Jalen Hurts Scores 6 TDs in Debut; No. 4 Oklahoma Cruises to Win vs. Houston
Alonzo Adams/Associated Press
The Jalen Hurts era at Oklahoma is officially underway with a win.
Hurts led the Oklahoma Sooners to a 49-31 victory over the Houston Cougars in Sunday's season opener at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. The Alabama transfer finished 20-of-23 for 332 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions and took the first step in his effort to direct the Sooners to their third straight College Football Playoff.
He also added 176 yards and three scores on the ground.
Houston is starting its own era after hiring former West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen this past offseason, but it will have to overcome an early loss to make a bowl game for the seventh straight year.
Jalen Hurts Instantly Becomes Yet Another Oklahoma Heisman Candidate
So much for the pressure getting to Hurts.
How the Alabama quarterback adjusts to sky-high expectations is one of the biggest storylines in all of college football. Baker Mayfield transferred to Oklahoma, and he won the Heisman and reached the CFP in 2018 under head coach Lincoln Riley. Kyler Murray transferred to Oklahoma, and he won the Heisman and reached the CFP in 2019 under Riley.
This has become the norm for the Sooners, and Hurts' audition couldn't have gone much better.
He found Jeremiah Hall for a touchdown on Oklahoma's first possession, ran it in himself for his team's second score and demonstrated the type of quick decision-making and ability to get the ball in receivers' hands that will allow him to thrive in Riley's system.
His individual ability was never more apparent than when he evaded pressure, stepped up in the pocket and found a wide-open CeeDee Lamb for a 45-yard touchdown to go up three scores. His arm was one thing, but his elusiveness was a testament to his high ceiling as a dual-threat playmaker who will juke past defenders in the open field all season.
Jalen Hurts is on a tear midway through the 2nd qtr.
12-13 for 154 yards
7 rush for 51 yards
3 total TDs
Sooners up 21-0
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It will take more than highlight-reel plays to win the Heisman, and Hurts is set up for sustained success as much as any quarterback in the country.
Working in Riley's system that has produced the last two winners is one thing, but Oklahoma is also loaded with skill players who will turn short plays into box-score-stuffing home runs. Lamb returns as one of the best receivers in the nation, Trey Sermon is a multipurpose back who will prevent defenses from homing in on Hurts, and Charleston Rambo's electrifying acceleration parlayed a short slant route into a 56-yard score:
Charleston Rambo
Even with talented teammates who will bolster his already-impressive stats, Hurts is facing a nearly impossible standard of success at Oklahoma.
Fortunately for the Sooners, he is far more familiar with pressure than the typical transfer. He was the 2016 SEC Offensive Player of the Year and led the Crimson Tide to back-to-back CFP national title games. Even though he eventually lost his job to Tua Tagovailoa, he played in more big games than most college programs see in a decade.
The games will get bigger for Hurts at Oklahoma, but the combination of his arm strength and the running back skill set isn't going anywhere. The Big 12 isn't known for a daunting gauntlet of defenses either, so the stats will be there all season.
Hurts had an answer every time Houston seized even the slightest momentum and set the stage for yet another Oklahoma Heisman run under Riley.
Oklahoma Defense Flashes Potential to Be Vastly Upgraded in 2019
Giving up 31 points doesn't necessarily jump off the page for a defense, but there is plenty of context required for Oklahoma's matchup with Houston.
The Cougars may be in the American Athletic Conference, but they finished fifth nationally in points per game last season (43.9) and returned a number of key starters. One of those starters was dual-threat quarterback D'Eriq King, who scored 50 total touchdowns in 2018 and has the shiftiness to make even power-conference defenders miss.
Houston is going to score this season, and there's no shame in Sunday's performance from Oklahoma's perspective.
Houston, which scored 43.9 ppg last year, returned nearly everybody on offense, and has one of the most experienced OLs in the country, is averaging 2.1 yards per play after its first 4 possessions.
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OU getting after it on defense. Last couple years it often felt like they played tentative. Kenneth Murray's everywhere.
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Passing the first test is a sign of things to come for a new-look group under defensive coordinator Alex Grinch. The Sooners hired him this offseason after his time at Washington State and Ohio State the past four campaigns, and they presented him with a defense that was 108thnationally in yards allowed per game and 96th in points per game last year.
If the defense plays like that again, it is difficult to envision Oklahoma as a challenger for a national title, even with Hurts. That's especially the case after considering that the Sooners allowed 54 points to Georgia and 45 points to Alabama, respectively, in the last two CFP losses.
That defense was nowhere to be seen for much of the victory over Houston.
OU forced two three-and-outs on the Cougars' opening two possessions, which is something that hasn't happened since November. The defense passed the first thing resembling a pressure-packed test in the fourth quarter when faced with a short field following an Oklahoma turnover.
. @OU_Athletics are looking good early, not just Hurts and the skill positions but been really impressed with the blocking that’s opened things up, and the defense looks so much better under Grinch.
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Houston drove 87 yards and trimmed the lead to 42-24 on the first possession of the fourth quarter. It then forced a fumble in Sooners territory and had a chance for a quick strike to get back in the game, but Grinch's defense forced a turnover on downs to all but clinch the win.
It was the type of momentum play last year's group wouldn't have made and should give Sooners fans reason for optimism moving into the Big 12 slate.
All the defense has to do is be average for Oklahoma to compete for a title. It was far better than average for most of Sunday's win.
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