fourth downs.

Talking about the South Carolina defenders, Alabama Football's offensive line coach, Chris Kapilovic said, "They do show multiple fronts. They move around with a lot of games inside," Alabama offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic said. "They've got two premiere pass rushers on the edges. Even with the guys that come in for them, they do a good job. I would say they probably have the best interior pass rusher of the kids that we've seen this year. Their backers are downhill. They are fast, aggressive and try to play violent."

One problem for the South Carolina defense is cornerback O'Donnell Fortune, who went down against Ole Miss. On the SEC availability report for this week, he is listed as probable, but it is not known if he will be 100%,

A Clear Alabama Crimson Tide Advantage

What could be a clear advantage of the Crimson Tide is an ability to wear down the Gamecock defense. Both Carolina quarterbacks are running threats, plus South Carolina has talent at running back, especially with Raheim Sanders. Grinding out drives and keeping the Crimson Tide offense off the field would benefit the Gamecocks, but their offensive line can be expected to have problems with Alabama's defensive front. South Carolina is No. 122 among all FBS teams in success on 3rd down at 30%.

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