“Peyton Bowen is a beast. He's gonna play on Sundays for a long time.”
Oklahoma fan, r/CFB game thread · at Mississippi State, Oct 24
22 stories in the last 30 days, from 14 outlets.
Oklahoma's Peyton Bowen emerging as college football's top safety
AOL.com +2 Oct 28
Peyton Bowen
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away. Fourth year in the Oklahoma secondary. The first career honor came in 2025: All-SEC. One game to point at: 6 tackles against Michigan — Week 2, 2026.
41 tackles · 1 sack
Play style
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
41 tackles. 5 passes defended. 2 interceptions. 2.5 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
from 14 outlets
Oklahoma's Peyton Bowen emerging as college football's top safety
AOL.com +2 Oct 28 · 3 outlets
Sporting News +1Louisville's Kaleb Beasley, Oklahoma's Peyton Bowen among 15 Thorpe Award semifinalistsOct 27
University of Oklahoma AthleticsPeyton Bowen Named Thorpe Award National DB of the Week - University of OklahomaOct 13University of Oklahoma AthleticsPeyton Bowen Named Thorpe Award Semifinalist - University of OklahomaOct 27
Sports IllustratedPeyton Bowen Dealt With 'a Little Stinger' Following Late Interception, ExitOct 24
The OklahomanPeyton Bowen keeps making 'game-changing plays' as OU football beats MSU | Report cardOct 24from 15 outlets
Oklahoma's Peyton Bowen emerging as college football's top safety
AOL.com +2 Oct 28 · 3 outlets
Sporting News +1Louisville's Kaleb Beasley, Oklahoma's Peyton Bowen among 15 Thorpe Award semifinalistsOct 27University of Oklahoma AthleticsPeyton Bowen Named Thorpe Award National DB of the Week - University of OklahomaOct 13University of Oklahoma AthleticsPeyton Bowen Named Thorpe Award Semifinalist - University of OklahomaOct 27AOL.com +2Oklahoma's Peyton Bowen emerging as college football's top safetyOct 28
On3Crimson Countdown: No. 22 Peyton BowenAug 13Sports IllustratedPeyton Bowen Playing Loose as he Helps Bring Along Oklahoma's Young SafetiesAug 24Sports IllustratedPeyton Bowen Dealt With 'a Little Stinger' Following Late Interception, ExitOct 24The OklahomanPeyton Bowen keeps making 'game-changing plays' as OU football beats MSU | Report cardOct 24The OklahomanWhy Peyton Bowen hopes he can be a 'light' for John Mateer amid OU football QB's strugglesOct 1Sports IllustratedOklahoma DB Peyton Bowen Not ‘Pointing Fingers’ Amid Team’s StrugglesOct 2AOL.com +2The OklahomanSports Illustrated
The Football BrainiacsEach week: his team’s game, the stories about him that week, and the week’s biggest news headline.
Stories are headlines grouped by what they are about, counted through Nov 4.
Fans first named Peyton Bowen vs New Mexico.
On3Oct 31On3Oct 30
Yahoo SportsOct 28Sports IllustratedOct 27
247SportsOct 25Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Last game (Wk 9): 5 tackles.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 51-0vs UTEP | 4 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 2 | L 10-17@ Michigan | 6 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 3 | W 14-6vs New Mexico | 4 | 2 | 1.5 | 1.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 4 | L 13-41@ No. 2 Georgia | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 27-24vs No. 1 Texas | 7 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | Season-high 7 tackles |
| Wk 7 | L 13-21vs No. 15 Kentucky | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 8 | W 23-15@ Mississippi State | 7 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 25-42vs South Carolina | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 41 | 23 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 2 | 5 |
Oct. 31 · L 25-42 vs South Carolina, play by play
5 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
His game this year: coverage — 4 passes defended in the 7 games with play by play.
How Oklahoma’s defense played that day
South Carolina’s 12 drives: 6 stopped (3 takeaways) · 6 scored. While the game was within a score they held 3 of 6.
7 tackles, including 1 interception. His interception ended Mississippi State’s drive (int).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Intercepted. Fourth quarter, up 20-7. Ended Mississippi State’s drive (int). Fans named him again and again right after: the most-talked-about moment of his game.
“Peyton Bowen my beloved.”Oklahoma fan, r/CFB game thread
5 tackles, including 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
A defensive touchdown: his interception went 42 yards for the score. 7 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Intercepted, returned 42 yards for the score. Fourth quarter, made it 24-17.
3 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 4 for him; the box score credits 3.
4 tackles, including 1 sack, 2 passes broken up, tied for 4th-most passes broken up in FBS that week.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Sacked the quarterback for a 8-yard loss. Fourth quarter, up 14-6.
6 tackles, including 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Conference ranks count every player in the conference with a row in that stat, any position. Career ranks count current FBS players, from the games in our log.
Ratings of the games shown run from +6 to +27 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
12%5 pass breakupsInterceptions
2interceptionsTackle volume
41tackles this seasonTFL rate
6%2 TFL41 tackles · 2.5 for loss · 1 sack · 5 pass breakups · 2 interceptions.
4 seasons under Brent Venables — 30-17 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 4.5 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 1.0 |
| Road3g | 5.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 4.8 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.8 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 6.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Brent Venables
Pass share
48.6%
250 pass / 264 run
Plays / game
64.2
8 games
Team sack rate
7.5%
293 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2025
Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.
Recognition
2026 outlook
Outside shot to repeat All-SEC
Based on 2025: #12 of 57 SEC DBs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 22% of returning players who ranked #11–20 at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 19–25%).
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 43 games over four seasons.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-SEC · 2ND TEAM
All-SEC 2nd team (2025)
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
1 coachPlayed every college season under Brent Venables.
