LSU expected to be without linebacker Whit Weeks for Alabama game

LSU is expected to play Saturday's game against Alabama at Tiger Stadium without linebacker Whit Weeks. The senior captain is still recovering from the fibula fracture he suffered in late September.

CBS Sports reporter Matt Zenitz posted the news Thursday evening, citing sources. As HEAVY and ClutchPoints both noted, the Alabama game had been treated as a realistic return date. Weeks broke the fibula in the 35-6 win over Texas A&M on Sept. 26, had surgery soon after and was given an early estimate of four to six weeks. He was upgraded to doubtful on Wednesday's SEC availability report. Zenitz wrote that Weeks "not ready to return yet" was now the expectation.

The loss goes beyond the stat sheet. HEAVY reported that Weeks is LSU's green-dot defender, the player who gets the coaches' calls through his helmet headset and relays them to the rest of the defense. He had 23 tackles in four games before the injury. Injuries have followed him for a while. He broke the same bone in the 2024 Texas Bowl after a 125-tackle season, and an ankle injury limited him to eight games in 2025.

LSU's injury list is long. Safety Dashawn Spears, wide receiver Phillip Wright III, linebacker Charles Ross II and defensive tackle Richard Anderson have been ruled out. Linebacker Zach Weeks, Whit's younger brother, is listed as questionable. Dahvon Keys, who led the Tigers with 92 tackles last season, will keep playing the second linebacker spot.

What it means for Saturday

Both teams come in at 6-2, and both had a bye last weekend. LSU's defense has held up without Weeks. In its last two games the Tigers shut out Mississippi State 31-0 and won 38-17 at Auburn. HEAVY puts the season averages at 16 points and 172.8 passing yards allowed per game. LSU's two losses were close road games, 32-24 at Ole Miss and 35-34 at Kentucky.

Alabama is coming off a 31-20 home win over Texas A&M, in which quarterback Keelon Russell threw for 311 yards and three touchdowns. That win followed back-to-back losses to Georgia (20-17) and Tennessee (26-10). The Crimson Tide have scored at least 45 points five times this season and have beaten LSU three years running. Testing a defense without its signal-caller will be Russell's job.

The absence has not changed which team the market favors. LSU is favored at home, at -203 on Novig's moneyline. Alabama is +199 there, and the best price anywhere is Hard Rock Bet's +200. On the spread, Novig has LSU -6.5 at +106 and Alabama +6.5 at -108. The best LSU number on the board is -5.5 at -115 at Hard Rock Bet. The total is 52.5 at Novig, with both sides at -102. Twelve venues are listing the game, and sportsbook hold runs from 3.3% to 6.8% on the moneyline, so prices from one venue to the next are close. The full board is on the Alabama at LSU odds page.

The game kicks off Saturday on ABC, and both teams' College Football Playoff hopes depend on it.