In a tight game late in the second quarter, the two stars on Oklahoma’s offense connected on a 7 yard pass play with :31 seconds left and the Sooners took a two score lead, 21-7.
More importantly, QB Jalen Hurts and WR CeeDee Lamb took control of a game that until then had seemed uncomfortable for the No. 6 team in the country.
The Sooners went on to a 45 to 29 win over a scrappy Jayhawks team lead by an electrifying 137-yard running back performance by Pooka Williams in Big 12 play in Lawrence, Kansas.
The game had the beginnings of an oddity. Kickoff was delayed 30 minutes because of lightning in the area. After warm up the teams stayed on the field, giving fans a view of Lincoln Riley’s pre-game pep talk on the sidelines before kickoff.
And then Kansas took an early lead, 7-0, becoming the first opponent to score against a rejuvenated defense in the first quarter this year.
Hurts finished the game 16 of 24 for 228 yards passing and two touchdowns. He also had 56 yards rushing and scored two other touchdowns with his feet.
Lincoln Riley said Hurts had to “overcome his coaching a little bit.”
“I put him in some tough situations,” Riley said. “He threw the ball very well and handled it well.”
Twelve different receivers caught passes for the Sooners. Even Hurts himself caught a reverse pass from WR Nick Basquine for 21 yards in the second quarter.
Although Williams’ speed was a challenge, the Sooners defense bent but did not break throughout the game.
“We feel a lot of progress and excitement about what we are doing,” Riley said, about his defense. “Parts of the day verified that even more.”
“We’re doing some nice things. I love how we’re flying to the football and how we are hitting.”
Sophomore safety Delarrin Turner-Yell lead defenders with 7 solo tackles.
With the win, Oklahoma stretched its road winning streak to 22 straight games. The streak is the second-longest nationally in the post-World War II era and trails only a 25 consecutive true road game streak also set by Oklahoma (1953-58).
Next week the Sooners play Texas in the annual Red River Shootout in Dallas. Kickoff is 11 a.m. at the Cotton Bowl at Fair Park. That game will be televised on FOX.
As Sooner fans turn attention to the Texas rivarly this wk, Hurts said not to worry about the fact this will be his first OU-Texas experience.
“I’ve played in the Iron Bowl. I’ve played in big games before. I’ll be all right,” Hurts said.
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