Transfer QB Jalen Hurts has school record performance in debut
When the confetti fell on Campus Corner on Saturday night — as part of a pre-first-game pep rally featuring Greg Pruitt and Joe Washington — one might have thought the Sooners faithful were celebrating prematurely.
After all, Jalen Hurts was yet to quarterback his first game for Oklahoma. And the Sooners’ defense was yet to play its first game under new coordinator Alex Grinch.
Then Sunday night happened.
No worries.
The celebration was near perfect.
As was Hurts’ school record-setting performance, passing for three touchdowns and running for three more and the No. 4 Sooners defeated the Houston Cougars 49-31.
Hurts’ predecessor, Kyler Murray, watched from the sidelines to see Hurts, playing his first game since transferring from Alabama, put up 508 total yards — the fifth most in OU history.
Hurts’ 128 yards rushing in the first half matched Jamelle Holieway’s 1985 school record for a quarterback in a first half. His rushing stats fell just short of wishbone QB Thomas Lott, who ran for 195 yards against Kansas State in 1976.
After the game, Hurts said he was not impressed with the performance, however.
“We did some really good things out there tonight, but there are a lot of things we can improve on,” he said. “We’ve got to take that next step.”
A year ago Hurts might have been the Alabama starter (before losing his position to Tua Tagovailoa. But he looked very much at home at Owen Field in Norman, completing 20 of 23 passes for 332, running for 176 yards on 16 carries and contributing to the Sooners’ total offense of 686 yards.
Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley was pleased.
“He played good,” Riley said. “There were things he could do better, but I thought he handled the moment good. You could tell out there that he’d been in it, certainly. I’m sure he had some nerves, but he did a good job managing them.”
Meanwhile, Houston coach Dana Holgorsen, who coached against Oklahoma during seven seasons at West Virginia, said the Sooners are deserving of their No. 4 ranking.
“Four years ago, they were good,” Holgorsen said. “A year later, they were the best offense in college football. A year later, with a new quarterback, they’re the best offense in college football. A year later, with a new quarterback, they looked the same to me.”
Wide receiver Charleston Rambo had a big night, catching three passes for 105 yards and a touchdown and Trey Sermon ran for 91 yards for Oklahoma.
But while Hurts’ performance was welcomed, it wasn’t nearly as much a surprise as the play of Oklahoma’s much maligned defense — one that finished last in the bowl championship series division in scoring defense last year.
The Sooners “Speed D” pressured Houston quarterback D’Eriq King repeatedly, limiting him to 87 yards passing in the first half. King was considered one of the nation’s top quarterbacks last season. But Sunday night he finished with just 167 yards passing. Even though King rushed for 103 yards, Riley felt the Sooners kept him and the Cougars under control.
A big stand out Sunday night was juniori linebacker Kenneth Murray, who flew to the ball, making 13 tackles, including 2.5 for loss. Murray led the Sooners with 155 tackles last year, but he was obviously more explosive on defense against Houston than any particular game last year.
Oklahoma linebacker Kenneth Murray took advantage of Oklahoma’s new approach. The junior captain finished with 13 tackles, including 2.5 for loss.
“I thought our defense flew around, was extremely active, extremely disruptive for the majority of the game,” Riley said.
Needless to say, the Oklahoma defense looked much improved against a potent Cougars offense. The defense forced three Houston punts in the first quarter — setting the tone for the rest of the game.
NEXT: Oklahoma v. South Dakota in Norman. 6 pm Saturday. PPV.
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