Last week, Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts made noise with his words in the way he publicly admitted his emotional attachment to OU is there.
On Saturday, it was the more traditional way. Hurts put on a performance for the ages as the No. 5 Sooners rolled to a 52-14 win against visiting West Virginia on homecoming weekend.
Hurts had just one incompletion on an afternoon full of battling gusty winds with a variety of throws to show off his complete repertoire.
“He does the same thing he always does,” running back Kennedy Brooks. “That's what I like about him. He's consistent being a leader, man. He was a leader last week, he was a leader this week. He was a leader the first game. That's what I see most often, that's what I like about him.”
Hurts completed 16 of 17 passes for 316 yards with three touchdowns. He also added another 75 on the ground with two more scores.
All week long the message was simple for the Sooners. If OU is a legitimate national championship contender, then the win vs. Texas won’t be the highlight of the season. OU was going to have to show it can keep maintaining and keep improving.
With leaders like Kenneth Murray and Neville Gallimore on defense, and Hurts running the show on offense, it seems a lot more likely this group can see the big picture more than any other in recent memory.
That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the moment, too, though.
“He played pretty good. He saw things pretty well the majority of the day, (and) had a good understanding of how we wanted to attack them,” head coach Lincoln Riley said. “He made some really nice decisions in scramble situations. He had a couple of jaw-dropping type throws. Certainly, the one to (Lee) Morris was pretty awesome.”
Last week was the CeeDee Lamb show, but Hurts spread the wealth around. His three touchdown passes were to three different guys (Morris, Jeremiah Hall and Charleston Rambo), and nobody had more than four receptions.
And if things do break down, Hurts has shown he can do it with his legs. His first touchdown was another example of athletic ability and how he can make something out of nothing.
Hurts doesn’t look fast when he’s moving, but his teammates know the real story.
“Nah, he’s fast. It’s just everybody pursuing him and he’s going sideways,” Rambo said. “If he’s going straight, he’s running a high 4.5, low 4.5 maybe. He’s a big body.”
Nobody would suggest Hurts has been off in recent weeks, but he had thrown an interception in the three previous games and had two redzone turnovers last week.
Hurts preaches about execution, and when he’s on the money like he was Saturday, you understand just exactly what he’s saying.
“He’s been decisive. That’s the key for me,” Riley said. “You can go back with a clicker and (find mistakes), but when you’re out there and dudes are trying to come knock your head off, and you’re trying to see the whole field, (quarterbacks) have to make decisions and go. If you see a pattern of bad decisions, I’ll say something. But I haven’t. I think he has made great decisions on when to leave (the pocket).”
On a week where Riley preached he would learn more about the Sooners than any other week this season, it was Hurts there leading the charge to let everybody know what you’re learning is this is a team with a laser focus.
Hurts finished the afternoon with the second-highest passing efficiency rating in OU history at 308.5. That also marks the highest rating of anybody this season.
Indeed, he’s still keeping the main thing the main thing and taking the Sooners with him.
