Nick Saban updates the status of two injured starters during Saturday's LSU game

A pair of Alabama starters suffered injuries in Saturday night’s 20-14 win over LSU at Bryant-Denny Stadium, and Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban updated the status of the pair during his postgame press conference.

Junior offensive lineman Darrian Dalcourt exited the game in the first quarter with a lower-body injury. A 6-foot-3, 300-pounder who was a four-star recruit out of the Class of 2019, Dalcourt’s injury was described as a sprained ankle by Saban.

Alongside Dalcourt, Saban said that redshirt junior defensive back Jalyn Armour-Davis took a shot in the ribs in the third quarter and was sidelined for the remainder of the game. Armour-Davis – a four-star prospect in the 2018 class – missed his first season in Tuscaloosa with a knee injury. He’s made 13 total tackles and intercepted three passes in 2021.

“I just know that Dalcourt sprained his ankle,” Saban said. “I don’t know how serious it is or how bad it is. Jalyn Armour-Davis got hit in the ribs … X-rays were negative, so hopefully he’ll recover quickly. But other than that, not a lot to report.”

Nick Saban provides message to disappointed fans after narrow LSU win

Alabama has been a dominant college football team for a very long time under the direction of Nick Saban, so Crimson Tide fans expect their team to win week-by-week – and by a lot of points. After the Tide beat LSU by just six points Saturday night with a 20-14 win, Saban had a message for the fanbase.

“I know that sometimes we have an expectation that we’re going to win easy, but sometimes it’s not so easy,” Saban said. “I think it’s difficult to win in this conference and I think it’s difficult to win week-in and week-out. I think you’ve got to play your best – we probably didn’t play our best in some areas of the team – and we’ve got to get more consistency in how we play.”

Alabama certainly wasn’t at its best against LSU, as it allowed the Tigers to score the first points of the game and lead 7-0 after the opening quarter. The Crimson Tide also gave up 295 total yards and let LSU go 5-for-7 on third down.

While its overall performance wasn’t the best, Alabama – which is ranked No. 2 in the first College Football Playoff Top 25 of the season – still won, moved to 8-1 on the season and 5-1 in SEC play, and will remain in the CFP top four this week – no question.