oklahoma cornerback Eli Bowen It encompasses becoming the bad guy and ruining someone’s good time at home.

The Sooners will travel to Columbia this weekend to play No. 24 Missouri at 6:45 pm on 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 watched their team lose at home, making the environment even more welcoming for the Tigers and hostile for the visiting Sooners. But even though he’s just a freshman with only two real trips under his belt, Bowen has already come to enjoy that atmosphere, as have the rest of his teammates.

“I don’t know, I like away games” Bowen said Tuesday night after practice at a quiet, empty Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. “I and Peyton (Bowen) talk about it all the time. We like away games, we like the animosity, the stands getting involved, yelling at us and stuff like that. I guess we like being the evil guy.”

Outside of the Red River Rivalry at Cotton Bowl Stadium, where OU was technically the home team, the Sooners have been away from Norman just twice this season. His first trip was to Auburn for the program’s first SEC road trip. Even with the eagle flying across Jordan-Hare Stadium to wake up 88,043 fans, OU never flinched. With a rookie quarterback making his first career start, the Sooners stormed down the field to take a 7-0 lead thanks to a 48-yard scamper by Michael Hawkins Jr.

When the stadium was at its loudest in the fourth quarter and Auburn had a 21-10 lead, again, OU didn’t bother and scored 17 unanswered points at 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 returning 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 just one game inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium since 2022 and it turned out to be their last appearance there before hosting OU. Although it was a loss for the Sooners, they once again appeared flummoxed in front of 64,038 fans and led 14-10 at halftime before ultimately falling 26-14.

At 5-4, the Sooners have to add at least one more win to reach bowl eligibility and avoid a losing regular season in their first year in the SEC. OU only has 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 earn the right to another trip to a bowl game.

“Honestly, I like away games.” Arnold said. “It’s a different environment. As I said before, it gives you a sort of advantage to step into someone else’s shoes and potentially take them down; 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 being overwhelmed by the environment, but about accepting it and using it to our advantage.” .