Post game interview shows his intensity
To those surprised by Jalen Hurts’ critical analysis of how he and Oklahoma performed in a 49-31 victory against Houston on Sunday night, consider that the Sooners’ new quarterback has significantly different goals than the team.
It’s personal. He’s a man on a mission.
It is a revenge tour of sorts. Having emerged from the transfer portal, Hurts will be a one-and-done QB. There is no next season.
His 508 yards of total offense in one game represents .067 percent of his goals for this, his only, season. Obviously, he won’t come out and openly confirm his intentions, but I believe these are his goals: 1. Win a Heisman. 2. Play Alabama for the national title. 3. Win a national title. 4. And in the postgame afterglow in the title game against Alabama, shake Nick Saban’s hand while proudly holding both the Heisman and national title trophies.
Who wouldn’t want to go back to the school that left your dreams unfulfilled and get a big-time dose of revenge. I know I would.
(Personal aside: I lost out on serious starting time my senior year of high school basketball when two talented freshman joined the team. Bummed out, I dreamed of going to a nearby school and exacting revenge. Back then, there were no transfer portals, so I emphathize with Jalen).
In that onfield postgame interview on ABC, we got a good look at Jalen’s intensity.
Rather than be happy about his performance, Hurts appeared to be fuming…almost Saban-esque.
Rather than be happy about his performance, Hurts appeared to be fuming…almost Saban-esque.
Sideline reporter Holly Rowe vainly tried to extract positive comments from him. Rather than be happy about his performance, he appeared to be fuming, almost Saban-esque.
I suspect Jalen was not happy for not being perfect (he lost a fumble), thereby causing Heisman trackers to pause and consider his merits.
And Jalen could not be happy with the final score. He knows the defense needs to have an increased sense of urgency — like himself. Anything less from the defense means fewer style points, fueling doubts about OU’s overall quality and fueling any playoff cred. He saw that when Alabama went ahead of OU 28-0 in the semifinals.
You know that he saw Alabama’s 42-3 victory over Duke as a sign of a more complete team. Style points can matter. He won’t stand for missed field goals or tackles.
As for the game representing .067 percent — or 1/15th — of his goals, it’s possible he’s not going to roll up big numbers with Lincoln Riley grooming backups for next season.
Will he play a full three quarters against South Dakota? Doubtful (he left the Houston game earlier than expected). It certainly won’t be on national television, so that’s another minus. Jalen might as well write off that game.
Jalen has opportunities to shine on national TV against UCLA (Sept. 14) and Texas Tech (Sept. 28) and Texas (Oct. 12). But will the defense hold up?
So, while OU is rebuilding its defense on a week-to-week basis, Jalen realizes he has a limited window of opportunity. He didn’t have the luxury of spending two seasons in the shadows at OU waiting for his turn.
For Jalen, the future is now. Revenge is within reach. OU has to make sure Jalen’s hands will be full of hardware when Nick Saban goes to congratulate him.
The good, bad and the ugly
Good: The OU offense led by Hurts. The offensive line blocked well. The receivers made key catches (B) and the running backs made big plays (B-plus). The defense has improved to being adequate (C-minus)
Bad: Turnovers (D). OU can’t fumble. The defense still needs work before it can bail out the offense.
Ugly: Two missed field goals should cause some panic (F). Someone needs to step up.
What else?
Larry Coker mention: Coker’s name was brought up when ABC announcer Sean McDonough made small talk with Todd Blackledge about Astros pitcher Justin Verlander’s no-hitter. Verlander was now tied with Cy Young, Larry Corcoran and Bob Feller.
Sean asked Todd whether he knew of those three.
Todd said: “Larry Corcoran? I know a Larry Coker?” Coker, who hails from Okemah, coached at OU, Tulsa and Oklahoma State before winning a national title at Miami in 2001.
Ask Al: In the pregame, Sports Animal host Al Eschbach correctly picked the final score.
Was he humble about it? He’s Al.
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