Speaking of depleted. I'll bet no LSU fans remember this article from the Advocate the week of the 2019 game.
So if depleted rosters lessen a teams achievements then 2019 LSU wasn't as good as they thought.

quote:
The doors to Alabama's indoor practice facility opened. Reporters filed in, peeking, searching for the quarterback who was supposed to be there.

Nick Saban had said the injured star would be returning for the first time since suffering a right high-ankle sprain against Tennessee on Oct. 19.

Tua Tagovailoa was unseen.
It doesn't take much to understand Tagovailoa's injury has come at an inconvenient time.

To add insult to injury — well, there aren't really that many injuries in Baton Rouge. LSU coach Ed Orgeron has said frequently within the past few weeks that this is the healthiest the Tigers have been all season.

The injured list is long in Tuscaloosa, and although it hasn't yet toppled the Tide, it's cumbersome enough to cause concern.

It all started when preseason All-American inside linebacker Dylan Moses was lost for the season because of a knee injury suffered in preseason camp. Then senior linebacker Joshua McMillon also went down for the year with a major knee injury.

But the injuries continued to pile up.
The list swelled against Arkansas: starting center Landon Dickerson and left guard Evan Neal both left the game with injuries, running back Najee Harris twisted his ankle, wide receiver DeVonta Smith bruised his shoulder and defensive back Shyheim Carter also left the game because of an injury.

All seemed pretty minor in the game, including tight end Miller Forristall's. The team's sixth-leading receiver with 131 yards and three touchdowns went back into the game after being checked on the sideline; Saban said the team later learned that Forristall suffered an injury to his voice box that requires surgery and will put him out four-to-six weeks.