Coleman-Williams catches two TDs as Alabama races past South Carolina 49-18
The short version
- Alabama beat South Carolina 49-18 at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Sept. 26.
- Ryan Coleman-Williams caught five passes for 98 yards and two touchdowns, plus 15 combined yards on punt returns and a carry.
- His second touchdown was his first multi-TD receiving game since September 2025 against Wisconsin.
- Alabama had trailed early in each of its previous two games, against Florida State and Kentucky.
- Keelon Russell hit Lotzeir Brooks on a 75-yard touchdown for the game's opening score.
The junior receiver's pair of first-half touchdown catches helped Alabama build an early lead it had been chasing all season in a home win over the Gamecocks.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Ryan Coleman-Williams delivered the quick start Alabama had been chasing all season, and the Crimson Tide rolled to a 49-18 victory over South Carolina on Saturday, Sept. 26 at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Slow beginnings had been a recurring problem for Alabama in 2026. A week earlier, the team trailed Florida State by 15 points before rallying for a 50-36 shootout win. The game before that, at Kentucky, Alabama found itself down 14-7 in the second quarter. Fixing the issue had been a stated priority, with Coleman-Williams saying the team placed it "front and center" during preparation.
"We haven't started fast all year, so that was definitely something that we wanted to do," Coleman-Williams said afterward. He described an offense feeding off one another with high energy, while noting the group is still searching for a complete 60-minute performance on both sides of the ball.
Alabama opened with a three-and-out, but the second possession needed only one snap. Quarterback Keelon Russell connected with Lotzeir Brooks on a 75-yard post pattern for the game's first points. Coleman-Williams then capped the opening quarter with a 32-yard touchdown reception, sending the Tide into the second quarter up 14-0.
The junior wideout struck again midway through the second quarter. His longest catch of the night, a 42-yard scoring grab, stretched the advantage to 21-3. It also gave him his first game with multiple touchdown receptions since a 38-14 win over Wisconsin in September 2025.
Coleman-Williams said the production in the passing game came as no surprise given how the week of practice went, with the receivers and Russell all, in his words, firing on all cylinders and executing at a high level.
After halftime, he kept the momentum going on special teams, taking a punt return 17 yards and finishing the play by leaping over a South Carolina defender. Russell praised the group around him, saying his pass-catchers can turn a 2-yard throw into a touchdown and that everyone in the offense clicks.
The final stat line for Coleman-Williams showed 113 all-purpose yards: five catches for 98 yards and two scores, two punt returns for 11 yards, and one rushing attempt for 4 yards. He made clear he views the performance as a starting point rather than a peak, saying the team will attack any weaknesses and keep improving week to week.
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