Oklahoma DB still has faith in the 2024 Sooners

The Oklahoma Sooners squandered a golden opportunity to become bowl eligible last week, losing to the Missouri Tigers along the way. OU will need to win at least one of their final two games to make the postseason. If they fail, a 25-year streak of bowl eligibility will be broken.

It has had quite a fall from grace in Norman in recent years, as a program that was strong and a frequent contender under Bob Stoops became an explosive but ultimately flawed product under Lincoln Riley. Three years under Brent Venables, the Sooners are simply flawed.

From college football’s elite to fighting to win as many games as they lose, no one saw such a big decline from Oklahoma. But there is still confidence in the 2024 team from none other than a few players in the locker room.

One of those players is second-year defensive back Peyton Bowen, one of OU’s trio of safeties who have been very good this season. He was asked about the mentality of this team after last week’s embarrassing defeat, which almost ended its chances of six wins.

“We still have a lot to play for,” Bowen said. “Eligible to bowl with these two games, we have one more at The Palace and one more at Death Valley. As I said at the beginning of the year: every game can be won. We have the guys to do it, and I think we can do it, I know we can, and we just have to go out there and win them.

That’s what you want to hear from a second-year player, even if OU fans don’t quite share the same sentiment. Bowen is about to have so much more responsibility on his shoulders next season as players like Danny Stutsman and Billy Bowman head to the pros. If Robert Spears-Jennings decides to enter the league as well, Bowen would suddenly be the safety position leader in 2025.

Oklahoma will host the Alabama Crimson Tide for Senior Day in Norman on November 23, and the final game of the season will be against the LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.