Oklahoma Football: 3 takeaways from Big 12 upset loss at Kansas State

2. Oklahoma offense is too dependent on Jalen Hurts

Jalen Hurts continues to look like the next great Heisman quarterback for Lincoln Riley and the Sooners. But the Oklahoma quarterback continues to be just about all the offense that the Sooners can depend on from week to week, a dangerous recipe for a team with aspirations of Big 12 dominance and College Football Playoff invitations.

That recipe finally backfired for the Sooners on Saturday in Manhattan. Hurts finished the day as the team’s leading rusher, carving out 96 yards and three rushing touchdowns on 19 carries. By comparison, the backfield combination of Trey Sermon and Kennedy Brooks combined for just 11 yards on the ground on a half-dozen carries. CeeDee Lamb added a five-yard loss on a reverse, and that was the grand total of Oklahoma’s rushing offense.

Hurts did his best to get the job done through the air, completing 19 of his 26 attempts for 395 yards and a touchdown. But it was the fact that he managed only one passing touchdown that proved costly in the long run for the Sooners star.

Will the loss completely kill Hurts’ Heisman hopes? Probably not, especially if the Sooners go on to win the Big 12 and he continues to post huge games on the stat sheet. But the offense needs to find some diversity if they hope to have any legitimate shot at a national title this year.