COLUMBIA — That was the season.

South Carolina’s 29-22 loss to No. 4 Alabama , where the Gamecocks coughed up an eight-point lead in the final 10 minutes and blew a chance to win at the buzzer when LaNorris Sellers, for the second time in two games against the Crimson Tide, lost a crucial fumble in the fourth quarter, cinched the sickening realization that a season that started in the top 15 with College Football Playoff hopes will almost definitely end without even a bowl game.

Never say never — USC had Alabama on the ropes, didn’t it? — but that haymaker never landed, and the next two games, also against top-10 opponents, are on the road. Ole Miss and Texas A&M , each chasing their own CFP hopes, were going to be nearly impossible to beat anyway, and now USC is going to have to shu

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