In what has become an annual tradition of comparing new Oklahoma transfer quarterbacks to their predecessors, it’s time we take a closer look at how the Sooners’ offense with Jalen Hurts compares to the team’s production with Heisman Trophy winners Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray.

No. 5 Oklahoma is 3-0, ranking first nationally in total yards per game (676 YPG) and second in points per game (55.7 points), after wins over Houston, South Dakota and UCLA, and Hurts’ early-season production suggests he will be firmly in the Heisman Trophy conversation.

Keeping those three opponents in mind, we’re here to add context to the reemergence of Hurts as a starting quarterback and why Oklahoma’s offense could potentially be even more prolific this season than it was with Mayfield or Murray in their Heisman-winning campaigns.

We examined Oklahoma’s first three games from the last three seasons, analyzing only the offensive drives in which Mayfield played in 2017, Murray played in 2018 and Hurts played this season.

The Sooners have been known to blow out some of their opponents in September, resulting in their starting quarterback getting pulled in the second, third or fourth quarters, so this examination doesn’t include the team’s offensive production when its starter was on the sideline.

It’s worth restating that Oklahoma’s first three opponents were Houston (No. 107 defense in SP+), South Dakota (FCS) and UCLA (No. 62 defense in SP+), while the Sooners played at Iowa State (No. 28 defense) in their third game last season and at Ohio State (No. 7 defense) in Week 2 of the 2017 season.

Oklahoma and Jalen Hurts have yet to face an opponent or a road test quite like the 2017 Buckeyes or 2018 Cyclones this season, so keep that in mind as you read the advanced stats we calculated below.

Here’s how Oklahoma’s offense through three games this season compares to its first three games in 2017 and 2018 when its starting quarterback was on the field.

Yards per play

Season	Number of Offensive Plays	Oklahoma’s Total Yards Gained	Yards/Play
2019 (Hurts)	154	1,652	10.7
2018 (Murray)	158	1,377	8.7
2017 (Mayfield)	111	910	8.2

Percent of plays that resulted in a first down or touchdown

Season	Number of Offensive Plays	First Downs + Touchdowns	First Down/TD %
2019 (Hurts)	154	74	48.1%
2017 (Mayfield)	111	48	43.2%
2018 (Murray)	158	65	41.1%

 

[MORE: Brett McMurphy’s Updated Bowl Projections After Week 3]

Run/pass breakdown

Season	Run Plays	Yards Per Carry	Pass Plays	Yards Per Attempt	Run/Pass%
2019 (Hurts)	91	8.7	63	13.7	40%/60%
2018 (Murray)	84	6.3	74	11.4	53%/47%
2017 (Mayfield)	53	4.1	58	11.9	47%/53%

 

Quarterback runs

Season	Number of Quarterback Runs	Yards Per QB Carry	Percent of All Run Plays	Percent of All Plays
2019 (Hurts)	36	10.8	39.6%	23.4%
2018 (Murray)	26	6.7	31.0%	16.5%
2017 (Mayfield)	5	1.6	9.4%	4.5%

 

Lack of negative plays

Season	Number of Negative Plays	Number of Plays	Percent of Plays That Lost Yards
2019 (Hurts)	13	154	8.4%
2018 (Murray)	14	158	8.9%
2017 (Mayfield)	13	111	11.7%

 

Moving the chains on first down

Season	Number of First Down Plays	Number of First Downs/Touchdowns on First Down	Percent
2019 (Hurts)	83	33	39.8%
2017 (Mayfield)	59	21	35.6%
2018 (Murray)	80	23	28.8%

 

Third down success

Season	Number of Third Down Plays	Number of First Downs/Touchdowns on Third Down	First Down/Touchdown Percentage on Third Down
2018 (Murray)	25	15	60.0%
2019 (Hurts)	22	13	59.1%
2017 (Mayfield)	14	6	42.9%

 

Oklahoma’s explosive plays

Season	10+ Yard Plays	%	20+ Yard Plays	%	30+ Yard Plays	%
2019 (Hurts)	61	39.6%	26	16.9%	18	11.7%
2018 (Murray)	49	31.0%	16	10.1%	10	6.3%
2017 (Mayfield)	34	30.6%	13	11.7%	5	4.5%

 

Now here is each quarterback’s raw stats through three games from the last three seasons, when removing sack yards from Hurts and Murray’s rushing numbers:

Jalen Hurts: 80.3%, 880 passing yards, 14.4 Y/A, 9 TD, 0 INT; 390 rushing yards, 10.8 avg., 4 TD

Kyler Murray: 67.1%, 863 passing yards, 11.8 Y/A, 8 TD, 1 INT; 175 rushing yards, 6.7 avg., 2 TD

Baker Mayfield: 76.8%, 1,046 passing yards, 12.7 Y/A, 10 TD, 0 INT

 

While it’s worth acknowledging Oklahoma’s toughest competition still lies ahead, the early returns from the Jalen Hurts era in Norman suggests the Sooners’ offense could be even more explosive than it was in years prior with a pair of Heisman Trophy winners and No. 1 overall picks in the NFL Draft.

MORE: UCF Finally Played (And Crushed) Somebody But It Didn’t Seem To Matter