Oklahoma's Peyton Bowen & Tate Sandell Take Home SEC Weekly Awards

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The SEC got this one right.

Peyton Bowen was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week and Tate Sandell took home Special Teams Player of the Week after Oklahoma’s 27-24 win over No. 1 Texas.

If you watched the game, that probably feels obvious.

One stole a possession and scored with it. The other walked the Sooners out of Dallas with the rivalry trophy.

Bowen’s moment was the swing play. Oklahoma had trailed 17-7 at half and was still trying to turn the afternoon into a real fight when he jumped Arch Manning’s throw and took it 42 yards for a touchdown. That pick-six made it 24-17 and completely changed the temperature inside the Cotton Bowl.

He finished with seven tackles, six solo, and looked exactly like what he has been for this defense: the guy who always seems to find a way into the biggest plays. It was his first interception of the year, the third of his career, and the first he has taken to the house. All three of those picks have come in the last two seasons.

This was also his first SEC weekly award. Hard to argue he did not earn it.

Sandell’s day was just as big, only it came with the clock dying. He had already knocked through a 53-yarder in the third quarter to make it 17-10. Then, after Oklahoma got the final stop and enough yards to give him a chance, he drilled the 47-yarder as time expired. That is the kick people will remember from this game for a long time.

He did miss an earlier 53-yard try, so it was not a perfect day. It was a decisive one. Sandell went 2-for-3 in that game, 47-for-47 on PATs as a Sooner, and still one of the most trustworthy players on the roster. The walk-off was only the second game-winning play as time expired in program history.

For a guy who won the Lou Groza Award last year, this was another reminder that Oklahoma does not have to hold its breath every time the kicking team jogs on.

The historical layer makes it even better. This was Oklahoma’s first win over a No. 1 team since 2007, the first over an AP No. 1 while unranked, and the first over Texas when the Longhorns were sitting at No. 1.

That is a pretty good day’s work. And it tracks that the league’s weekly awards went to the two guys who stamped the biggest moments.

Isaiah Sategna had already picked up an SEC special teams honor earlier this season. Now the Sooners have three weekly awards on the year.

The only problem with nights like that is how fast the calendar moves. Oklahoma is 3-2 and 1-1 in the SEC, and No. 15/17 Kentucky is already headed to Norman for a 6:30 p.m. kick on SEC Network.

The awards are nice. They are deserved. They also will not mean much if the Sooners treat Dallas like the finish line instead of the first real step back in the right direction.

For one week, though, the league just confirmed what the game already showed.

Bowen was the defensive difference. Sandell was the finisher. Oklahoma needed both.

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