Another week, another crucial game with College Football Playoff stakes for Alabama football. The Crimson Tide travels to Oklahoma, to battle a Sooner team that has struggled to a 5-5 record on the season and 1-5 in SEC play.

If UA wins, it remains on a fairly certain CFP track. However, a loss almost certainly dooms those hopes.

Alabama and Oklahoma are scheduled to kick off at 6:30 p.m. CT Saturday in Norman. The game will be aired on ABC.

Before that, here are three questions for the Crimson Tide to answer.

Can Alabama pressure the quarterback?

Que Robinson, one of Alabama’s top pass rushers, is out for the season. That didn’t matter so much against an FCS opponent like Mercer, but Oklahoma will be UA’s first SEC game since Robinson’s injury came against LSU.

The Sooners are dead last in the SEC in sacks allowed this season, giving up 41 so far, for an average of 4.1 per game. Alabama doesn’t rank highly in total sacks, with 21 so far, tied for 13th in the league with Texas A&M.

On Saturday, it’ll be crucial for the Tide to Oklahoma’s quarterback, likely Jackson Arnold, into mistakes. The Oklahoma game could be a big moment for players like Qua Russaw, Yhonzae Pierre and others to show they can get the quarterback on the ground, as Alabama enters the most important stretch of the 2024 season.

Can the Crimson Tide keep creating turnovers?

Turnovers, or as he insists on everyone in his orbit calling them, takeaways, are Kane Wommack’s biggest point of emphasis. On Monday, he explained his techniques for getting Crimson Tide players going for the ball.

“Takeaways, it’s almost like muscle memory,” Wommack said. “You have to continue to preach it. You have to continue to drill it. You talk about it before we go out to a scout-team period. When we start, every practice, we do a takeaway circuit. That started from spring ball to fall camp to every day we go out there on Tuesday and Wednesday practice.

“We have six different drills that our guys go through that emphasize creating interceptions, punching the ball, raking at the quarterback, a number of different areas where you can take the ball away from an offense.”

Oklahoma has turned the ball over 18 times so far this season, 15th out of the 16 SEC teams. If Alabama can gain extra possessions on Saturday, it will go a long way toward helping UA win the critical game.

Can Jalen Milroe keep it up?

After a moment following the Tennessee game where fans were calling for his job, Jalen Milroe has turned his season around. The difference was clear in the LSU game, where the Tigers had nothing for the redshirt junior, who rushed for 185 yards and four touchdowns.

Brent Venables has faced a disappointing year as Oklahoma’s head coach in 2024. Still, the longtime Clemson defensive coordinator can scheme up a defense, and he might have something special for Milroe.

If the Sooners can limit Alabama’s most dangerous player, it’s their best chance at winning the game. But if Milroe and the UA offense remain on fire, it’s unlikely that Oklahoma has enough firepower to keep up.