Hurts everything the Sooners could've wanted
NORMAN — J alen Hurts stepped through pressure from the Houston defensive line, and just on the other side of midfield, let the ball fly.
His second-quarter throw in the midst of Oklahoma's 49-31 win over the Cougars on Sunday night turned into a 45-yard touchdown pass to CeeDee Lamb and looked more like Kyler Murray than the quarterback Hurts was at Alabama.
Hurts won plenty of games leading the Crimson Tide, but mostly looked like yet another Heisman Trophy contender in his Sooners' debut.
He only threw three incompletions, connecting on 20 passes for 332 yards and three touchdowns.
Hurts also showed off speed and power in the running game, with 176 yards and three scores on the ground.
About the only blemish on Hurts' night were two fumbles that thwarted Oklahoma drives.
Even the incompletions were mostly on target.
Hurts has quite the task in following the pair of Heisman Trophy winning quarterbacks that have led the Sooners before him. He brought to mind both of those predecessors Sunday night.
He became just the second quarterback in school history to throw for 300 or more yards and rush for 100 or more.
The only other quarterback to accomplish that feat? Kyler Murray, who did it twice last season in his lone year at the helm.
Hurts had 508 total yards, breaking Baker Mayfield's record for yards in a debut. Mayfield accounted for 396 yards i n his debut against Akron in 2015.
But i t was that secondquarter throw to Lamb that was most encouraging about Hurts' performance.
Stepping off his back foot, he ripped the ball about 45 yards in the air to a receiver that didn't have a defender within 15 yards of him.
Yes, Lamb was wide open, but this was not a throw Hurts made — or was asked to make —in the Crimson Ti de' s offense.
The two biggest questions about Hurts were his arm strength and his accuracy, and he passed those tests in both categories with flying colors.
He spread the ball around to 10 different receivers, with none having more than three catches.
Fullbacks, running backs and tight ends got in on Hurts' completion train as not only Lamb but Charleston Rambo and freshman Jadon Haselwood came up with long receptions.
The t hrow Hurts made to Lamb recalled the throw Murray made to Rambo in the Orange Bowl loss to Alabama — with Hurts on the sidelines for the Crimson Tide in that one.
There'll be plenty of more chances for Hurts to show that he's evolved as a quarterback, but for his debut, it was about as good as the Sooners could've hoped.