Oklahoma football: Jalen Hurts’ numbers top entire Houston output

Sunday night’s Oklahoma football victory was never really in doubt, although the Sooners managed to make it very interesting down the stretch.

Question answered: How will Jalen Hurts fit into Lincoln Riley’s nation’s-best offense? The numbers tell it all: Hurts 36, Houston 31.

Question answered: The Sooner defense is much different and better; playing more aggressively, but still a bit inconsistent, especially when left on the field for long stretches.

OU definitely looked impressive in its season opener, and the offensive numbers clearly back that up. The defense also looked much more disciplined than a year ago, but the number of truly unnecessary penalties and absence of any takeaways — a major emphasis by new defensive coordinator Alex Grinch — was disappointing.

Here is a quick quantitative account of the game as told by a dozen of the more telltale numbers:

1 – Oklahoma punted just once in the game, and that came with just 4:06 remaining in the fourth quarter and with Jalen Hurts out of the game.

4 — Punts by Houston on its first four possessions in the game. The Cougars accounted for just 24 yards of offense on those possessions.

7 for 94 — Number of penalties and yards assessed against OU, most of them silly and unnecessary.

6 — Number of touchdowns accounted for by Jalen Hurts (3 rushing and 3 passing) in the win over Houston, a new record for an Oklahoma quarterback.

10 — Number of first-year players who saw action in the Sooners’ season-opening victory.

11.3 — Yards per play by the Oklahoma offense. That fell just short of the school record of 11.96 yards per play set against Dan Holgorsen’s West Virginia team in 2017.

13 – First downs in the first half by the Sooners on just 17 plays.

23.5 — The Sooners’ 49-point offensive output and18-point margin of victory was impressive for some, but not necessarily for those who bet on Oklahoma to cover the 23.5 spread established by the Las Vegas oddsmakers.

42-11-1 — Oklahoma’s all-time record as the No. 4 team in the country.

105 — Receiving yards by sophomore WR Charleston Rambo on three catches, one for a 56-yard touchdown.

508 — Total yards of offense by Jalen Hurts n OU’s 49-31 win, setting a new record for yards attributed to one player in his Oklahoma debut. The previous mark was 396 yards by Baker Mayfield versus Akron in 2015.

84,534 — Attendance at Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium for the 2019 season and home opener, the 124th consecutive sellout.