Eli Bowen believes the Oklahoma defense could have been better

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The Oklahoma Sooners are coming off their first loss of the 2026 college football season, falling 17-10 to the Michigan Wolverines. While Oklahoma's defense stifled in the second half, it struggled in the first.

The Sooners struggled with tackling for the second straight week. Numerous missed tackles allowed Michigan to move it down the field on the Sooners and take a 10-0 lead in the first half. The second half was a much better performance. Michigan only scored seven points, but that was off a John Mateer interception that gave the Wolverines first and goal at the six-yard line.

Cornerback Eli Bowen said the defense did some good work, but they still have things to work on.

"I do agree that there was a lot of good, but there was a lot of stuff that we could have done a little better," Bowen said via OU Insider. "There were a lot of balls on the ground that we didn't end up getting to and on top of. That could have been huge momentum shifts in the game. And tackling. We didn't really tackle that well. That carried over from the last game."

The second-half response showed that Oklahoma's defense can make the necessary adjustments during a game. The problem is that against quality opponents, a slow start and missed tackles can create a deficit that becomes difficult to overcome.

That makes Bowen's comments more significant than simply pointing out a few mistakes from one afternoon. Oklahoma had already emphasized tackling after its 51-0 win over the University of Texas at El Paso Miners, and seeing the same issue carry into the Michigan game suggests it remains an area that needs immediate attention.

The Sooners will have an opportunity to correct it against the New Mexico Lobos before the schedule gets significantly tougher. With the Georgia Bulldogs and Texas Longhorns still ahead, Oklahoma cannot afford to keep giving opponents extra yards or leaving potential momentum-changing plays on the field. The defense showed it can respond, but the next step is making sure it doesn't have to spend another Saturday digging itself out of an early hole.

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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Eli Bowen believes the Oklahoma defense could have been better

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