ATLANTA -- Jalen Hurts is the only Oklahoma player to have faced LSU before. The standout faced the Tigers the past three seasons as a quarterback at Alabama before transferring to Oklahoma.
But Hurts is quick to remind anyone that those games won’t matter when he and the No. 4 Sooners face No. 1 LSU in Saturday’s College Football Playoff Semifinal, the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl.
“I said this when I first came to Oklahoma. I said no pass, no touchdown, no win while I was at the University of Alabama helps us win games here,” Hurts said.
Hurts showed all season why he was such a successful quarterback, 26-2 as a starter, in Tuscaloosa.
The 6-foot-2, 218-pound passer had a year that saw him named a Heisman Trophy finalist as he threw for 3,634 yards and 32 touchdowns while rushing for 1,255 yards and 18 scores.
Even with those eye popping numbers, Hurts said t will take more than just him to beat the Tigers.
“It's been very easy for people to make this about me or try to make it about me, but none of this is done by one person, a lone soldier,” he said. “These guys next to me, all the coaches, all the players, they contribute to everything and all of our success.”
The Sooners posted a 12-1 record this season and where crowned BIG 12 champs after defeating a top-10 ranked Baylor team that is headed to the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
Hurts made sure Oklahoma didn’t miss a beat after taking over for back-to-back first-round draft picks and 2018 Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray.
“We've been fortunate here, under Coach Riley, to have great quarterbacks every season,” Oklahoma offensive coordinator Cale Gundy said. “Jalen has taken on his own to do what he needed to do to lead this team as the quarterback, and he's done a great job.”
Hurts said he was glad the Sooners welcomed him with open arms and said he was glad to build chemistry with his teammates so quickly.
“We've overcome a lot, learned a lot about ourselves as a team, grown together as one,” he said. “So we've got a great opportunity to do something great and learn and use all of those experiences to our advantage.”
LSU’s defense knows it faces a tough task in stopping Hurts and the Sooners’ offense as they’ve noticed improvement in an already talented player.
“I think the biggest thing is he can sit back there and throw it,” LSU defensive end Rashard Lawrence said. “They've got a lot of different designed runs for him, but he'll sit back there and throw it.”
Lawrence added that Hurts has been a physical runner when he’s carried the ball
“There's been times guys have tried to tackle him in the backfield and he's dragged them two or three yards,” Lawrence said. “Every yard counts. We've got to rally up and get to him. We've got to hit him often because if he gets a feel for the game, it could be a long night.”