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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The No. 24 Missouri Tigers shared positive injury updates in the first availability report of the week ahead of their Week 11 matchup with Oklahoma.

This article will be updated with the new reports leading up to game day.

Missouri Wednesday Availability Report:

• QB Brady Cook – Questionable
• RB Nate Noel – Questionable
• OL Logan Reichert – Questionable
• LG Cayden Green – Probable
• WR Mookie Cooper – Doubtful
• LB Brayshawn Littlejohn – Doubtful

Starting quarterback Brady Cook was listed as doubtful the Wednesday and Thursday ahead of Missouri’s Week 9 battle with Alabama, but starts this week off with a better designation. He’s dealing with an ankle injury he suffered against Auburn and a upper body injury he suffered against Alabama.

Starting running back Nate Noel and wide receiver Mookie Cooper fully missed the game against Alabama, with Noel because of a foot injury suffered against Auburn and an unknown injury for Cooper.

Oklahoma Wednesday Availability Report:

Here’s the information without bolding:

• WR Jayden Gibson – Out
• WR Nic Anderson – Out
• WR Andrel Anthony – Out
• DB Gentry Williams – Out
• DB Kendel Dolby – Out
• OL Geirean Hatchett – Out
• OL Jacob Sexton – Out
• OL Jake Taylor – Out
• RB Jovantae Barnes – Questionable
• WR Jalil Farooq – Questionable
• WR Deion Burks – Questionable
• RB Gavin Sawchuk – Questionable
• DL Adepoju Adebawore – Questionable
• OL Joshua Bates – Questionable
• OL Michael Tarquin – Questionable
• DL Ethan Downs – Probable