Close your eyes for a second and transport yourself back to Saturday afternoon. No. 7 Alabama is trailing South Carolina 19-14 with 1:27 left in the third quarter. The Crimson Tide is preparing for what figures to be a crucial drive with its season slowly slipping away. Tide fans rustle anxiously in their seats. Then, Natasha Bedingfield’s “Unwritten” comes blaring from the speakers.

The bubbly early 2000s pop hit was an interesting choice for the situation. But in a way, it was perfectly emblematic of a weird brunch date inside Bryant-Denny Stadium as Alabama narrowly avoided a second straight embarrassing defeat in a 27-25 victory over South Carolina.

I am unwritten

Can't read my mind, I'm undefined

This about sums up Alabama’s bizarre end-of-the-half decision process. After giving up 9 points in nine seconds, the Tide appeared set to slump into the half with a 14-9 lead.

Following a fumble recovery around midfield, Jalen Milroe lost 3 yards on a run before taking a sack, resulting in third-and-19 from the Alabama 38. From there, it appeared as though Kalen DeBoer had settled on taking his team’s 5-point lead into the break.

With 39 seconds remaining, the head coach let the clock tick down to 11 seconds before calling a timeout. Then DeBoer decided to take a chance.

“I’m thinking if we can get one play to where we can throw it to the end zone on fourth down and the clock ends with us having the football, I’m all for it,” DeBoer explained after the game. “Worst case scenario you take a sack or something, you have to punt it. I don’t like punting, really anytime, but that was to me the worst-case scenario.”

Instead of running out the clock, DeBoer dialed up a passing play. The call backfired, as Jalen Milroe threw into coverage and was picked off by Jalon Kilgore, who returned the ball to the Alabama 19-yard line with 1 second remaining to set up a field goal for South Carolina and strengthen the Gamecocks’ momentum heading into the break.

“I’m always just aggressive that way and you try to weigh the risk-reward and put the trust in the guys, the things we talk about,” DeBoer said. “That’ll be something obviously me, J-Mill, Coach (Nick) Sheridan, we’ll sit and talk about. When we’re in that moment and we want to keep the pedal down and try and give ourselves another play. I’m looking for anything. A pass, it might be defensive pass interference. It could be anything that gives us one more play. We’ve seen crazier things happen, right? That’s just the aggressiveness I like to have.”

Staring at the blank page before you

Open up the dirty window

Bedingfield might as well be singing about defensive coordinator Kane Wommack’s list of adjustments on third-down defense over the past two games.

After allowing Vanderbilt to go 12 of 18 on third downs during a 40-35 defeat in Nashville, Tennessee last weekend, Alabama wasn’t much better at getting off the field against South Carolina on Saturday. The Gamecocks converted 7 of 15 third-down attempts, including all five on a 16-play touchdown drive that spanned 85 yards and chewed up 8:35 to open up the second half. That came after Alabama gave up a 36-yard touchdown on fourth-and-9 in the second quarter.

Six games into the season, Wommack’s swarm defense has lost its sting.

After making Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia look like a Heisman Trophy candidate last weekend, Alabama was picked apart by South Carolina redshirt freshman LaNorris Sellers. The typically run-first quarterback went a combined 7 of 8 for 88 yards on third- and fourth-down before throwing a game-ending interception to Domani Jackson on third-and-8 from the Alabama 47-yard line with 13 seconds remaining.

Wommack will need to add to his blank page of improvements quickly, as Alabama travels to No. 8 Tennessee next weekend. Fortunately for the Tide, Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava isn’t playing up to his five-star potential at the moment. However, the Volunteers are still converting a respectable 44.68% of their third-down attempts.

I break tradition

Sometimes my tries, are outside the lines yeah, yeah

Much to the dismay of the grumpier portion of Alabama’s fanbase, DeBoer continued to sport his casual attire on the sideline. As he has for all four of the Tide’s home games this season, the head coach donned an all-black get-up featuring athletic pants and a lightweight hoodie. That’s a noticeable change from the tucked-in athletic polo, slacks and belt Nick Saban wore during his 17 seasons at the helm.

During his weekly radio show last Wednesday, DeBoer stated that word has got to him about Tide fans’ displeasure with his gameday outfits. However, it doesn’t look like the head coach is going to be switching up his style anytime soon.

We've been conditioned to not make mistakes

But I can't live that way oh, oh

Forget LANK, or a 1-0 mindset, this has been the most fitting motto for Alabama this season. The Tide is currently tied for No. 112 nationally averaging 7.8 penalties per game. Alabama finished a hair under that mark against South Carolina, piling up seven flags for a total of 66 yards.

Several of those penalties were costly, too.

On offense, an ineligible-man-downfield call wiped out a 19-yard gain in the first quarter. Later in the half, Milroe was flagged for intentional grounding in the end zone, resulting in a safety.

On defense, a roughing the passer penalty negated a third-down stop in the first quarter. In the fourth quarter, a facemask penalty gave South Carolina a first down instead of a third-and-long following a second-down sack.

Alabama’s second-quarter safety was also set up by a lack of discipline, as Bray Hubbard was flagged for a personal foul on a kickoff return, forcing the Tide to start at its own 13-yard line.

“Penalties, we’re striving for zero,” DeBoer said after the game. “That’s what we’re trying to do. We emphasize it. Every situation is a learning one, and we’re gonna talk about that.”

The time for talking things out has now passed. If Alabama still plans on making a trip to the College Football Playoff this season, it will need to back up those words over the next few weeks. Next up for the Tide is a three-game gauntlet featuring a trip to No. 8 Tennessee next week before hosting No. 21 Missouri on Oct. 26 and traveling to No. 13 LSU on Nov. 9.

Will Alabama be able to rediscover itself and play up to its standard, or will Saturday be the start of a few more awkward moments in Bryant-Denny Stadium?

Today is where Alabama’s book begins. The rest is still unwritten.

(Commercial break: My column is now sponsored by my friends at Session Cocktails in Tuscaloosa. Session has been a mainstay in Tuscaloosa’s cocktail scene since 2019 and offers some of the tastiest drinks in town. Stop by and tell them I said hi!)

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