Tag: Jalen Hurts

Kirk Herbstreit on Jalen Hurts: ‘He’s the baddest man there is’

Even the College GameDay crew was shocked at what they saw the Sooners do on Saturday.

Oklahoma’s comeback left even the College GameDay crew in shock of what they just saw.

“Jalen Hurts is the baddest man … he ran the ball 27 times tonight and on 24 of those carries he got annihilated by a safety or a linebacker.” said ESPN GameDay personality and analyst Kirk Herbstreit on a postgame Instagram Live. “What he did tonight was one of the greatest things he’s done in his entire career.”

The Sooners were a completely different team after halftime, shutting out the Bears in the second half and being led by Hurts, who turned the ball over twice in the first half and once more inside Baylor’s five yard line.

Hurts in the second half was unfazed by his first half performance and even his second half mistakes, as noted by Herbstreit.

After going 8-of-14 for 80 yards, a touchdown and an interception in the opening 30 minutes, Hurts came out firing on all cylinders, closing the game by going 22 of 29 for 217 yards and three touchdowns.

“Anybody that’s ever played the game, or followed the game, it’s impossible not to just be in love with Jalen Hurts and the way he plays and the way he leads,” Herbstreit said. “Just love him.”

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So, Oklahoma’s win over Baylor is what ‘Sooner Magic’ is

Don’t act like you haven’t heard an OU fan say it before. The phrase Sooner Magic has been thrown around, but it was on display Saturday.

WACO, Texas — Don’t act like you haven’t heard an Oklahoma fan say it before.

Growing up in the state of Oklahoma or spending time around Sooners, the word ‘Sooner Magic’ is sprinkled throughout Oklahoma football lore.

As head coach Lincoln Riley entered the postgame press conference after his team put together the greatest comeback in the program’s storied history, the room became dead silent.

It stayed that way.

Then Riley looked up from the stats page in front of him.

“Well, that was fun. Where do you start?”

Where the hell do you start after overcoming a 28-3 deficit to beat Baylor 34-31 in its own stadium keep your dreams and hopes alive?

It’s easy, really.

Sooner Magic.

“You never know 100% that you’re going to be able to come back from something like that, but I think they all felt like we had a chance,” Riley said after the game. “I got to be honest, even at Kansas State when we got down in that third quarter, I think maybe about half of us really believed we had a chance to come back and win that thing. In this one, there was not one person on that sideline that didn’t believe it.”

Belief absolutely had to be there.

But Jalen Hurts becoming the best player in college football after looking like a player that could be replaced at halftime. A defense that was knocked around and then down turning into a dominant force. A slew of freshmen receivers having a coming out party.

None of it actually makes sense.

Ask Jalen Hurts, who acknowledged that the media in the postgame press conference probably didn’t think they’d win after halftime, which he was 100 percent right.

Not a single non-biased person who watched the first half of that game thought the Sooners could overcome it. That’s the magic in it, but this one may be the biggest trick the Oklahoma football team has pulled out of the hat yet.

“It’s a moment where you’ve got to embrace it,” Hurts said about heading to the Oklahoma fans in the standing room only section in McLane’s Stadium south end zone. “You’ve got to embrace it and enjoy. Coach Riley, man. Coming in here, I always say it’s a challenge. A challenge coming to play here, a challenge coming in and having to put your full and complete trust in a whole entire new group, something you’re not used to. But man when we have that trust, when we have that belief in one another, when we’re going out there and executing without any doubt, we’re pretty good.”

Since Riley got to Norman, Oklahoma, in 2015, the magic has been rampant.

Down 17 points in Knoxville, Tennessee, in one of the loudest environments in college football, some walk-on named Baker Mayfield illustrious Oklahoma career was born in a comeback 34-27 overtime win over Tennessee in which the Sooners scored 14 points in the fourth-quarter.

The Sooners erased a 45-24 with 21 unanswered in the fourth-quarter lead against Texas in OU-Texas part I in 2018 after the offense sputtered and the defense put up a performance its coordinator got fired for. Then, already once this year, Oklahoma about erased the first 25-point deficit of the season in the fourth-quarter against Kansas State after an abysmal performance by Alex Grinch’s defense and the first blemish on Jalen Hurts’ OU career.

This time around, Lincoln Riley ended up on the right side of the comeback—one that he will cherish and hopes it can spark this team in the right direction.

“As a coach, there’s a lot of great wins. We’ve been lucky to have a ton of them here. Coming back like we did, how it all played out, this one is up there for sure. I am beyond proud, also beyond excited about us continuing to grow. I think people still see we got a lot of things to continue to grow and get better. I think this can be a catalyst for that. I think it will be.

Our best ball is coming soon.”

The numbers won’t help anyone truly understand.

The film will to an extent, but it will still leave you questioning, ‘How?’

It’s unthinkable. It’s unimaginable. It’s inexplicable.

That’s the Sooner Magic, though. The same thing my grandpa told my dad about during his day. Then my dad told me during his.

I just had to see it happen for my own eyes to believe.

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Could Jalen Hurts creep into the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft?

What will the NFL do with the riddle of Jalen Hurts?

Oklahoma Sooners coach Lincoln Riley has produced back-to-back first-overall picks in the NFL draft with quarterbacks Baker Mayfield in 2018 and Kyler Murray in 2019. So why isn’t Sooners quarterback Jalen Hurts getting hyped to be a first-round selection in the 2020 NFL Draft?

Hurts is a polarizing prospect, with Draft Wire’s Luke Easterling putting the quarterback in the second round and ESPN’s NFL draft insider Mel Kiper putting him in the fourth- or fifth-round. Kiper said Hurts took a “monumental leap” as a passer this season, but he still doesn’t envision Hurts going in the first three rounds. Here’s what Kiper said on Nov. 7 on ESPN — he’s describing the type of player that will tantalize talent evaluators.

“I think he’s developing into that (a franchise quarterback). Nobody ever thought he would be. I think his development started two years ago at Alabama. He looked like a different quarterback from what he was, so it’s not just what’s happened with Lincoln (Riley), who has done a great job at it. He is a quarterback whisperer, and he is a quarterback mind. But I think it started under Nick Saban at Alabama, and I think if you look at where Jalen is right now at Oklahoma, he could end up being a fourth- or fifth-round pick. Not early, but I think day three is when I think somebody brings him in to the fold. … You know there’s a kid who has an enormous skillset in terms of the mindset of a quarterback — he has it — the willingness to do all the things necessary to develop the skills that he has.”

Hurts’ game against Baylor on Saturday should help his case to keep moving up draft boards (and to stay in the college football playoff hunt). Admittedly Baylor’s passing defense — from a schematic and talent standpoint — won’t challenge Hurts in ways that feels comparable to the NFL. But the Bears did challenge Hurts mentally, and he responded by leading his team on a 25-point comeback. (It’s a deficit Tom Brady knows can be a challenging one to overcome. **cough** 28-3 **cough**)

His first-half stats (8/14 for 80 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) were vastly different than his second-half stats (22/29, 217 yards, 3 TDs). I hate to say it but perhaps he has that “it” factor — the unquantifiable element that seems so necessary for underdog quarterbacks like Brady, Russell Wilson and Drew Brees. Because make no mistake: Hurts is an underdog. (Comparisons to Brady, Wilson and Brees are premature. I’m sorry I’m incidentally making them.) Hurts is not a polished product, particularly when looking at his abilities as a pocket passer. He got benched in a national championship game in a 2017 season at Alabama when he completed 60.8% percent of his passes for 2,081 yards, 18 touchdowns and one interception. Those are paltry numbers when compared to his 2019 stats — which have him solidly in the Heisman race.

Under Riley, Hurts has showed physical tools that are just ridiculous. He has 152 carries 983 yards and 15 touchdowns. (15 RUSHING TDS!) That’s a pace that will wallop what Murray did last season (140 rushes, 1,001 yards and 12 TDS).

But of course, Hurts’ production as a runner is, perhaps, a product of his shortcomings as a passer. Hurts’ counting stats are likely to finish below what Murray and Mayfield accomplished in their final seasons under Riley. But from an efficiency standpoint, Hurts has been stellar. He is completing 73% of his passes for 12.3 yards per attempt. That’s better than Murray (69%, 11.0) and Mayfield (70.5%, 11.5).

This isn’t to say that Hurts is a better pro prospect than those players (although, he’s probably a better college football player.) The question will be whether an NFL team is interested and confident enough to customize an NFL system around Hurts’ unique gifts, while developing his passing abilities, much like the Baltimore Ravens did with Lamar Jackson, another outside-the-box but electric threat. And just like Jackson snuck into the back end of the first round, Hurts seems like the type of prospect who could do the same, as the hype continues to grow.

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Kickoff time, broadcast details set for Oklahoma-TCU

To the victor goes the spoils. After wins by Oklahoma and TCU, the two will get a primetime, nationally televised matchup on FOX.

To the victor goes the spoils.

After a historic comeback win for No. 10 Oklahoma (9-1, 6-1 Big 12) against Baylor and a TCU win at Texas Tech, the Sooners and Horned Frogs get a primetime, nationally televised kickoff.

Oklahoma and TCU (5-5, 3-4) were on a six-day hold, but after both being victorious, the two will kickoff from Norman, Oklahoma, at 7 p.m. CT and the game will be broadcasted on FOX.

The Sooners had a string of five-straight 11 a.m. CT kickoffs, but have since gotten three-straight night games.

Oklahoma last played a home night game on Nov. 10 when Iowa State about pulled off a comeback of its own in a 42-41 fourth-quarter thriller. The Sooners game against TCU will be the last home game of the 2019 season.

Head coach Lincoln Riley and his 2019 team will finish the season on the road at Oklahoma State on Nov. 30. The kickoff time and broadcast details for that game will be announced on Monday, unless it gets put on a six-day hold.

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WATCH Jalen Hurts, Lincoln Riley celebrate after Oklahoma’s historic comeback against Baylor

It was a historic comeback. Oklahoma did something that hasn’t ever been done at OU. Watch Lincoln Riley and Jalen Hurts celebrate.

It was a historic comeback in all facets.

Down 28-3 in the second-quarter and then 31-10 at half, No. 10 Oklahoma (9-1, 6-1) pulled a comeback of the ages and beat No. 13 Baylor (9-1, 6-1) 34-31.

The celebration was on, but no one embraced the win more than Sooners’ head coach Lincoln Riley and quarterback Jalen Hurts.

Their celebrations were delayed with the rest of the team on the field as both finished up on-field interviews. Then the party was on inside McLane Stadium as Oklahoma completed its biggest comeback in program history. 

Program history.

Here is Hurts and Riley embracing with each other and then going and celebrating with Oklahoma fans that traveled down to Waco, Texas, for the game.

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Just how historic Oklahoma’s comeback against Baylor was

We knew what we were watching was unprecedented, but Oklahoma’s comeback victory over Baylor was historic in OU and college football history

What?

How?

No. 13 Baylor (9-1, 6-1) threw a haymaker Ali would have been shook by. The Bears jumped out to a 28-3 lead in the first half against No. 10 Oklahoma (9-1, 6-1), and went into halftime up 31-10.

The Sooners took it, laid on the ground for longer than they should have, then got back up and took the fight to Baylor.

Kicker Gabe Brkic secured an Oklahoma lead with a 31-yard field goal and 1:45 to go in the game. Then, RUSH linebacker Nik Bonitto picked off Baylor quarterback Charlie Brewer on the final drive to put a nail in the Bears’ College Football Playoff coffin.

The Sooners comeback was historically great in college football history. Here is what records Oklahoma’s win broke Saturday night:

The 25-point deficit the Sooners overcame was the biggest comeback win in the history of the program. Previously the record was 21 points against Iowa State in 1970 and Kansas State in 1981.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, Oklahoma’s 31-10 halftime deficit is the largest margin overcome to defeat an FBS team that entered the game 9-0 or better since NCAA classification began in 1937. USC overcame 17 points against 9-0 Notre Dame in 1964, then Nevada overcame a 10-0 deficit to Boise State in 2010.

It was that kind of night for Oklahoma—a season-saving night.

The Sooners take on TCU this upcoming Saturday at 7 p.m. on FOX.

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3 reasons why Oklahoma beat Baylor 34-31

There aren’t enough adjectives to describe Oklahoma’s roaring comeback over Baylor. Here are three reasons why the Sooners pulled it out.

In miraculous fashion, No. 10 Oklahoma overcame a 28-3 first half deficit to shock No. 13 Baylor 34-31 with a game-winning field goal.

The Sooners looked dead.

Jalen Hurts’ turned the ball over three times. The defense couldn’t get a stop. Baylor had all the momentum from the second drive until halftime.

Here are three reasons why Oklahoma came back in the second half and beat Baylor.

CONTROLLING THE CLOCK

In the second half, the Sooners flipped the script on the main strategy to beat them.

Oklahoma had the football for 24:20 of the 30 second half minutes. The Sooners out-gained Baylor 368-to-69 and outscored the Bears 24-0. That is also aided by the help of a defense that forced two takeaways and three three-and-outs in the second half alone.

It truly is hard to find a time this season where Oklahoma played better than in the second half against Baylor on the road.

TAKEAWAYS

They ended the streak.

The last time the Oklahoma defense forced a takeaway prior to Saturday’s night game was on Sept. 28 against Texas Tech when Neville Gallimore ran down a ball carrier and popped the football free.

Parnell Motley got it going after Baylor’s running back sprung free on its first drive of the second half. The senior defensive back popped the ball free from behind as safety Pat Fields picked it up.

The game-sealing play came from an interception by RUSH linebacker Nik Bonitto who dropped into the flats and in front of the receiver running a quick out route.

Takeaways equal victory, as Alex Grinch says, and did Oklahoma learn that lesson the hard way at Kansas State, but flip that script on College Football Playoff hopeful Baylor.

BELIEF

There is not a stat or a number to bring up here.

After Jalen Hurts’ fumbled on the two-yard line heading into the end zone, you’d have been crazy not to think that his journey and Oklahoma’s season was over. The Sooners, though, stayed the course.

A three-and-out later, a surge from the young pups in Oklahoma’s receiving corps and Hurts finding a new gear culminated into what has become the latest version of Sooner Magic.

Questions about this team were valid. The Sooners answered them and showed the world who they were this Saturday night.

That doesn’t happen without confidence and belief from the top-down of Oklahoma’s football program.

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How Twitter reacted to Oklahoma’s 34-31 comeback win over Baylor

Wow.
No. 10 Oklahoma (10-1, 7-1) erased a 25-point deficit against No. 13 Baylor (9-1, 6-1)

Wow.

No. 10 Oklahoma (10-1, 7-1) erased a 25-point deficit against No. 13 Baylor (9-1, 6-1), handing them their first loss of the season and taking the Bears’ playoff hopes with them.

Here’s how Twitter reacted to Oklahoma’s largest comeback win in school history.

28-3 is a tough lead to keep…

An exact representation of the game.

Norman is a 10/10 good boy.

The Bears could be on the next episode of ‘Fixer Upper’.

Surrender Cobra!

Second half team? Second half team.

Right, mhm, sure.

Pete, buddy. You must be new here, huh?

Heel turn for Jalen Hurts in the eyes of Sooners fans.

Before the comeback was in full motion:

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Oklahoma overcomes 25-point deficit, beats Baylor 34-31

Sooner. Magic.

Once down 28-3, then 31-10, No. 10 Oklahoma (9-1, 6-1) prevailed to keep its season alive.

Sooner Magic in McLane.

Once down 28-3, then 31-10, No. 10 Oklahoma (9-1, 6-1 Big 12) prevailed to keep its season alive.

Without their best offensive player, CeeDee Lamb, the Sooners seemed dead in the water for much of the first half. Down 31-10 at the break, the Sooners flipped a switch, dominating the third quarter.

The Sooners only came away with seven points in the third but they out-gained the Bears 199-to-34 and held possession of the ball for 13:42 in the third, weakening Baylor’s defense for the fourth-quarter onslaught that would ensue.

Heading into the fourth-quarter needing 14 points to tie, Jalen Hurts put the team on his back, despite turning the ball over three times in the first half. Hurts finished the game going 30-of-42 through the air for 297 yards, four touchdowns and an interception. Hurts also kept the Sooners alive, rushing for 117 yards on 27 attempts alongside second-leading rusher Kennedy Brooks who had 93 yards on 18 carries.

The comeback would not have ever happened had Alex Grinch’s defense not shutout the Baylor offense in the second half. The Sooners kept pressure on Bears quarterback Charlie Brewer all night, eventually forcing an interception that would seal the victory for the Sooners.

Defensively, Oklahoma was led by Ronnie Perkins and Parnell Motley, as both came up with key plays throughout the entire game.

The Sooners’ playoff hopes stay alive as they make a statement of sorts. They move to 10-1 (7-1) on the season.

Oklahoma takes on TCU next Saturday at 7 p.m. CT on FOX.

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How Twitter reacted to Baylor’s dominant first half against Oklahoma

No. 10 Oklahoma 8-1 (5-1) has yet to show up against No. 13 Baylor 9-0 (6-0). Here is how Twitter reacted to the first half.

No. 10 Oklahoma 8-1 (5-1) has yet to show up against No. 13 Baylor 9-0 (6-0). The Sooners trail 31-10 at halftime and haven’t looked like they belonged on the same field as Baylor.

Here is how Twitter reacted to the first half.

Former Sooner cornerback, Zack Sanchez has had enough…

If you’re going to talk down on a player, at least spell their name right …

Watching cooking shows over football is a totally new level of hurt.

These guys…

Simple and to the point.

Should we tell him?

Conspiracies are always fun!

Florida State would gladly take anyone affiliated with Oklahoma…

This man rather do chores. Sad!

#BasketballSZN

@OldTakesExposed ??

I love a good pun.

*Checks depth chart* Now entering the game, walk on freshman, Dom Trady?

This is dedication.

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