A year ago Alabama shocked everyone in the SCRC playoffs by defeating Tennessee in the semis and making the final.

There, the Tide lost to South Carolina, but the victory was a huge shot in the arm for the program, getting them some more support from the school adminstration and boosting the confidence of the players.

 Suddenly, Alabama was rolling through the SCRC West, beating Florida, Auburn, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt for a 6-0 record. Some of the games were close, but most were not.

Now they face South Carolina in the semis, while SCRC East #1 Tennessee takes on SCRC West #2 Florida. 

"It's great that we end this fall with tough games like this," said Alabama Head Coach Mark Seitz. "Having looked at the USC v Tennessee game, we see there are somethings we can do to compete. We're not too sure of ourselves, but we feel confident."

Seitz said penalties will be a crucial aspect of the game, as USC scrumhalf Brian Keown is a dangerous goalkicker who can punish infractions. 

"The other thing about USC is they've got speed," said Seitz. "A lot of teams keep it in the forwards but USC likes to move the ball and we will have to contain them."

Meanwhile, Tennessee was impressive in holding South Carolina to only 14 points in the clash of the top teams, although they were aided by a series of yellow cards against the Gamecocks. Tennessee is favored to win at home against the Gators.

Tennessee hosts Florida at the Tennessee Rugby Park in Knoxville, Tenn. at 1pm ET. Alabama hosts South Carolina at 4pm ET.

Check out a video preview of the Alabama game here: https://youtu.be/GXmIS-M-UrI