Alabama rules out two more linemen, now without six players for trip to No. 14 LSU

Alabama will be without six players when it visits LSU on Saturday night. Heavy reports that the Crimson Tide added two offensive linemen, junior Casey Poe and freshman Jared Graham, to a list that already included linebacker Cayden Jones, defensive back Nick Sherman and defensive lineman Jeremiah Beaman.

Neither new name is a starter. According to Heavy, Poe has played in eight games this fall, mostly on special teams. Graham's biggest moment so far came in practice: the program named him its offensive scout player of the week before the Texas A&M game. Losing both mostly thins the depth behind the starting line. The bigger questions are further down the report.

Quarterback Jett Thomalla is listed as doubtful. Eight more players are questionable: running backs AK Dear and EJ Crowell, wide receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams, defensive back Zabien Brown, offensive linemen Racin Delgatty and William Sanders, and defensive lineman Terrance Green. Coleman-Williams is the name Alabama most wants to see on Saturday. Heavy reports he had arthroscopic surgery to repair a meniscus after he was hurt in the loss to Georgia, and he has missed the two games since. If Delgatty and Sanders can't play either, the line would be stretched further than the two new absences alone suggest.

The stakes are high. The first College Football Playoff rankings put Alabama at No. 5, but at 6-2 the Tide have little room left. A third regular-season loss would make an at-large spot hard to reach. Heavy notes that last year's three-loss playoff team took its third loss in the SEC title game, which is a different case. After LSU, Alabama finishes with a trip to Vanderbilt and home games against Chattanooga and Auburn.

What it means for Saturday

The two teams arrive with the same record and different momentum. Alabama lost close to Georgia, 20-17, and then lost 26-10 at Tennessee before steadying itself in a 31-20 win over Texas A&M. LSU has won two straight by a combined 69-17, beating Mississippi State 31-0 and winning 38-17 at Auburn. Its two losses, 35-34 at Kentucky and 32-24 at Ole Miss, both came on the road. The teams share two opponents. LSU beat Texas A&M 35-6, where Alabama won by 11. Alabama beat Mississippi State 56-23, where LSU won 31-0.

The board for this game has the home team as the clear choice even though Alabama is ranked higher. LSU is favored at -208 on Novig's moneyline. Alabama is +199 there, and the best Alabama price among the 12 venues is +203 at Pinnacle, so the venues are only a few cents apart. On the spread, Novig lists LSU -6.5 at even money. Hard Rock Bet offers a half-point less, LSU -5.5, at -115. Novig's total is 52.5, at -102 on both sides. The sportsbooks' hold on the moneyline runs from 3.2% to 6.8%, which is a fairly wide spread for a marquee conference game.

If Coleman-Williams is cleared and Thomalla's status doesn't touch the starting lineup, the absences mostly affect depth. If the questionable players start to sit as well, the number may move before Saturday's ABC kickoff.