South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
Sooners swarm past Longhorns
Hurts throws 3 TDs while the defense records 9 sacks
DALLAS — Jalen Hurts tried the Golden Hat on for size and gave a half-hearted “horns down” sign in a group photo with the cheerleaders while celebrating the way Kyler Murray couldn’t in the Red River rivalry a year ago.
Now the Oklahoma quarterback will try to get the Sooners back to where Baker Mayfield and Murray took them the past two years, and where he’s been himself three times at Alabama: the College Football Playoff.
Hurts threw three touchdown passes to CeeDee Lamb after two big mistakes early, Oklahoma’s defense sacked Sam Ehlinger nine times and the No. 6 Sooners never trailed in a 34-27 victory over 11th-ranked Texas on Saturday.
“I would say I didn’t put the team in the greatest and best situation,” said Hurts, who won two semifinals as the starter for the Crimson Tide and was replaced during the game when they won the national title during the 2017 season. “Not a complete game, but a step in the right direction.”
A year after a Murray-led comeback fell short in a 48-45 loss in the Red River rivalry that led to the firing of their defensive coordinator, the Sooners harassed Ehlinger into minus-9 yards rushing.
And Oklahoma, with first-year defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, held the quarterback with the three highest total yardage outputs for Texas against the Sooners almost 200 yards below that 387-yard average.
“Regardless of what the outside world thinks, we believe a lot in our defense,” coach Lincoln Riley said. “I don’t care what our defensive calls our, schemes. Not that I don’t care, but the way we play right now was the difference today.”
The Sooners (6-0, 3-0 Big 12) stayed on track for a third straight trip to the playoff and avenged last year’s loss in Cotton Bowl Stadium, which was followed by their victory in a rematch in the Big 12 championship game.
The Longhorns (4-2, 2-1) are likely relegated to a spoiler role if there’s a second consecutive Big 12 title game between the rivals. Texas gave up 511 yards — a season low, believe it or not, for the nation’s No. 1 offense at 644 yards coming in.
“We knew how good they were,” Texas coach Tom Herman said. “We knew that their defense had improved, and we certainly saw the things that they were doing offensively.”