Oklahoma got great news on Thursday’s SEC Availability Report. 

Receivers Jalil Farooq and Deion Burks have both been upgraded from questionable to probable for this week’s battle with No. 24 Missouri.

Farooq has been out of the lineup since Week 1, where he virtually played just one drive, and Burks hasn’t seen the field since OU’s Week 4 loss to Tennessee. 

Running back Jovantae Barnes maintained his status as questionable for Saturday’s game with the Tigers.

Barnes rushed for 203 yards and three scores last Saturday against Maine, and would be a key piece of Oklahoma’s offensive game plan against the Tigers on Saturday night if he’s able to take the field. 

Should Barnes be unable to go, the Sooners will turn to true freshman Taylor Tatum, who has carried the ball 43 times for 239 yards and three scores this year, and Gavin Sawchuk, who was listed as questionable on Thursday’s report. 

Right tackle Michael Tarquin was also listed as questionable, and reserve center Joshua Bates was downgraded to doubtful, and OU tackles Jacob Sexton and Jake Taylor have already been ruled out of the trip to Columbia, MO. 

Defensive end Ethan Downs was listed as probable on Wednesday’s report, but he was removed altogether indicating that he’ll be available to play Saturday. 

Missouri’s injury situation isn’t any more clear than on Wednesday.

Starting quarterback Brady Cook is still questionable as the Tigers monitor a wrist injury that saw Cook exit their last game against Alabama. 

Missouri leading rusher Nate Noel is also still questionable, which would be another major blow to Eli Drinkwitz’ offense. 

Welcome to Missouri Tigers On SI’s “Extra Point,” a video series featuring the site’s Missouri beat writers. Multiple times a week, the writers provide analysis on a topic concerning the Tigers or the landscape of college sports.

Watch the video above as MissouriOnSI lead reporter Joey Van Zummeren breaks down what head coach Eli Drinkwitz said will be the deciding factor for the Tigers’ Week 11 matchup with Oklahoma and why Missouri has struggled so much in that area.

The No. 24 Missouri Tigers will be looking for a statement win to open up the final quarter of the 2024 season. After a bye week in Week 10, the Tigers need a win over Oklahoma after going 1-2 in SEC play in October.

Health will be the biggest question for Missouri, with starting quarterback Brady Cook, leading rusher Nate Noel and Mookie Cooper all dealing with injuries. Even if those three can go though, the Tigers’ offense has struggled to find rhythm all season long.

There’s been stretches where the Missouri offense has been effective. It led a 15-point comeback in the final quarter to secure a win over Auburn in Week 8. It scored 30 over Vanderbilt in Week 4, a feat only one other SEC team (Alabama) has done.

But it has yet to be the explosive unit it was projected to be ahead of the start of the season. It will need to have one of its best game of the season against Oklahoma for the Tigers to win the first matchup of the rivalry in the SEC.

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The Oklahoma Sooners will look to win their second straight game on Saturday, as they’ll visit the Missouri Tigers. OU defeated Maine last week, with several true freshmen getting plenty of snaps in a blowout win over an FCS foe.

This week, it’s back to the SEC grind for Brent Venables’ squad, as Oklahoma looks to reach bowl eligibility. With plenty of injuries still hampering the Sooners, it could be another opportunity for some young players to step into the spotlight on the road.

Here are three freshmen to keep your eye on when Oklahoma takes on Missouri.

1. Xavier Robinson, RB

Running back Xavier Robinson was impressive last week against the Black Bears. He was playing in mop-up duty against lesser competition, but his physicality and burst has some clamoring to see what he can do at the highest level.

Robinson is a local talent from Carl Albert High School in Oklahoma, and he’s been buried on the depth chart behind Jovantae Barnes, Taylor Tatum, and others. No one is saying he should surpass Barnes or Tatum, but it’d be interesting to see what he can do if given the chance to get more work.

2. Reggie Powers III, DB

Each of the past two weeks, I’ve included one of OU’s freshmen trio of defensive backs in this piece. This week, Reggie Powers III gets the nod. He, along with Jaydan Hardy and Michael Boganowski make up an exciting future at safety for Oklahoma’s defense. They’re all playing more and more as the season moves along.

Powers had a beautiful interception in the fourth quarter last week that was wiped off the board due to a roughing the passer penalty. He’s been solid on special teams, and could certainly see more snaps as the Sooners try to cover up some of their deficiencies at cornerback.

3. Ivan Carreon, WR

We’ll go a little out of the box for this third one. Everyone knows about OU’s wide receiver injuries in 2024. And everyone knows about the various levels of impact true freshmen wideouts like Jacob Jordan, Zion Kearney, and Zion Ragins have had in their place.

But another guy who has gotten a bit of playing time is Ivan Carreon. He’s got the most size of the group at 6-foot-6, and is a good blocker on the outside. He’s caught a couple of passes this season, but could be in line for some more targets if the Sooners have bad injury luck at wideout again this week. He followed Emmett Jones from Texas Tech, decommitting from the Red Raiders to come to Norman.

Oklahoma vs. Missouri will kick off on SEC Network at 6:45 p.m. from Columbia, Missouri.

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