RISE & SHINE
Will Jalen Hurts have a fourth quarter to remember?
Cameron Dicker's gamewinning field goal in the final seconds of 2018. Baker Mayfield's 59-yard touchdown pass to Mark Andrews in 2017. The 45-40 game of 2016, the 24-17 game of 2015, the 31-26 game of 2014.
Don't look now, but OU-Texas has become what it used to be and always should have been. A fourth-quarter game.
Which brings us to Jalen Hurts, the redeemed Sooner quarterback who has spent his career at two crimson kingdoms that make a habit of deciding games before the fourth quarter arrives.
We have learned much
about Hurts in his fivegame odyssey into the hearts of Oklahomans. Consummate leader. Mental giant. Monk-level stoic. Passer extraordinaire.
But Hurts remains a mystery in one major element. Fourth quarter. How will he fare in crunch time?
The Sooners haven't been tested in the fourth quarter this season. When it's 31-31 with seven minutes left and the Cotton Bowl is its usual half-roar-at-all-times self, how will Hurts respond?
You can't ask Hurts, of course. He won't say his thoughts on the fourthquarter fire pit. I asked him specifically about the fourth quarter, and here's what he said: “I said it earlier. I said there's a lot of opportunity to learn from the previous game we played in. There's a ton of value and substance in it. We're gonna learn from it and we're going to continue to improve.”
That's a non-answer, but that's OK. That's good news for the Sooners. That's the kind of focus and resolve necessary to shut out the Midway madness and batten down.
Lincoln Riley expressed confidence in Hurts' fourth-quarter projection.
“Sure. He's been in a lot of four-quarter games, big games against good opponents, lot of rowdy venues, lot of games with a lot of hype around them,” Riley said. “I don't think it affects him much. I think he's the same guy if going out for a Monday walkthrough as he will be going into the Cotton Bowl, honestly.”
Well, the Cotton Bowl is more than a rowdy venue; the `Horns are more than a big game against a good opponent. But this much is true and might surprise you. Hurts has played in more meaningful fourth quarters than maybe you think.
Ten. Told you wouldn't believe it. But not even counting his rescue of Alabama from off the bench against Georgia in the 2018 SEC Championship Game, Hurts quarterbacked 10 games at Alabama in which the Crimson Tide entered the fourth quarter no more than 14 points ahead, including four in which the Tide either trailed or were no more than a touchdown up. Bama was 8-2 in those games.
In the 2016 national championship game, Alabama led Clemson 24-14 going into the fourth quarter, but the Tigers rallied for a 28-24 lead. Hurts led a touchdown drive capped his by 30-yard run with 2:07 left in the game, a seminal play that was forgotten when Deshaun Watson threw the title-winning touchdown pass with one second left.
A couple of other notable Hurts performances:
• In 2017, Alabama trailed Mississippi State 21-17 going into the fourth quarter. Bama won 31-24 on Hurts' 26-yard touchdown pass with 25 seconds left.
• In 2016, Alabama and LSU were tied 0-0 after three quarters. Hurts' 21-yard TD run made it 7-0, and the Tide won 10-0.
So Hurts has produced fourth-quarter magic. He just hasn't done it for the Sooners, and he hasn't done it in the Cotton Bowl. Pull that off Saturday, and the Hurts legend will sprout even higher. Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at 405-760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. You can also view his personality page at newsok.com/berrytramel.