Football vs. South Carolina Postgame Notes

GAME CAPTAINS: Alabama's captains for today's game with South Carolina are senior defensive lineman Raekwon Davis, redshirt junior linebacker Terrell Lewis and junior wide receiver DeVonta Smith.

FIRST TIME PLAYERS: True freshman defensive lineman Justin Eboigbe made his Crimson Tide debut on defense in today's game against South Carolina.

SABAN IN SEC ROAD OPENERS: Nick Saban is 12-1 (.923) in SEC road openers since he arrived in 2007, with the lone loss coming at Ole Miss in 2014. Counting his time at LSU, Saban is 14-4 (.777) in the opening road game of SEC play in his previous 17 SEC seasons. Saban is also 9-0 at Alabama when the Tide's first Southeastern Conference game of the season is also on the road.

UNRANKED, NO PROBLEM UNDER SABAN: With its 47-23 win against South Carolina, Alabama has defeated 85 consecutive unranked teams under head coach Nick Saban, the longest streak in FBS history. Alabama's last loss to a team not ranked in the Associated Press poll was a 17-10 defeat at the hands of Auburn on Nov. 24, 2007. The current streak began with a win over Colorado on Dec. 30, 2007 in the Independence Bowl. The previous record was 72 games, shared by Miami (Fla.) (1984-95) and Florida (1989-2000). Under Saban, Alabama holds an 89-3 (.967) (85-3, .966 after vacations) mark against unranked opponents.

SABAN VS. FORMER ASSISTANTS: Alabama's matchup at South Carolina marked the 17th meeting between Tide head coach Nick Saban and one of his former assistants. South Carolina's Will Muschamp was an assistant under Saban at LSU from 2001-2004, serving as the Tiger's linebackers coach in 2001, before rising to become the LSU defensive coordinator in 2002. Muschamp also left LSU with Saban after the 2004 season to join the Miami Dolphins staff as the assistant head coach. Saban is 17-0 all-time against his former staffers during his tenure at Alabama. Saban has three wins vs. Will Muschamp (Florida, 2011 and 2014; South Carolina 2019), Derek Dooley (Tennessee, 2010-12) and Jim McElwain (Colorado State, 2013; Florida 2015-16), two wins over Mark Dantonio (Michigan State, 2010-15), Jimbo Fisher (Florida State 2017, Texas A&M 2018), and Kirby Smart (Georgia, 2018 CFP National Championship Game and SEC Championship) and one win over Billy Napier (Louisiana, 2018) and Jeremy Pruitt (Tennessee, 2018).

132-7 UNDER SABAN WHEN LEADING AT THE HALF: Under head coach Nick Saban, the Crimson Tide is 132-7 (.950) when leading at the half. Alabama has held the lead in 49 of its last 62 games dating back to the start of the 2015 season. Alabama is also 116-4 (.966) when leading by seven or more points at the break during the Saban era.

Offensive Notes

SCORING STREAK CONTINUES: Alabama extended its school record for consecutive games with a score to 245 with junior running back Najee Harris' 24-yard receiving touchdown in the first quarter against South Carolina. The Crimson Tide was last held off the scoreboard in a 9-0 loss to Auburn on Nov. 18, 2000. Alabama has a 191-53 (.783) record over the course of the current streak.

OPENING DRIVE TOUCHDOWNS: With Najee Harris' 24-yard receiving touchdown to start Saturday's game with South Carolina, Alabama extended its streak to 28 straight wins when scoring a touchdown on its first offensive possession of a game. The Tide's last loss after finding the end zone on its first drive was to the Oklahoma Sooners in the 2014 Allstate Sugar Bowl.

500+ YARDS OF TOTAL OFFENSE: Alabama recorded 571 yards of total offense in Saturday's game against South Carolina. The 500-plus yard performance marked the 27th time in the last 62 games, dating to the start of the 2015 season, that the Crimson Tide has eclipsed the 500-yard mark. Last season, UA totaled 500 or more yards in 12 of 15 games to set a single-season school record. The Tide has eclipsed 500 yards of offense in all three games during the 2019 campaign.

RUGGS III RECORDS ANOTHER TOUCHDOWN RECEPTION: Junior wideout Henry Ruggs III recorded his 19th career touchdown reception with an 81-yard catch in the opening quarter, moving him to third on the all-time touchdown receptions list behind fellow junior wideout Jerry Jeudy (20). The 81-yard touchdown reception also marked the longest of his career.

TWO OVER 100: With 100-yard receiving performances by DeVonta Smith (136) and Ruggs III (122) against South Carolina, Alabama has now recorded nine games with two receivers over 100 yards, including one this year and three in 2018. Prior to 2018, Alabama had only seen receiving duos post 100 or more receiving yards in the same game five times in program history and only once in the Nick Saban era.

TAGOVAILOA THROWS FOR 300+ YARDS FOR THE EIGHTH TIME: Tua Tagovailoa threw for a career high 444 yards passing against South Carolina, marking his eighth career 300+ passing performance at Alabama, the most in school history. He has now accounted for eight of the 37 performances of 300 or more passing yards by a UA quarterback in school history.

TAGOVAILOA THROWS FOR FOUR OR MORE TOUCHDOWNS ONCE AGAIN: Tua Tagovailoa's five touchdown passes against South Carolina marked the eighth time he has thrown for four or more touchdowns in a game during his career. The eight games with at least four touchdowns passes matches AJ McCarron (2010-13) for the Alabama program record. Last season, Tagovailoa threw for four or more scores six times to a set new single-season school record. The Crimson Tide has played 1,280 games in program history and only 13 times prior to Tagovailoa's 2018 effort had a Tide quarterback thrown for four touchdowns in a game.

TAGOVAILOA HAS CAREER GAME IN PASSING YARDAGE: Tagovailoa's 444 yards against South Carolina ranks third on the Alabama single-game passing yards list.

TAGOVAILOA NOTCHES CRIMSON TIDE FIRST: After throwing for a career-high 444 yards and five touchdowns against South Carolina, Tagovailoa became the first quarterback in Alabama history with 400-plus passing yards and five touchdowns through the air in the same game.

TUA'S TOUCHDOWN RESPONSIBILITY: Junior Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa set an Alabama single-season record for touchdown responsibility in 2018 with 48 scores (43 passing/five rushing). Tagovailoa surpassed the previous record of 36 set by Jalen Hurts in 2016 (23/13). Following his five-touchdown passes against South Carolina, Tagovailoa passed Hurts on the UA career touchdown responsibility list with 74 scores. Hurts finished his Crimson Tide career with 71 (48 passing, 23 rushing) touchdowns. Tagovailoa sits at second with 66 career scoring tosses and eight rushing scores in 27 games, an average of 2.66 touchdowns per game for his career. Alabama's all-time leader is AJ McCarron who recorded 80 (77 passing, 3 rushing) from 2010-13.

CAREER GAME FOR HARRIS: Junior running back Najee Harris recorded the most receiving yards (87) for a running back since Shaun Alexander had 110 receiving yards against Mississippi State on Nov. 14, 1998.

Defensive Notes

TURNOVERS, TURNOVERS, TURNOVERS: With an interception and a fumble recovery against South Carolina on Saturday, the Crimson Tide has forced at least one turnover in 57 of its last 62 contests dating back to the start of the 2015 season. During the current run, the Crimson Tide has forced 101 turnovers (67 interceptions, 34 fumbles) and returned 22 of those miscues for touchdowns.

McKINNEY MATCHES CAREER-HIGH MARK FOR TACKLES: Junior defensive back Xavier McKinney matched his career-high total for tackles with eight stops in today's game. The eight tackles matches his season-opening performance against Duke. Through three games, McKinney has accumulated a team-best 23 tackles and has led or tied for the team lead in stops in each of the Tide's three games.

Special Teams Notes

PUNT DEFENSE CONTINUES IMPRESSIVE PLAY IN 2019: Alabama's punt return defense remains stout this season, allowing zero returns by South Carolina and just two returns for four total yards this year. Last season Alabama gave up just nine punt returns in 42 attempts for 24 yards to rank fifth in the Football Bowl Subdivision in punt return defense at 2.67 yards per return.

University of Alabama Athletics