Keelon Russell accounted for five touchdowns as No. 8 Alabama defeated South Carolina 49-18 in Tuscaloosa. Alabama improved to 4-0, and the Gamecocks fell to 2-2 in SEC play.

No. 8 Alabama defeated South Carolina 49-18 on Saturday night at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium, Alabama Athletics and Bleacher Report reported. Quarterback Keelon Russell threw for 365 yards and four touchdowns and added a rushing score, powering a first-half explosion that put the Tide ahead 35-10 by halftime.

Alabama (4-0, 2-0 SEC) answered every Gamecocks push. South Carolina (2-2, 0-2 SEC) scored late in the third on a Matt Fuller rush plus a Maurice Brown II two-point conversion to trim the gap to 35-18, but Daniel Hill’s one-yard plunge and Russell’s nine-yard rush in the fourth closed the 31-point margin.

The win keeps Alabama’s early résumé intact heading into the next SEC board. Accounts agree on the 49-18 final and Russell’s five-touchdown night; they diverge mainly on how much the blowout moves national seeding chatter versus simply confirming a mismatch against a struggling South Carolina offense.

Alabama Athletics, Bleacher Report, and ESPN agree Alabama won 49-18 with Russell accounting for five touchdowns. National playoff implications of a home blowout remain interpretive rather than a settled seeding shift.

Politics readers are watching procedure as much as rhetoric: filing deadlines, funding cliffs, and court clocks can matter more on a quiet Sunday than any single speech, which is why desks keep refreshing the same process markers.

Where to watch: check the league or network schedule boards cited in Sources for local window assignments — regional FOX/CBS maps and national cable/stream windows change by market. Team athletics sites remain the cleanest place for official injury and kickoff notes.