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Alabama is back in Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday night (6 p.m. ESPN) for a third straight game against South Carolina in as many seasons. The Crimson Tide has won each of the previous two matchups by a combined 10 points (27-25 in 2024, 29-22 in 2025). Both programs are 3-0 to start the season, while this will mark the first road game of the year for Shane Beamer and Co.  As will be done every week, Bama247 is checking in with an expert of the opponent to learn more about the matchup from the other side. Here is what Gamecocks247's John Whittle said about the Gamecocks! VIP ROUNDTABLE: Discussing Alabama's home matchup with South Carolina, tossing out bold predictions + more BAMA247 ROLL POD: Official Alabama vs. South Carolina Game Preview 1. Alabama fans are very familiar with the type of talent that LaNorris Sellers is after the last two meetings. Where have you seen the quarterback take another step when it comes to his game this season? "In short, no, not yet. Sellers, along with everyone else, played well the opening weekend against Kent State and was fine against Towson with his wide receivers letting him down remarkably, dropping somewhere around eight passes. But don't let the 34-point mark fool you as Sellers and the offense as a whole were incredibly disappointing against Mississippi State." "A quick perusal of Gamecock247's message board would show many discouraged, to put it mildly, of Sellers' play. There are calls for the backup, but that's not happening in the short term. He's missing open receivers, both when it comes to identifying the right target and also in execution." "It's really difficult to identify where he's grown from his time as a redshirt freshman to where he is now. The offense is very different that he's running this year and the feeling is that he's making the right reads in the RPO game, but execution in the passing part of it, both as an individual and as an offense, is lacking." 2. Dylan Stewart is another name that Crimson Tide fans are extremely aware of. He's a game wrecker, plain and simple. Aside from Stewart, who are some other names on the South Carolina defense that Alabama fans should know about? "Stewart made his season debut last week and played 14 very effective snaps. He's still ramping up and will be on a pitch count, so to speak, again this weekend. While we're not sure exactly how many, it's hard to imagine him playing more than about 30 snaps." "Beyond him, the interior of the defensive line is really good, but will likely be down Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy, a key plugger. Tomiwa Durojaiye has been the best player on the defense, especially against the run, but is playing in the backfield some from his tackle spot. Justin Okoronkwo, another name likely familiar to those following the Tide, has been the best linebacker of the bunch and leads the team in tackles." "Vicari Swain is the top cover corner on the team, but he's been beaten a few times, too. The defense was battered last week by Mississippi State giving up 41 points, despite the Bulldogs not having the football for even one minute in total in the first quarter." 3. South Carolina jumped out to a 13 point lead in the first quarter against Mississippi State last week, while the Bulldogs outscored the Gamecocks 41 to 21 in the final three quarters. What do you believe went wrong? Are the mistakes fixable in one week? "The offense bogged down and the defense gave up big plays. Kamario Taylor settled in and made some really big-time throws and South Carolina, which plays a ton of man coverage, had players getting beat due to both coverage busts and just for speed. The Bulldogs had some quick-strike scores and the Gamecocks were back on their heels pretty quickly. "Sellers threw a pair of really bad interceptions – a third that was erased due to a penalty that didn't have an effect on the play – and the Bulldogs sat back and kept everything underneath late in the game." "I do think there are some things that are fixable and the team is much better than it played this past weekend. But they didn't respond to adversity during the game and what wasn't a well-played game in Week 2 wasn't a wakeup call for last week against the Bulldogs. There should have been some fixes already, but this weekend needs to be a much cleaner game." 4. What is one thing that you believe could give Alabama the advantage in the matchup? Whether that is a single player, position group or anything else. "There's a lot more than just one but my immediate thought when reading this question is the skill Alabama has at wide receiver against South Carolina's secondary. I do feel like the Gamecocks can get some pressure, which can obviously help coverage, but watching the Bulldogs run around free all game long was alarming. South Carolina leaves its corners on an island quite a bit in a lot of man coverage, and those guys are going to get beat on occasion, but there have been more problems than just one-on-one matchups." "The Tide are obviously great against the run and have also forced seven turnovers. South Carolina's put the ball in jeopardy this year, both in fumbles and now with interceptions as well." 5. Bama247 has its game predictions every week. What is your expert prediction on how the game will go? Toss out a score and some quick thoughts/reasoning. "Based on what we saw last week, it's impossible for me not to pick Alabama and to cover. The seven-point loss to Mississippi State felt like seven-teen, if not seven-tee. I know that sounds like fan-writing, but vibes weren't high, even up 16-0." "I haven't come to a final conclusion on what I'll have as the score, but it'll be in the neighborhood of 34-20 when we put out our final picks on Friday around noon. I believe the Gamecocks are missing some middle of the field athleticism at safety and linebacker that Alabama can exploit, and the offense has looked far too clunky for the Tide not to be able to shut down the run game." "Maybe Sellers can find the Superman cape that he misplaced down at Disney before the Capital One Bowl in 2024 and get the Gamecocks over the Bama hump after playing two really tight games the last two years. But it's hard to see that right now." Stay up to date with the latest on the Bama247 VIP Boards.