The Oklahoma Sooners’ excellent track record with transfer quarterbacks continued on Sunday night when Jalen Hurts led the Sooners to a 49-31 win over Houston. Hurts had a monster game, outshining both Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray in their Crimson and Cream debuts while showing that Oklahoma is in great hands this season.
Jalen Hurts had the same amount of TDs in his Oklahoma debut as Baker and Kyler did combined 😳 pic.twitter.com/CFGYKkeS9P
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 2, 2019
The Alabama transfer had a nearly perfect debut. Hurts racked up over 500 total yards of offense, showcasing the talent that made him a Heisman Trophy contender in Tuscaloosa. He completed 20 of 23 passes for 332 yards and three touchdowns, and he ran 16 times for 176 yards and three scores too.
The damage could have been worse. Hurts led Oklahoma into Houston territory in each of the Sooners’ first nine possessions, but missed field goals and turnovers kept them from converting on all their chances.
I started saying several months ago on Undisputed that Jalen Hurts would win OU's 3rd straight Heisman and I got laughed at. Not so funny now, is it?
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) September 2, 2019
Hurts’ debut has led to some predicting that Oklahoma would have its third straight Heisman Trophy winner. Baker Mayfield won the 2017 Heisman Trophy and was subsequently the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, and Kyler Murray doubled up on those accomplishments last season. Hurts isn’t a threat to go No. 1 overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, but he is now tied with former teammate Tua Tagovailoa and Trevor Lawrence as the frontrunners for the award per the Heisman Trophy betting odds.
Oklahoma's going to do this to a lot of people but a lot of people are going to do this to Houston too. Cougars' run defense is abysmal.
— Matt Hinton (@MattRHinton) September 2, 2019
Perspective is important though. Houston had one of the worst defenses in the nation in 2018, and the Cougars are probably going to be abysmal on that side of the ball again this year. Ed Oliver is no longer there to help shore up the run defense, and Oklahoma was able to gash Houston for 9.6 yards per carry.
Hurts should continue to put up big numbers. Oklahoma hosts South Dakota next week before traveling to take on UCLA at the Rose Bowl in two weeks’ time. The Sooners will open their Big 12 schedule on September 28 when they host Texas Tech.
H/T FOX Sports
