Oklahoma safety Peyton Bowen named a Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist

Oklahoma safety Peyton Bowen is now a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, which goes to the nation's top defensive back. The honor recognizes a player whose takeaways have decided more than one of the Sooners' games this fall. Roundtable Sports reported that Bowen has started all seven games, with 36 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, a sack, two interceptions, five pass breakups and a forced fumble.

The tackle totals have been steady. He has made at least three stops in every game and at least four in six of them. What sets his season apart is that each of his three takeaways led to Oklahoma points. His forced fumble in the opener against UTEP set up a touchdown two plays later. His 42-yard interception return against then-No. 1 Texas gave Oklahoma a fourth-quarter lead in the 27-24 upset, and that game earned him Thorpe DB of the Week and SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors. Last Saturday at Mississippi State, he picked off a pass in the end zone and brought it back 24 yards as the Sooners built a 23-7 lead and then held on, 23-15.

Sports Illustrated reported that Bowen is Oklahoma's top-graded defender by Pro Football Focus this season, and his 86.7 defensive grade ranks sixth among Division I safeties. After the win in Starkville, coach Brent Venables told the outlet that Bowen is "playing his best football" in his final college season. The Corinth, Texas, native has not missed a game in four years at Oklahoma. He was a second-team All-SEC pick last season and now has 27 career starts, 153 tackles, four interceptions and 17 pass breakups.

Bowen is one of three SEC defensive backs among the semifinalists, along with Georgia's KJ Bolden and Kentucky's Jordan Castell. Finalists will be announced Nov. 24, and the winner Dec. 11. Rickey Dixon, Roy Williams and Derrick Strait have all won the award for Oklahoma.

What it means against South Carolina

Oklahoma is 4-3 and has alternated wins and losses all season. The offense is the reason the Sooners need a defense that creates turnovers: they have scored 14 points or fewer in four games, including losses at Michigan (17-10) and at Georgia (41-13) and last time out at home against Kentucky (21-13). In the 27-24 win over Texas and the 23-15 win at Mississippi State, a Bowen interception led directly to points.

South Carolina comes to Norman on Saturday for homecoming, televised on SEC Network. Oklahoma is favored across the board, which tracks 11 venues. Novig has the Sooners at -186 on the moneyline. On the spread, Novig lists Oklahoma -5.5 at +104. The best price anywhere is FanDuel's Oklahoma -4.5 at -110, so the venues are a point apart on the number. The total is 44.5 at Novig, and other venues range from Pinnacle's 44 to BetRivers' 45. That points to the kind of low-scoring game Oklahoma has played most weeks. Sportsbook hold on the side markets runs from 3.6% to 6.9%.

If Saturday is close, Oklahoma will again be counting on its senior safety to come up with a turnover.