Title game motivates OU

? Don’t expect coach Bob Stoops to plan any special touchdown celebrations or break out new jerseys to get No. 3 Oklahoma motivated for a pivotal final road game of the season.

Just the prospect of clinching a spot in the Big 12 championship game should be enough to get the job done.

“These guys are bright, smart guys. To think you’ve got to do some kind of magical trick or something to say, ‘Hey do you want to go out and play hard?’ that doesn’t go in my mind,” Stoops said at his weekly news conference. “It’s about business, and you go out and you play. If you’re capable of playing, you play well.”

Trips away from Owen Field haven’t been friendly to the Sooners (9-1, 5-1) this season. They suffered their only loss this season at Colorado, and their other two games outside the state were among their three wins by 10 points or less.

That includes a 17-7 victory at Iowa State in their last away game on Oct. 20.

Before that game, players were given a list of all the upsets in college football that had taken place.

It was Stoops’ own form of motivation, albeit less flashy than the Georgia’s on-field celebration or new black jerseys in recent weeks.

This time, though, Stoops is counting on the Sooners’ long-term road success to resurface without any razzle-dazzle.

“What is our road record compared to the rest of the league? It would be worth you probably looking into. You can ask every team in our league the same thing, or probably across the country,” Stoops said. “What is their record?”

“To me, it’s a question that goes to everybody. It’s more difficult on the road with everyone. It always makes me chuckle like it’s just us.

“We’re probably better on the road than anybody in the league in the last eight years, I’m just guessing.”

In Stoops’ nine seasons, Oklahoma is 53-2 at home and 27-10 on the road. In Big 12 road games, the Sooners’ 22-7 record in that span is second-best in the conference behind Texas (28-3).

Even discounting a 1-2 record in Big 12 play in Stoops’ first season in 1999, the Longhorns would still hold the edge.