Cheez-It Bowl: Oklahoma Sooners vs. #13 Florida State Seminoles Preview
This year’s Cheez-It Bowl will feature the 6-6 Oklahoma Sooners and the 9-3 No. 13 Florida State Seminoles.
This season for the Oklahoma Sooners was the definition of a “rebuilding year.” After losing their head coach and both of their starting quarterbacks from the 2021 season, Oklahoma lost their stability and were unable to recreate the same success they had under their previous coaching staff.
It all started on November 28, 2021, when Lincoln Riley was named head coach of the USC Trojans, leaving Oklahoma. Riley had been the head coach at Oklahoma since 2017. Riley was very successful during his five-year career with the Sooners, leading them to Big 12 conference championships in each of his first four seasons and producing two Heisman Trophy winners and an additional finalist. Riley also brought starting quarter back Caleb Williams with him to USC, who won the Heisman Trophy in 2022. 2019’s No. 1-ranked quarter back Spencer Rattler also left the Sooners as he transferred to South Carolina.
The Sooners hired Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables to be their next head coach, who was on Oklahoma’s coaching staff from 1999-2011 under Bob Stoops. At quarterback, Oklahoma brought in Dillon Gabriel from UCF, who threw for over 3,500 yards in 2019 and 2020.
Entering the 2022 season, the Sooners were ranked No. 9 in the preseason AP poll, but quickly fell out of the rankings after a home loss to Kansas State followed by a blowout loss at TCU in Week 5. Oklahoma finished the season 6-6 and eighth in the Big 12.
The Florida State Seminoles come into Thursday’s bowl game finishing 9-3 on the season under third-year head coach Mike Norvell. This is the first year that the Seminoles are bowl-eligible under Norvell, who has yet to win a bowl game in his seven-year head coaching career which started at Memphis before he moved to Florida State in 2020.
Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis (13) runs on a keeper during the fourth quarter of the team's NCAA college football game against Florida on Friday, Nov. 25, 2022, in Tallahassee, Fla. Florida State won 45-38.
Florida State’s offense is led by dual-threat quarter back Jordan Travis, who ranked seventh in the nation in ESPN’s QBR in 2022. In his third season at starting quarter back for the Seminoles, Travis passed for a career-high 2,796 yards and 22 touchdowns while throwing a career-low four interceptions. While he did not match his same rushing production that he did in his previous two seasons yardage-wise, Travis did score seven touchdowns on the ground matching his season total from both 2020 and 2021.
Oklahoma’s will be missing some key players due to opt outs in offensive tackles Anton Harrison and Wanya Morris, as well as senior running back Eric Gray. In his first year as the feature back in the Oklahoma offense after transferring in from Tennessee in 2021, Gray rushed for 1,366 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2022.
Oklahoma running back Eric Gray (0) carries against Texas Tech during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 26, 2022, in Lubbock, Texas.
Florida State is not expected to miss any significant players on Thursday due to opt outs, but they are currently 9.5 point underdogs according to multiple sportsbooks.
The Cheez-It Bowl will be played at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. Kickoff will be at 4:30 p.m. CT and the high is expected to be 76 F with humidity at 66% in Orlando.
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