R Mason Thomas injury update: Alabama, Oklahoma reveal status of key players on Wednesday availability report

In one of the biggest games of the college football season so far, No. 4 Alabama (8-1, 6-0) and No. 11 Oklahoma (7-2, 3-2) will clash in Tuscaloosa Saturday afternoon. The matchup holds monstrous College Football Playoff implications, as Oklahoma could all but wrap up a berth if it can knock off the Crimson Tide on the road. As for Alabama, a win over the Sooners would mark its fifth against a ranked conference opponent this season.

While this is the first Alabama/Oklahoma conference matchup in Tuscaloosa, it isn’t the first Alabama/Oklahoma matchup in Tuscaloosa. Back in 2003, the Sooners knocked off the Tide 20-13 on the road thanks to eventual Heisman Trophy winner Jason White‘s 259 passing yards and two scores.

Ahead of Saturday’s matchup at Bryant-Denny however, there are some injuries to report. The initial SEC Availability dropped on Wednesday night, featuring some key names for both programs.

No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide (8-1, 6-0)

• DL Jeremiah Beaman – OUT
• LB Cayden Jones – QUESTIONABLE
• DB DaShawn Jones – PROBABLE
• DB Dre Kirkpatrick Jr. – OUT
• LB Jah-Marien Latham – OUT
• TE Danny Lewis Jr. – OUT
• LB Qua Russaw – QUESTIONABLE
• LB Abduall Sanders Jr. – OUT

No. 11 Oklahoma Sooners (7-2, 3-2)

• RB Jovantae Barnes – QUESTIONABLE
• OL Troy Everett – OUT
• DL Jayden Jackson – QUESTIONABLE
• WR Keontez Lewis – PROBABLE
• LB Kobie McKinzie – PROBABLE
• OL Jacob Sexton – OUT
• OL Derek Simmons – PROBABLE
• RB Taylor Tatum – QUESTIONABLE
• OL Jake Taylor – OUT
• DL R Mason Thomas – QUESTIONABLE

Last season, unranked Oklahoma dominated No. 7 Alabama 24-3 in Norman. This marked the beginning of the Crimson Tide’s end of season slide, as they lost two of their final three games. Ahead of Saturday’s matchup, Sooner head coach Brent Venables spoke about the challenge of facing Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

“This is why you play the game, challenge for the players, and you choose to come to a place like Oklahoma, be a part of the SEC,” Venables said. “In this conference, every week is the biggest game of the year, because it is. It’s certainly the next one, and incredibly important for us to try to continue the rhythm we’ve created, going on the road at Tennessee two weeks ago and playing in a tough environment.”

“This will be an electric atmosphere and one where there’s a lot at stake for both teams. Really looking forward to the challenge of competing against Alabama. Tremendous coaching staff, really good veteran football team. They’ve played incredible complimentary football, they lead the SEC in turnover margin, not a more important stat in the game. That really impacts the game more so than turnovers.”

A win this weekend would mark Oklahoma‘s fourth of the season against a ranked opponent. They will need a stronger performance from quarterback John Mateer however, as he passed for just 159 yards and one interception in the Sooners’ 33-27 win over Tennessee prior to the bye-week. It will certainly be a challenge however, as Alabama has held SEC quarterbacks at bay this season.

While Venables spoke highly of Tuscaloosa, Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer wanted to make sure to remind his program of what Venables’ Sooner’s did to them last season.

“You know, we have a lot of new players on the team, so there are players that didn’t experience that. The ones that did certainly better remember,” DeBoer said. “And understand that, more importantly, you’re facing a really good program that, you know, obviously, we went to their place and got beat up pretty good last year, and that’s who’s coming to town this week.”

“And so, you know, Coach Venables has done an amazing job instilling a culture there, and, you know, got a team that is coming here hungry. They’re in the hunt for a lot of different things as far as reaching their goals.”

Kick-off for Saturday’s game is scheduled for 3:30 PM ET. The game can be seen on ABC.