It isn’t often you see three different quarterbacks in as many years come in and lead an offense that has out-produced every FBS team in the country each of the past two years and is on course to do so again this season. Welcome to the present state of Oklahoma football under the offensive wizardry of Lincoln Riley.
Through two games, the Sooners are averaging just under 60 points and 710 yards of offense per game (over 50 yards more than the next closest team), and this is the third consecutive season they have started the season with someone new at quarterback.
Granted. were talking about a couple of previous Sooner QBs who were Heisman Trophy winners, and this season Jalen Hurts is at the controls. All Hurts has done the past three seasons is help quarterback Alabama to a 41-3 record and consecutive appearances in the last three College Football Playoff championship games. As a starting quarterback at Alabama, Hurts was 26-2.
Oklahoma led the nation last season in both yards per pass attempt (11.3) and yards per rush (6.6). So far in 2019 the Sooners are at it again, ranking No. 1 nationally in yards per pass attempt (14.0) and No. 2 in yards per rush (8.7).
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The Sooners set an FBS record last season, averaging 8.6 yards per play. After two games this season, they are averaging 10.9 yards per play. Moreover, OU is one of just three teams since the 1996 season, the first year of the newly realigned Big 12 Conference, to average at least 7.9 yards per rush in each of its first two games of the season. The Sooners averaged 9.6 yards per rush in the win over Houston and 7.9 against South Dakota.
Not surprisingly, Oklahoma has been the most prolific offense team in the country over the four years that Riley has been at OU. Since the start of the 2015 season, the Sooners leads the country in points per game (45.8), total offense (564.7 yards per game). touchdowns from scrimmage (324), passing efficiency rating (191.5), and completion percentage (69.5).
A few other fun football facts as the Sooners get ready to travel to the West Coast for a Saturday night game under the lights against UCLA:
- Oklahoma is 48-8 during the time Riley has been at OU, and the 36-year-old is 26-4 as the Sooners’ head coach. Since Bob Stoops took the coaching helm in Norman in 1999, OU leads all Power Five teams in wins (216) and points scored (10,309).
- The No. 5-ranked Sooners have been ranked in the top 10 in 40 of the last 41 Associated Press weekly polls.
- Oklahoma has won more Big 12 titles the last four seasons (4) than games it has lost to Big 12 opponents (Texas, in 2015 and 2018, and Iowa State, 2017)