DALLAS, Texas — Eli Bowen's stock had been trending upward since Oklahoma had started conference play.

The reward? The true freshman cornerback was out on the field for the first play against Texas on Saturday, marking his first career start. Bowen delivered on the confidence from the coaching staff, as he led the Sooners in total tackles (8) and was one of five players to record a tackle for loss.

His efforts weren't rewarded as the Sooners fell 34-3 to the Longhorns. But it was no coincidence that Bowen was the only player that Brent Venables praised in his postgame press conference.

"There were some bright spots, not many of them, but there were some," Venables said. "Thought Eli Bowen played well at times in his limited opportunities out there today. Really (did) a nice job."

Also, Bowen and his brother Peyton Bowen became the first siblings to start for OU's defense since 1975 (Lee Roy and Dewey Selmon).

Bowen making his first start was almost inevitable with how well he had been playing for the Sooners. He played 23 snaps against Tennessee and then played 29 snaps against Auburn. Through the first five games, Bowen was the Sooners' highest-graded cornerback and had the third-best coverage grade, according to Pro Football Focus.

Bowen was active against Texas, both defending the run and making plays in coverage.

"Eli, he puts in the work every week, so that’s no surprise for me," OU safety Robert Spears-Jennings said. "Eli, he had a great game. He had the best game on the defense, I’ll say right now. All that work that he put in from fall, spring, all that is showing now and this is just a little glimpse of Eli."

And as the Sooners (4-2, 1-2 SEC) sort through the wreckage of a devastating loss, there's at least a positive development from a young player in the secondary.

"We’ve just got to be better, like we said," Bowen said. "Every aspect of the game — offense, defense, special teams — just got to be better, better at executing. That’s all there is to it."

The Sooners' offense was glaringly unproductive against Texas, finishing with 237 total yards while averaging just 3.4 yards per play. The Sooners had just 136 yards heading into the fourth quarter and didn't score in the final 45 minutes of the game.

The honeymoon seemed to dissipate for true freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins, who never found a rhythm. He completed 19 of 30 passes for 148 yards (7.8 yards per completion) and turned 20 carries into 27 yards while also being sacked five times.

Venables was asked bluntly after the game if he had considered a quarterback change as the offense struggled. His answer was simple.

"No."

The sophomore cornerback notably was asked to change from defense to receiver before the Auburn game. But Johnson didn't log a snap on either side of the ball against the Tigers.

He didn't play in the first quarter against Texas but was inserted into the game on the offense's first drive of the second quarter. And on following defensive possession, Johnson was in the game at cornerback.

However, Johnson wasn't targeted on offense.

"I've been after Jacobe," OU offensive coordinator Seth Littrell said. "He's been working extremely hard getting over there and learning as much as he can in a short amount of time. He's been working extremely hard. Obviously we still need him on the defensive side of the ball as well. That's a very big challenge.

"There's no doubt in my mind that he's talented. He's a gifted athlete. There's no doubt in my mind that he could help us offensively. But at the end of the day, I don't make all those decisions. But I thought he did some good things throughout the week in practice."

That was a consistent message from OU's defense after the game — they have to tackle better.

The Longhorns averaged nearly six yards per carry as the Sooners struggled to tackle consistently. OU defensive coordinator Zac Alley estimated that the Sooners missed eight tackles on Texas' 10-play, 75-yard drive in the second quarter.

"On the defensive side, we knew we had to tackle better," Jennings said. "... So that was our emphasis on the halftime message was just each possession just trying to get tackles, tackles, tackles to get them down."