'Road Dog' Oklahoma Now Needs That Bite to Defend Owen Field

NORMAN — Brent Venables has the wit of a bard when it comes to one-liners, monikers and the kind of motivational turns of phrase that echo through a program. All in an effort to rally his team and linger long after the game is played.

Last week, it was "hard to kill." The Sooners adorned in black shirts carrying the motto into Bryant-Denny Stadium and ultimately to victory. But throughout the season, Oklahoma has referenced their "road dog" mentality prior to the Sooners taking their talents away from Norman.

"It's about going into somebody else's house," Venables said, his voice hoarse prior to their game against Tennessee. "Everybody is rooting against you."

Now with the College Football Playoff visible in the distant horizon, that same edge will have to translate to the friendly confines of Owen Field — where everyone is rooting for the Sooners.

"We have the T-shirts 'hard to kill' for a reason," Sammy Omosigho said on Monday. "That doesn't mean hard to kill on away games. It means hard to kill in any game and any team you go against, every opponent that you face. So we've got to make sure that we're hard to kill in every environment that we're in, if that's on our home turf or away."

Oklahoma played with an edge on the road, with statement wins over South Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama powered by a defense that forced eight turnovers and scored two touchdowns in those three road trips. Monikers like “road dog” and “hard to kill” now capture the physical reputation Venables and his defense are building.

More Oklahoma Football

But the Sooners know what opportunities lie before them. They know that instead of playing the part of the villain, raining on their opponents' parade in their own house, they can derive their energy from an inspired crowd that has its sights set on the playoffs.

"Our goals are still in front of us and we've got two more games left," Eli Bowen said. "So (Missouri is the) only thing that can stop us from reaching our goals. I feel like that's where the drive will come from. Just getting through them."

The last time OU played in front of its home crowd, the atmosphere was electric. Despite torrential downpour and a lackluster first half of football, the Sooners enjoyed a friendly-hostile environment to rally against Mississippi before losing late.

That atmosphere is something the team is expecting and more, now that there are lofty prizes at play.

"I feel like they should be out here loud, screaming, helping us get that (win)," Jaydan Hardy said. "Help get that pressure on that quarterback. Help us out and bring that fan base here and let us finish strong here at home."

This is a Venables-led team. They realize that just because they've built positive momentum, it doesn't mean it will just continue to a playoff bid. They have to earn it. Missouri will test their ability to play while everyone is patting them on the back.

Perhaps winning at Alabama in a manner that didn't please a lot of analysts is a good motivating factor.

"Trying to just keep perfecting the details; we didn’t play perfect (last week)," Danny Okoye said. "We played well. We played well enough to win, but of course we got to keep stacking, progressing and we have to just make sure we have our best shot ready for Mizzou.”