Jalen Hurts is 2-0 as a starter against LSU.

He made significant contributions in both wins when he was Alabama’s starting quarterback and the Crimson Tide beat the Tigers in 2016 and 2017.

But he’s going to have to do more – a whole lot more – if he’s going to go 3-0 by helping No. 4 Oklahoma to upset No. 1 LSU in the Peach Bowl on Saturday afternoon.

This Oklahoma team isn’t like those Alabama teams that beat the Tigers. And this Tigers team isn’t like those Tigers teams.

In 2016, Ed Orgeron faced Alabama for the first time since being named interim head coach earlier in the season. The LSU defense went toe to toe with the Bama defense for 3 quarters in Tiger Stadium.

The game was scoreless into the 4th quarter and LSU had a chance to force a field goal if it could get a stop on 3rd-and-9. But Hurts got loose for a 21-yard touchdown run. The score changed the whole dynamic of the game. The Tide added a field goal and escaped with a 10-0 victory.

Hurts made the biggest offensive play of the game, finished with 114 yards on 20 rushes and completed 10-of-19 for 107 yards with an interception.

That was nice.

But this game Saturday won’t finish anything close to 10-0.

In 2017, LSU went into Bryant-Denny Stadium and managed to score, but it totaled a mere 10 points, though it did outgain Bama, 306-299.

Hurts was more productive than he was a year earlier, completing 11-of-24 for 183 yards with 1 touchdown and no interceptions. He rushed 14 times for 44 yards and a score.

He threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Irv Smith Jr. to give the Tide a 7-0 lead in the 1st quarter. He ran 3 yards for a touchdown and a 21-10 lead late in the 3rd quarter as Bama prevailed 24-10.

In both cases Hurts provided more than enough scoring for the No. 1 team in the country – with an outstanding defense – to beat the No. 15 team in 2016 and the No. 19 team in 2017, both of which were limited offensively.

Hurts and Bama put up a combined 34 points in those 2 wins. On Saturday, OU will probably need more than that 2-game total to beat Joe Burrow and this LSU offense.

The Sooners’ defense doesn’t play the way those Bama defenses played, and the LSU offense has been transformed as Burrow won the Heisman Trophy by having the most productive passing season in SEC history.

Bama’s defense set the tone in those games and the Tigers’ offense had to try and catch up to the modest scoring pace that Hurts and the Tide set. LSU couldn’t come close to catching up.

This LSU offense will set the pace – a blistering pace. Maybe Hurts can keep up. At one point early in the season he was considered the Heisman front-runner in some places. He finished 2nd, behind Burrow, after setting career highs for passing yards (3,634) and TD passes (32).

This game will be a shootout. Oklahoma is 5th in the country in scoring, averaging 43.2 points per game. LSU is 3rd at 47.8.

All LSU games have been a shootout, except when the Tigers have played really good defenses.

The OU defense isn’t Bama. Nor is it Florida, Auburn or Georgia.

Other teams have kept up with Burrow – at least for a while. Texas did, Alabama did, Vanderbilt and Ole Miss sort of did.

They all lost.

Hurts and the Sooners are dynamic on offense. Maybe they can keep up with Burrow and the Tigers offense for 4 quarters.

But in order to do so, Hurts will have to do a whole lot more than Bama required him to do in those 2 victories against LSU.