A gritty Alabama football team got a pleasing, not pretty, win over the South Carolina Gamecocks. Many descriptions call it an ugly win, but the Crimson Tide had a few plays that no one can label ugly. They were not just game-changing plays but season-changing plays.
The close win caused Alabama to slip one spot in ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI) to No. 4. The Crimson Tide remains the FPI's highest-ranked SEC football team. There are 11 SEC teams ranked in the FPI's top 25 teams. Behind the Crimson Tide are Georgia (No. 6), Texas (No.