Jalen Hurts Dominates in Oklahoma Sooners Debut
Jalen Hurts Dominates in Oklahoma Sooners Debut
Jalen Hurts put up a dominant, record-breaking performance on Sunday night in the Oklahoma Sooners 49-31 victory over the Houston Cougars. The graduate transfer finished the game with 332 passing yards, 176 rushing yards, and six total touchdowns - three through the air and three on the ground.
The performance was good for an Oklahoma record for most all-purpose yards in a debut with 508. (The previous record of 396 was held by Baker Mayfield.) Hurts rushed for a school-record 128 yards in the first half. He had racked up more yards through three quarters (493) than reigning Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray did in his best game last season (478). He also became the first player in Oklahoma history to throw for over 300 yards and gain over 150 rushing yards in a game.
Jalen Hurts simply could not be stopped. The Houston-area native seemed to relish the opportunity to dismantle the weak Houston defense in as many ways as possible. He ran Lincoln Riley’s offense efficiently, with a lost fumble near the end of the first half serving as the only major blunder. He was incredibly accurate, finishing the night 20 for 23 through the air. He looked comfortable rolling left and right, passing from the pocket, and navigating lineman to locate his targets. His comfort in the pocket was on display during his 45-yard touchdown pass to CeeDee Lamb to give the Sooners a 21-0 second-quarter lead. The quarterback finished the night as the Sooners’ leading rusher, finding success both on designed runs and through improvised scrambles like this third-quarter rushing touchdown.
Jalen Hurts’ former coach at Alabama, Nick Saban, had high praise for his performance Sunday night.
“I hear he played extremely well - did an outstanding job, and, you know, that doesn’t surprise me in the least bit,” Saban said. “We’re really happy for him. Not only in the way that he handled himself throughout this entire process, but now that he’s having success as well.”
Despite the broken records and admiration from his former coach, Hurts expressed the need for his team to keep working and improving following their opener.
“We played good football at times, but it was not consistent enough,” the graduate transfer told Holley Rowe in a postgame interview. “I gotta go talk to my boys. We gotta get right. We gotta get better. We gotta take more steps.”
Hurts is no stranger to big-time performances. As a true-freshman quarterback for the Alabama Crimson Tide in 2016, he set a school record with 36 total touchdowns. His 954 rushing yards that season was the best for a quarterback in school history.
He led the Tide to a 13-1 record the following season and won offensive MVP in the 2018 Sugar Bowl against Clemson. Hurts then spent much of his junior season in a backup role to star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. He finally had the chance to perform in the big moment again during the 2018 SEC Championship game against Georgia. Following an injury to Tua, Hurts led a fourth-quarter comeback capped off by a 15-yard touchdown run to give Alabama a late 35-28 lead.
The Oklahoma Sooners were lucky to land Jalen Hurts, who left Alabama with a 26-2 record as a starter. The transfer quarterback showed no signs of regression in his performance Sunday night, and it was the type of showing that has Sooner fans wondering if he can join Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray in hoisting the Heisman Trophy in December. Jalen and his Sooners team will look to continue their domination this Saturday as they take on South Dakota at home.
-By: Jonny Hart