Why Oklahoma Players Enjoy Road Games

The Sooners' only SEC win so far came on the road against Auburn, and they'll get another chance this week against Missouri in Columbia.

Oct 26, 2024; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Jackson Arnold (11) runs the ball during the first half against the Mississippi Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Oklahoma cornerback Eli Bowen embraces getting to be the bad guy and getting to spoil someone’s good time at home. 

The Sooners will go on the road to Columbia this weekend to play 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 unbeaten this season and haven’t lost since LSU beat them there on Oct. 7, 2023. 

It’s been over a year and eight games since Missouri fans have witnessed their team lose at home, making the environment all that more cozy for the Tigers and hostile for the visiting Sooners. But although just a freshman with only two true road trips under his belt, Bowen has already come to enjoy that atmosphere, much like 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) talk about it all the time. We like away games, we like the animosity, the stands get into it, yelling at us and stuff. We like being the evil guy, I guess, type.” 

Outside of a Red River Rivalry at Cotton Bowl Stadium where OU was technically the home team, the Sooners have been away from Norman only twice this season. Their first trip was to Auburn for the program’s first-ever SEC road trip. Even with the eagle flying through Jordan-Hare Stadium to arouse 88,043 fans, OU still never flinched. With a freshman quarterback making his first career start, the Sooners stormed right down the field to take a 7-0 lead thanks to a 48-yard scramble 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 unbothered and scored 17 unanswered points in the finals 8:32 to secure its first and only so far SEC win. 

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 lost only one game inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium since 2022 and it happened to be their last appearance there before hosting OU. Although a loss for the Sooners, they once again appeared unrattled by the 64,038 fans and led 14-10 at halftime before ultimately falling 26-14. 

At 5-4, the Sooners have to tally at least one more win to reach bowl eligibility and avoid a losing regular season in their first year in the SEC. OU has only one home game during that span – against No. 11 Alabama on Nov. 23. The regular season will conclude with a trip to Baton Rouge to play No. 15 LSU on Nov. 30. But first, there’s a trip to Missouri, where OU can win the right for another trip to a bowl game. 

“I kind of like road games, honestly,” Arnold said. “It’s a different environment. Like I said earlier, it kind of gives you an edge going into somebody else’s place and potentially taking them down – it’s a great feeling. When we went down to Auburn and won there, I mean, it’s great to go down to somebody else’s house and win, so I think, for us, it’s not being, I guess, overwhelmed by the environment, but kind of embracing it and using it to our advantage.”