Blocking, Tackling and Toughness: South Carolina Gives Alabama Its Own Medicine

As an Alabama alum, days like yesterday have been rare lately.

Ever since that season finale loss in 2007 to Auburn, life has been pretty good for Tide fans, even with the 2008 season-ending losses to Florida and Utah.

Alabama has been the team that imposes their will. The Crimson Tide has been the team that would not break. Nick Saban's squad has been the one to make opponents leads seem like minor speed bumps on the way to victory.

Not yesterday in South Carolina's house.

No, it was simple. No trick plays. No strange turnovers or odd calls. No sir, nothing about this win was fluky.

South Carolina made Alabama open up and say "AHH," grabbed the Tide's nose, and shoved Bama's medicine down their throat.

Blocking, tackling, and toughness.

Alabama started out the game well enough. A nice drive down for an opening field goal. We've seen that before. USC answered with an excellent touchdown drive and would never relinquish the lead.

The Gamecocks held Alabama to 36 yards rushing. That's amazing. Yes, sack yardage is factored into that, all SEVEN South Carolina sacks, but it is still impressive.

Fast and Furious is the nickname for the duo of Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson, but they were neither fast or furious. The two combined for only 64 yards on 17 carries. Amazing. I don't think any of us could have fathomed South Carolina holding BOTH of the Tide tailbacks to such a terrible number.

Every time Alabama punched back, South Carolina answered. When the Tide came back to make it a 21-14 game, the Gamecocks went on a stunning 75-yard drive, converting third down after third down and punching it in the end zone. It was the kind of long, will-killing drive that we've seen Alabama administer to opponents so many times over the past two years. For the first time in a long time, the Tide had no answer.

Even when they got great pressure and good coverage, Stephen Garcia was on, making perfect throw after perfect throw no matter what the Tide did, despite losing his mind for a second when he gave Alabama a safety.

This is the kind of win that can send a program to new heights. For the first time since he arrived in Columbia, it feels like Steve Spurrier finally has the team that can remove Florida as "Kings of the East." It's all in their hands. Do they take the euphoria of the Alabama victory and convert it into the stepping stone to conference greatness, or will they allow themselves to slip like we've seen the Gamecocks do so many times in the past?

For Alabama, all is not lost.

It's only October and despite the fact that they are currently looking up at undefeated LSU and Auburn, the Tide still control their destiny to Atlanta and beyond.

College football is so fickle, and despite how powerful and dominant a team looks one week, it doesn't matter. It can all slip away in 60 minutes anywhere in the country.

The game took these two teams in different directions yesterday. South Carolina is riding the high of an astounding victory while the Crimson Tide is as low as it's been in two years. Still, the result may be the spark needed to light the right kind of fire under both teams en route to a possible rematch in the Georgia Dome.