Alabama was hit hard by injuries in Week 1 against Florida State and again last weekend against LSU.

Just last Saturday, LB Shaun Dion Hamilton was lost for the season, LB Mack Wilson broke his foot and star DB Minkah Fitzpatrick was limited with a hamstring injury.

However, heading into a big game at Mississippi State on Saturday, Saban said he still expects his defense to play well, saying injuries are not an excuse for failure (via 247Sports):

“I expect our defense to play well, aight,” Saban said Thursday evening on his weekly call-in radio show. “This is not an excuse to fail, aight. We have other players who have other opportunities, and we have a standard that they have an expectation that we want them to play to, we’re going to coach them to.”

If any team is equipped to handle so many key injuries, it’s Alabama, as the Crimson Tide consistently put together incredible recruiting classes.

However, they face a tough challenge in Mississippi State and dual-threat QB Nick Fitzgerald. See if the Tide are up to the task on Saturday night at 6 p.m. Central time on ESPN.