The Tide Is Now Tied, 17-6 : SEC: Alabama defense controls South Carolina to equal school and conference marks with 28th victory in a row.

Sherman Williams ran for 106 yards and two touchdowns as second-ranked Alabama beat South Carolina, 17-6, Saturday night, tying a school and Southeastern Conference record with its 28th consecutive victory.

The Crimson Tide, which has the nation’s longest winning streak, matched the school and SEC mark for consecutive victories set by Bear Bryant’s teams from 1978-80.

“Hopefully we can continue it,” said Jay Barker, who improved to 22-0 as the Tide’s starting quarterback. “We try not to get caught up in it, but it’s always in the back of our minds.”

Alabama (5-0, 3-0 SEC) built a 17-0 lead and held South Carolina to one first down until late in the third quarter, when an interception by the Gamecocks’ Eric Brown set up a 21-yard scoring run by Brandon Bennett on the first play of the fourth quarter.

South Carolina (2-3, 1-3) had a chance to pull even closer two plays later after recovering a fumble by Williams on Alabama’s 44. But the Gamecocks couldn’t get a first down and didn’t score again.

“We certainly had our chances on offense, but we couldn’t stick the ball in the end zone,” South Carolina quarterback Steve Taneyhill said.

Alabama Coach Gene Stallings said he had a few anxious moments in the second half, but remained confident that the Tide would prevail.

“As long as we were playing pretty good defense, I felt we were in control,” he said.

Alabama dominated on the ground, rushing for 216 yards and holding South Carolina to 37.

“They’re the best defensive team we’ve played in my time here,” Bennett said. “They’re so fast and they just fly to the ball.”

Williams carried 23 times and scored on runs of nine and 10 yards. The junior tied a school record by topping 100 yards for the fifth consecutive game.

“I had a good day, and you have to give credit to the offensive line,” he said. “Even though they were a little banged up, they came through and showed a lot of heart.”

Sam Shade intercepted two passes for Alabama, one that led to Williams’ 10-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and another that ended a drive by South Carolina with five minutes left in the game. It was the 13th consecutive game that Alabama has intercepted a pass.

Barker, who saw limited action last week against Louisiana Tech because of a pulled stomach muscle, was 12 of 20 for 177 yards with one interception.

Taneyhill had a rough night before a boisterous crowd of 74,718 at Williams-Brice Stadium. He was intercepted twice, sacked three times and was only 12 of 29 for 128 yards.

“If we make the plays tonight, we have a chance to win,” South Carolina Coach Sparky Woods said. “We had great position on (Alabama receiver Kevin) Lee all night and he makes two great catches over his shoulder.”

After a scoreless first quarter, Alabama took control. The Tide gained a 7-0 lead with 11:37 left in the half on a nine-yard run by Williams, who took a pitch and swept around right end. The key play in the 52-yard drive was a third-down, 18-yard pass from Barker to Chad Key.