Whatever it is, if it’s the lucky moustache or just him coming into his own in his second start, OU redshirt freshman quarterback Landry Jones had an impressive performance.
Call it more than impressive for a guy that started only his second career game after Heisman quarterback Sam Bradford went down with an AC sprain in his right shoulder.
Jones even did something Bradford’s never done since he’s been the signal caller as a Sooner.
He had a record-setting six touchdown passes, while posting a 25-for-37 mark for 336 yards.
OU head coach Bob Stoops said the performance is just a product of becoming more familiar with the system and the quicker game speed at the college level as compared to high school.
“We’re learning, and [Landry’s] learning what he likes and getting more comfortable,” Stoops said. “And he’s handling it great, so yeah, it’s awfully young in the year, and we’re still learning a lot about him and he’s figuring out more on every snap. That’s why even that we left him in late. It was just to get him comfortable and get him as many snaps as we can get him.”
Jones agreed that settling into the schemes had a huge impact on his record-setting day.
“Yeah, I mean, I was comfortable [against] Idaho State, and now I think I’ve even gained more confidence in myself,” Jones said.
One of his defining moments came in the early part of the second quarter when he hit junior wide receiver Brandon Caleb for a 63-yard touchdown strike that made the score 17-0 at the time.
“It was kind of a quick tempo play, and we just kind of caught him off balance,” Jones said. “And [Caleb] just ran by everybody, and he was wide open, so I put the ball out there for him.”
As for Bradford and what he had to say about Jones’ brilliant, record-setting performance, he was the same team player he always is.
“He just went over there and congratulated me and just said I played a great game,” Jones said.
A great game it was, especially after throwing a first-play interception.
"You just got to forget about it,” Jones said. “If you throw an interception, you’ve still got to go out there and play the next play.”
Jones played the next play, and the next play and the one after that with precision for the rest of the game, something that will have him in Sooner record books for a long time.