Stormin in Norman
Fansided

Jalen Hurts’ standout Game 1 performance earns national recognition

By Chip Rouse

NORMAN, OK - SEPTEMBER 1: Quarterback Jalen Hurts #1 of the Oklahoma Sooners runs in the backfield against the Houston Cougars at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on September 1, 2019 in Norman, Oklahoma. The Sooners defeated the Cougars 49-31. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images)
NORMAN, OK - SEPTEMBER 1: Quarterback Jalen Hurts #1 of the Oklahoma Sooners runs in the backfield against the Houston Cougars at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on September 1, 2019 in Norman, Oklahoma. The Sooners defeated the Cougars 49-31. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

It’s just a one-game sample, but if Jalen Hurts’ sensational performance in Oklahoma’s 49-31 Week 1 win over Houston hasn’t elevated him as a serious contender in college football’s 2019 Heisman Trophy conversation, there is something terribly wrong.

The Sooner quarterback, making his OU debut before a sold-out Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium season-opening crowd as well as a national TV audience, accounted for 508 of the Sooners’ 686 yards of total offense. He completed 20 of 23 passes for 332 yards and also gained 176 yards with his legs, averaging 11 yards per carry.

The Alabama transfer had a direct hand in six of Oklahoma’s seven Touchdowns. He threw as many touchdown passes in the game as he did incompletions, and also ran for three scores.

Hurts’ stellar debut in an Oklahoma uniform earned him national recognition as the Maxwell Award Player of the Week. He also swept the Big 12 weekly offensive awards as Offensive Player and Newcomer of the Week.

Hurts is the only player in Sooner football history to throw for more than 300 yards and rush for over 150 yards in a single game, and the only player in Big 12 history to accomplish the same while completing 80 percent of his passes. His 508 yards of total offense exceeded the previous school mark for an OU debut by 112 yards. The previous record was held by Baker Mayfield, who accounted for 396 yards in 2015 against Akron in his Sooner debut.

The Week 1 numbers for Clemson’s sensational sophomore quarterback Trevor Lawrence and Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa, considered the top two preseason contenders for this season’s Heisman, were not nearly as impressive as Hurts in his Sooner debut. Lawrence accounted for just 192 total yards in Clemson’s opening win over Georgia Tech. Tua threw for 336 yards (26 of 31), but had just 15 rushing yards.

Again, we’re just talking about Week 1 of a 12-plus-game college schedule, but it certainly appears that OU’s new starting quarterback is comfortable and confident in his new surroundings and is in good position to make a serious push to become the third consecutive Oklahoma quarterback to win college football’s most prestigious individual award.

Home/OU Football