Outgaining everyone in college football by more than 2 yards per play on average, No. 6 Oklahoma should be feeling pretty good about its offense.
Instead, coach Lincoln Riley dismisses the 10.36-yard average as simply a statistic that potentially could derail the explosive Sooners (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) if they’re inclined to believe they’ve perfected precision.
On Saturday, Oklahoma carries the longest road winning streak (21) in the country to its clash with Kansas (2-3, 0-2) at Lawrence, Kan.
“I don’t look at the stats much offensively. They can be misleading at times,” Riley said of his team’s 668.5-yard average per game, another mark that leads the nation.
“Again, we can watch the film and just know how we play. And that’s why … I sit here and say I want to improve this or that, and then you go look at the stats and, like, ‘Really?’ We just look at it different.”
Riley apparently found another quarterback who understands that perspective after Oklahoma roared the past two seasons behind Heisman Trophy winners Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray.
Alabama transfer Jalen Hurts brushes aside compliments with virtually every comment. He likened any reflection on gaudy statistics as “rat poison,” even though his command of Riley’s offense has been impeccable. Interestingly, Hurts’ former team ranks second nationally in yards per play (8.3).
“There’s no limit,” Hurts said of the improvement the Sooners can still manufacture. “So there’s always room. Enough ain’t enough.”
That’s scary considering Hurts commands an astounding 249.9 pass efficiency rating while honing in one of the nation’s best one-two receiver combinations, junior CeeDee Lamb and sophomore Charleston Rambo.
The Oklahoma defense will attempt to build off a strong performance in its Big 12 opener, when it held Texas Tech to 314 total yards last week and one third-down conversion on 14 attempts in a 55-16 win. Linebacker Kenneth Murray recorded nine tackles, including a sack, in the Sooners’ 900th all-time victory.
“We’re going to lock in and be confident and do what we need to do. Just do us,” Murray told the Tulsa World.
That should be quite formidable against Kansas, which has dropped 32 in a row against ranked opponents, dating to a 2010 win at Georgia Tech. The Jayhawks’ last win over a top-10 team came in 2008, when they defeated No. 5 Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl.
In his own quirky way, first-year Kansas coach Les Miles addressed the firepower possessed by the Sooners, who have won 14 straight in the series, all by margins of at least 14 points.
“They can put the ball up in the air with distant throws,” Miles said. “They have very talented players. They will vie for a national position.”
The Jayhawks failed to capitalize on a convincing upset win at Boston College in Week 3. They could not overtake West Virginia at the wire in their Big 12 opener, then got smacked last week at TCU, losing 51-14.
The loss of Khalil Herbert (personal reasons) complicates matters after the senior running back averaged 8.9 yards per carry through the first four games. That leaves more work for sophomore Pooka Williams, though the Big 12 freshman of the year in 2018 gained just 12 yards on eight carries against TCU.
