Oklahoma’s sole SEC victory so far came on the road against Auburn, and the Sooners will have another opportunity to claim a road win this week against Missouri.
For Oklahoma cornerback Eli Bowen, there’s something enjoyable about playing the villain and disrupting the home team’s good time. This weekend, the Sooners will travel to Columbia to face No. 24 Missouri in a night game at Faurot Field, where the Tigers are undefeated this season. They haven’t lost at home since October 2023, making the environment even more challenging for the visitors.
Despite being a freshman with only two true road games under his belt, Bowen has quickly developed an appreciation for road games, a sentiment shared by many of his teammates. “I like away games,” Bowen said after Tuesday’s practice. “Me and Peyton Bowen talk about it all the time. We like the animosity, the stands get into it, yelling at us. We like being the bad guys.”
This season, Oklahoma has only been away from Norman twice. Their first road trip was to Auburn, marking the program’s first SEC road game. Despite the intimidating atmosphere at Jordan-Hare Stadium, including the famous eagle flying across the field in front of a crowd of over 88,000, the Sooners remained calm. With freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. making his first start, the Sooners took an early lead and later scored 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to secure a 27-21 victory.
In their most recent road game, Oklahoma faced Ole Miss in Oxford. Despite being down 14-10 at halftime, the Sooners remained composed against a team with a strong home record, eventually losing 26-14.
At 5-4, Oklahoma needs at least one more win to become bowl eligible and avoid a losing season in their inaugural SEC campaign. They have only one home game left, against No. 11 Alabama on November 23, and will finish the regular season with a road trip to LSU on November 30. But first, they must take on Missouri, where a win will put them one step closer to a bowl berth.
“I kind of like road games, honestly,” quarterback Jackson Arnold said. “It’s a different environment. It gives you an edge when you go into someone else’s place and potentially take them down. When we won at Auburn, it felt great to win in somebody else’s house. We don’t get overwhelmed by the environment. We embrace it and use it to our advantage.”
