Alabama has won five of its last six meetings with LSU, and after the program fired Brian Kelly following a 49-25 loss to Texas A&M, the Week 11 matchup between the Tigers and Crimson Tide lost quite a bit of its national luster. However, for Nick Saban, who hoisted national championship trophies with both schools, it was as important as ever.
Following ESPN’s College Gameday, which was live from Lubbock, Texas, where Texas Tech hosted BYU in the only top 10 matchup of the week, Saban flew directly to Tuscaloosa to catch the night game at Bryant-Denny Stadium, and he had a few special guests there waiting for him.
You knew Nick Saban wasn’t missing the Alabama/LSU game
— Andrew Bone (@AndrewJBone) November 9, 2025
Hit the jet from Lubbock to T-Town after GameDay.
Coach & Mrs. Terry welcomed Jedrick Wills, JC Latham, Tyler Booker and Darrian Dalcourt in the sky box.
Post game/visitor coverage:https://t.co/XaZgMs715w pic.twitter.com/NkMWgO84hh
Saban was joined in his suite by former Alabama offensive lineman Jedrick Wills, JC Latham, Tyler Booker, and Darian Dalcourt.
Wills is sitting out the 2025 season as a free agent while he recovers from a lingering knee injury that hampered him throughout the end of his tenure with the Cleveland Browns, the team that drafted him 10th overall in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Dalcourt is also a free agent after the former Crimson Tide guard was released from the Baltimore Ravens practice squad this season. He signed with Baltimore as an undrafted free agent in 2024. Dalcourt spent five seasons with the Crimson Tide from 2019 through 2023, playing 1,427 snaps between guard and center.
Latham and Booker, both recent first-round NFL Draft picks, were both on their bye weeks in NFL Week 10. Latham is in his second season with the Tennessee Titans after being selected seventh overall in the 2024 NFL Draft, and Booker, the 12th pick of the 2025 draft, is midway through his rookie season with the Dallas Cowboys.
Latham, Booker, and Dalcourt shared the field in 2022 and 2023 in Tuscaloosa, while Wills and Dalcourt were on the roster together in 2019 and 2020.
Alabama struggles in the trenches with former offensive linemen in attendance
That legendary group of offensive linemen and Saban may not have liked what they saw from the Crimson Tide offensive line on Saturday night. Ty Simpson was sacked just once and only pressured on 18.9 percent of his dropbacks, but Alabama finished with just 56 total rushing yards.
Daniel Hill led the way on the ground with seven carries for 21 yards, a putrid 3.0-yard average, while the Tide managed a 28 percent rushing success rate against LSU. The run game has been the biggest weakness for Alabama this season, and the offensive line couldn’t rectify the issue in Week 11.