The Sooners will arrive in Arizona Dec. 25 and remain there until Jan. 2.

Plenty of time will be spent seeing the sights and taking in all that’s there to absorb.

After all, that’s what bowl trips are about. The team, the coaches and the fans get a nice little fun-filled vacation.

Of course, there’s always the matter of the game. Don’t think the loss to LSU at the Sugar Bowl and to USC in the Orange don’t still resonate.

“Our players, being in so many bowls games, are very familiar knowing that the game is what really matters,” Stoops said. “We’ve all been to nice places, but winning the football game is what makes the biggest difference in the bowl experience.”

It won’t be any different when the seventh-ranked Sooners (11-2) face No. 9 Boise State (12-0) Jan. 1 in Glendale, Ariz.

The trip is a reward for a successful regular season. But the game is the reason for all the hoopla.

“There’s a reason you’re down there,” Latimer said. “If you get caught up in all those other things, you’re going to go out there and lose the game. You have to remember there’s a reason you’re down and a reason you’re riding those rides and seeing all these places, is to win the game.”

John Shinn366-3536jshinn@normantranscript.com