Completed Event: Football at Temple on September 13, 2025 , Win , 42, to, 3
Final
Football
42
at Temple
3
University of Oklahoma Athletics
Photo by: Brendall Vargas/University of Oklahoma
Eli Bowen Named Thorpe Award National DB of the Week
November 18, 2025 | Football
NORMAN — Oklahoma sophomore defensive back Eli Bowen was named the Jim Thorpe Award National Defensive Back of the Week after his performance in the Sooners' 23-21 win at No. 4 Alabama on Saturday, it was announced Tuesday.
Bowen, who was also named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week, returned an interception for a touchdown and recorded a season-high five tackles (all solo) against the Crimson Tide. The interception was the second of his career (his first was against Alabama last year in Norman) and he returned it 87 yards for a touchdown that gave Oklahoma a 10-0 first-quarter lead. It marked OU's longest return play of any kind this season and the eighth-longest interception return in school history.
The Corinth, Texas, product has started all six games in which he has played this season and has registered 16 tackles and two pass breakups. His performance on Saturday helped the Sooners snap Alabama's 17-game home winning streak, which was the longest active FBS streak, and post the program's highest-ranked road victory since winning at No. 2 Ohio State in 2017. OU, which defeated the Crimson Tide 24-3 in Norman last season, became the first program to beat the Tide in consecutive regular seasons since Ole Miss in 2014 and '15.
No. 8/8 Oklahoma (8-2, 4-2 SEC) plays host to No. 23/21 Missouri (7-3, 3-3 SEC) Saturday at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. CT on ABC.
Bowen, who was also named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week, returned an interception for a touchdown and recorded a season-high five tackles (all solo) against the Crimson Tide. The interception was the second of his career (his first was against Alabama last year in Norman) and he returned it 87 yards for a touchdown that gave Oklahoma a 10-0 first-quarter lead. It marked OU's longest return play of any kind this season and the eighth-longest interception return in school history.
The Corinth, Texas, product has started all six games in which he has played this season and has registered 16 tackles and two pass breakups. His performance on Saturday helped the Sooners snap Alabama's 17-game home winning streak, which was the longest active FBS streak, and post the program's highest-ranked road victory since winning at No. 2 Ohio State in 2017. OU, which defeated the Crimson Tide 24-3 in Norman last season, became the first program to beat the Tide in consecutive regular seasons since Ole Miss in 2014 and '15.
No. 8/8 Oklahoma (8-2, 4-2 SEC) plays host to No. 23/21 Missouri (7-3, 3-3 SEC) Saturday at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. CT on ABC.
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