Paul Finebaum explains why Alabama can't afford to lose vs. South Carolina in 2025

Alabama is staring down one of the most dangerous schedules in the country this fall. During an appearance on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning on Monday, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum revealed one team that Alabama can’t afford to lose to in the 2025 campaign.

“As you go through the schedule, it could be something like the South Carolina game,” Finebaum said. “I know coming out of media days, everybody likes South Carolina, but Vegas doesn’t. And I think that’s the kind of game… that Alabama really can’t afford to lose. And I say that because there’s the Georgia game built into the keg, the LSU game. Tennessee is supposed to be a little less if you look at two or three games that Alabama could be struggling in, and I’ll include the Auburn game at the end of the season as the wild card for the most obvious reasons.

“But that game in Columbia, we know what that stadium can be like. I don’t think there are many Alabama fans that want to look at South Carolina the way I think the media does because we know how good [LaNorris] Sellers is. We know how much they have on that team. So that’s where I would land there.”

Alabama will square off against South Carolina on Oct. 25 in Week 9 of the season. It was a war when the two teams met last season, with the Crimson Tide ultimately escaping with a 27-25 victory.

South Carolina has nine returning starters from last season, who will be hungry to avenge the loss. To pile on, Alabama will likely be facing some fatigue heading into the game.

The Crimson Tide’s game against South Carolina will be their fifth consecutive week with a game, and last week before finally receiving a bye. To pile on, Alabama will be coming off a game against Tennessee.

If the Crimson Tide ride high into Columbia following a win against the Volunteers, they could fall victim to a trap game against the Gamecocks. After all, South Carolina has the talent to take down even the best teams in the SEC.

Most notably, South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers is expected to be one of the best players in the country this season and was named the preseason All-SEC First-Team quarterback by the league’s media. If Alabama doesn’t take care of business against the Gamecocks, its season could spiral.

After South Carolina, Alabama faces off against LSU and Oklahoma. The Crimson Tide have their work cut out for them in the 2025 campaign.