Auburn and Oklahoma both had key players on Wednesday night’s initial availability report as the ranked teams gets set to clash on Saturday afternoon.
It’ll be Jackson Arnold’s much-anticipated return to Norman in the 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff on ABC, but No. 22 Auburn has health concerns as it gets ready for its SEC opener. The main concern is regarding sophomore cornerback Jay Crawford, who was listed as doubtful for Saturday’s game. Not having Crawford against the high-powered Oklahoma passing game would be a major blow to Hugh Freeze‘s defense.
But Auburn’s secondary concerns extend beyond Crawford possibly being out. Junior defensive back Champ Anthony was listed as questionable on the availability report, and potentially not having Crawford or Anthony at the back end of its defense against quarterback John Mateer could be a disaster for Auburn.
Meanwhile, No. 11 Oklahoma will be shorthanded up front, with 3 offensive linemen — Troy Everett, Jacob Sexton and Jake Taylor — listed as out for the showdown between the 3-0 teams who are playing their SEC opener. The Sooners also listed 4 offensive linemen as questionable for Saturday, so depth up front could be a major issue against that Auburn defense.
Here are the full Wednesday night availability reports for both teams:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
