TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The Bryant-Denny Stadium live cam caught Alabama linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton on perhaps his final walk to the Tide locker room on Saturday night. Escorted by doctors and trainers, it was clear the decorated senior was cursing more than his luck. It may have been his final game.

Hamilton had just injured what was later revealed to be a knee against LSU that sounded every bit as bad as it looked when he went down in the third quarter. Nick Saban later said Hamilton -- the dedicated son of a lieutenant colonel with two tours of Afghanistan -- was "probably out," meaning for the season. That was made official on Monday -- Hamilton fractured his kneecap.

"I told him I love him," fellow linebacker Anferee Jennings. "He's my brother."

Those were not the words of a teammate who expected a veteran of 51 career games back. Just like that, Alabama had lost its second-leading tackler. This is less than a year after Hamilton was knocked out for the season with a knee injury in the SEC Championship Game.

Such is the state of No. 2 Alabama after taking its first swipe at November. Rather, it was November that took a swipe at the Tide. A 24-10 win over LSU on Saturday was less inspiring than it was damaging.

In addition to Hamilton, backup linebacker Mack Wilson went down with a foot. He will be our 4-6 weeks. All-American defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick seemed to tweak a hamstring against the Tigers but returned to play sparingly in dime coverage. He missed practice Monday but should suit up on Saturday at Mississippi State.

All of this comes after Alabama lost two starting outside linebackers in the opener against Florida State. Boiled down, if the Tide had to go play for a championship today, would they win it?

"I can't speak on a championship right now, we're just now getting to the end of the season," tailback Bo Scarbrough said Saturday night. "Championship, that's a different team."

Alabama seemed to be a different team after the bye week. And not in a good way. For the first time this season, the Tide were outrushed and outgained. The Tigers held the ball for 34 minutes.

"We haven't been tested with 'hard' and 'hard' kind of defines you," Saban said. "We didn't play a great game out there."

Not playing a great game is better than being part of the carnage of Saturday.

On a college football day when a Baylor basketball player (touchdown, Ish Wainwright) outscored Kansas (three field goals), a day when Ohio State and Penn State both lost, a day when the playoff deck was shuffled, the center held for one more week at Bryant-Denny.

You never got the feeling Alabama was actually going to lose. But at this point, after 37 wins in their last 39 games, the Tide are competing against a standard they set more than the opponent half the time.

"I don't think that was Alabama football," Scarbrough added. "We should have been more prepared."

Not that it necessarily matters at this point. As long as both Georgia and Alabama keep winning, it can be argued that one or the other can "afford" a loss and still get to the College Football Playoff. The teams are expected to assume their 1-2 spots in the College Football Playoff Rankings in some order when they are released again Tuesday night. Notre Dame and Clemson, in some order, should be right behind them.

Credit Alabama for at least pluming the depths of resolve … for motivation. Those wacky folks on the CFP Selection Committee had the temerity to debut Alabama at No. 2 below Georgia in their first rankings. A sign at ESPN College GameDay on location at Oklahoma State said it all: "We want Bama UGA."

Ouch.

"This is month they remember you for," Jennings said.

The month has already crystallized the SEC. The league's three best teams are clearly Alabama, Georgia and Auburn. The Bulldogs clinched the SEC East on Saturday, beating South Carolina by the same 24-10 score. Auburn won big at Texas A&M, establishing itself as the biggest challenger to both the Bulldogs (Saturday) and Tide (Nov. 25).

Given that back-loaded scheduled, it's fair to suggest Auburn (7-2) may control its own fate in the playoff. Beat Bama (at home in Jordan-Hare Stadium)  and Georgia and that would assured a rematch with the Dawgs in Atlanta. Could any team have three better wins to finish this season?

But back to Bama: How much damage can a dynastic championship contender suffer? Defensive end Da'Shawn Hand returned after missing three games with a knee. Linebackers Hamilton, Wilson and Jamey Mosley all missed time against LSU. After the hammy, Fitzpatrick spent 10 minutes in Alabama's sideline medical tent. He then could be seen urging Saban to let him back in the game.

"He was begging me to play," Saban said. "Minkah is a great competitor."

It's never a good sign when the punter is brought to the postgame press conference as one of the best players on the field.

"One thing we've been focusing on a lot is hang time," said JK Scott, who hasn't had a punt returned against him this season.

All righty, then.

The surprise wasn't that Alabama can take a punch, it's that LSU threw one. The Tide won again but not in the way you might expect. For one of the few times this season, the designated sacrifice challenging this ongoing dynasty against the mighty Tide.

No Coach O jokes. The man has won his first two SEC road games as a full-time coach. Never mind that it took him until his 41st career game to get it (Oct. 7 vs. Florida). There is definite progress being made here. LSU came in with the idea that it wanted to play the game in a phone booth (between the tackles). Offensively, Alabama couldn't quite bust out of one.

Alabama faced its first ranked team since Week 1 against the team formerly known as Florida State. Against LSU and FSU, it was held to a season-low  24 points.

Meanwhile, Tigers have traveled miles (upward) since losing to Troy and Orgeron being pilloried in the square of public opinion. LSU scored its first touchdown in two years against the Tide, a shutdown spanning six quarters.

"We've come a long way," hybrid linebacker Arden Key said. "We were at the bottom. We climbed the ladder."

Pardon me for noticing the only two times Alabama has been punched in the nose this season, it has flinched -- just a bit.

Texas A&M's eight-point loss to the Tide on Oct. 7 may have been enough to save Kevin Sumlin's job. LSU's Saturday showing is at least enough to suggest Orgeron knows what he's doing. And that's from the losing team. For the victors?

"It was a costly win for us," Saban said.

They next four weeks will tell us how costly.