TUSCALOOSA, Ala. n South Carolina coach Lou Holtz had plenty to be happy about.

Such as Syvelle Newton's running, the dominance of the Gamecocks' defense and a new No. 25 ranking after Saturday night's 20-3 win over struggling Alabama.

Here's another: a 2-1 Southeastern Conference record, marred only by a 20-16 loss to No. 3 Georgia that looks even more impressive given the Bulldogs' demolition of LSU.

"We're now going to play our fourth conference game and we're still alive in the conference race," Holtz said. "It's nice to say that."

After back-to-back losses, Alabama (3-2, 1-2) is just trying to find a way back to the end zone. Coach Mike Shula had little nice to say about his team's performance, with quarterbacks Marc Guillon and Spencer Pennington tossing two interceptions apiece and the running game largely stymied.

"Obviously the quarterbacks did not play winning football," Shula said. "We're not about pointing fingers, but we've got to get those guys better."

Holtz's two-quarterback system continued to work, even with minimal passing. The Gamecocks' Dondrial Pinkins and Syvelle Newton completed only four passes between them.

But with Pinkins watching from the sidelines after aggravating a shoulder injury, Newton came in and ran a conservative gameplan with few hitches. He put the game away with touchdown runs of 8 and 9 yards in the third quarter.

"Syvelle ran the ball well," Holtz said. "He brought a spark and enthusiasm."

Newton saved his strongest praise for the defense. South Carolina allowed just 210 total yards and Fred Bennett had two of the Gamecocks' four interceptions.

An Alabama offense that produced a season-high 271 rushing yards a week earlier at Arkansas managed only 143 on 28 carries.

"It was the best overall our defense has played, bar none," Newton said. "The defense had something to prove."

So do the Gamecocks, apparently. They began as afterthoughts in the SEC's Eastern Division, but will be favored in their next two games against Mississippi and at Kentucky.

Barring a slipup, South Carolina could easily be 4-1 in the league heading into the Oct. 30 visit by Tennessee.

Holtz isn't looking that far ahead. He said the win was one of his biggest at South Carolina "because of the environment," a stadium where the Gamecocks came in 0-7.

"It was a big game for us," he said. "We stepped up and played well as a team.

"We came into a difficult environment and came out with a win."

And they did it with a new offensive formula, too. A team that came in with a strong passing attack and suspect running game relied almost exclusively on the latter.

Tailback Demetris Summers' return after missing two games with an ankle sprain provided a boost. He had six carries for 50 yards in the first quarter, including a 39-yarder. Summers didn't do much after that, gaining 11 yards on his final nine attempts.

Newton, however, gained 53 yards and Cory Boyd added 51.

Holtz's only complaint: "We don't break the big one."

"The third quarter, we're not sitting on it, but we just said, ‘Let's not do anything stupid,"' he said.

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