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    • Why Oklahoma Players Enjoy Road Games
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    Why Oklahoma Players Enjoy Road Games

    Pabio Posted on

    Oklahoma cornerback Eli Bowen it’s about becoming the bad guy and ruining someone’s good time at home.

    The Sooners will head to Columbia this weekend playing No. 24 Missouri at 6:45 p.m. Saturday. It will be a night game at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium, where the Tigers are undefeated this season and haven’t lost since LSU beat them there on Oct. 7, 2023.

    It’s been more than a year and eight games since Missouri fans saw their team lose at home, making the environment all the more comfortable for the Tigers and hostile for the visiting Sooners. But despite being just a freshman with only two true road trips under his belt, Bowen has already learned to appreciate this atmosphere, as have the rest of his teammates.

    “I don’t know, I like away games” Bowen said Tuesday night after practice in an empty and quiet Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. “Me and Peyton (Bowen) talks about it all the time. We like away games, we like the animosity, the stands getting into it, shouting at us and all that. We like being the bad guy, I guess, type.

    Outside of a Red River rivalry at Cotton Bowl Stadium where OU was technically the home team, the Sooners have only been away from Norman twice this season. Their first trip was to Auburn for the program’s first-ever SEC road trip. Even with the eagle flying over Jordan-Hare Stadium to rouse 88,043 fans, OU still never flinched. With a freshman quarterback making his first career start, the Sooners stormed down the field to take a 7-0 lead on a 48-yard run by Michael Hawkins Jr.

    When the stadium was at its loudest in the fourth quarter and Auburn had a 21-10 lead, again OU was unfazed and scored 17 unanswered points in the final 8:32 to secure its first and only victory in the SEC.

    Two weeks ago against Ole Miss in Oxford, it was Jackson Arnold making his return as QB1 and starting for the first time in three games. It was also Arnold’s first start in a true road game.

    The Rebels have only lost one game inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium since 2022 and that was their last appearance there before hosting OU. Although it was a loss for the Sooners, they once again looked unwavering in front of the 64,038 fans and led 14-10 at halftime before ultimately losing 26-14.

    At 5-4, the Sooners need to pick up at least one more win to reach bowl eligibility and avoid a losing regular season in their first year in the SEC. OU has just one home game in that span — against No. 11 Alabama on Nov. 23. The regular season will conclude with a trip to Baton Rouge to face No. 15 LSU on November 30. But first, there’s a trip to Missouri. , where OU can earn the right to another trip to watch a pétanque match.

    "I like road games, honestly," Arnold said. “It’s a different environment. Like I said earlier, it kind of gives you an advantage going into someone else’s house and potentially knocking them off – it’s a great feeling. When we went to Auburn and won there, I mean, it’s great to go to someone else’s house and win, so I think, for us, it’s not about, I guess, to be overwhelmed by the environment, but to accept it and use it to our advantage.

    Pabio
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