REMEMBER, these are not 'cheez-its' picks. The plural IS Cheez-It.
@BPrzybylo - Just don’t get hurt. How’s that? I don’t know what else to seriously expect for Oklahoma in the Cheez-It Bowl vs. No. 13 Florida State.
It’s not a good matchup on paper for Brent Venables’ club, and the crowd is going to be so overwhelmingly in favor for the Seminoles. It’s gonna be some tough sledding.
FSU quarterback Jordan Travis has been tremendous, especially down the stretch, and it’s hard to think OU’s defense has been able to find the recipe for success in this last month to stop that balanced FSU offense that has scored at least 38 points in the five-game winning streak.
Really, you just turn toward 2023 and trying to see who might be those guys who can perform well at Camping World Stadium and use it as a catalyst for next season.
You want to know what you have in the running back room with freshmen Jovantae Barnes and Gavin Sawchuk and let them figure things out as they go. Give wide receiver Jayden Gibson a chance or two to make a big play.
You hope offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby, orchestrating a game plan without Anton Harrison and Eric Gray, calls everything freely. No reason to be tight. Nobody is expecting much from this OU team at this moment so get creative and have some fun.
Even if OU does all that and quarterback Dillon Gabriel puts up 300 yards and four touchdowns, still not sure it would be enough.
Look for the bright moments. Don’t expect there to be a lot of them but look for them as OU suffers its first losing season since 1998.
And remember this moment when Venables has things rolling again. Sometimes you gotta fail before you find success.
FSU 38, OU 21.
@Eddie_Rado - This feels bad. This doesn't seem good. Two name brand programs sure. But two programs that appear to be playing for something very different. You know the story about Oklahoma. They're happy to be here. Looking for momentum to build upon into the off-season and 2023. The Seminoles on the other hand looking to make a statement. A loud punctuation on a season that could end with double-digit wins for the first time since 2016. In their own backyard at that. We've seen Seminoles fans scattered across Orlando since arrival on Monday.
But it is college football. And this is a bowl game where anything can happen. Take solace in that. Weird stuff happens with student-athletes on the field. Afterall that's why they play the game. It's hard to find reasons why Oklahoma will win the game. It was a bad match-up even before the opt outs. Even before the injuries.
Dillon Gabriel and the Oklahoma offense will need another performance like they did in Lubbock. That should have been good enough win a football game. But can the Sooners defense slow down Jordan Travis and the Noles? No. Probably not. It's hard to imagine this operation changing much over night. But hey you got Peyton Bowen and a tremendous 2023 recruiting class. Don't let that bad taste in your mouth get the best of you over the off-season.
We're going to miss you college football season. Maybe we'll all be surprised.
Florida State 41
Oklahoma 31
@Josh_M - Man, I'd love to come in here and tell these guys how wrong they are and I think if Oklahoma had kept all of their potential early entries on the roster for one more game, I might even lean that way as I think Oklahoma can match up with Florida State.
But the bottom line is Florida State seems to have the right mindset and if focused on the next year being a big-time show of where their program is headed.
The way for Oklahoma to do something meaningful in this game?
Run the ball and milk the clock. You're just not going to want to get into a shootout with Florida State, I just don't see that as a good recipe with their dynamic playmakers - particularly Jordan Travis.
But can the Sooners swallow their pride and play the game that probably best suits them?
We'll see but, honestly, I'd bet against it.
In the end I'm more focused on young guys like Jacob Sexton, Jovantae Barnes, Jaren Kanak, and maybe a few others and how they have progressed with a month to really focus on their games and grow. To me THAT is the most meaningful aspect of this game - play respectably and get the hell out of Dodge.
Florida State 38
Oklahoma 27
@BPrzybylo - Just don’t get hurt. How’s that? I don’t know what else to seriously expect for Oklahoma in the Cheez-It Bowl vs. No. 13 Florida State.
It’s not a good matchup on paper for Brent Venables’ club, and the crowd is going to be so overwhelmingly in favor for the Seminoles. It’s gonna be some tough sledding.
FSU quarterback Jordan Travis has been tremendous, especially down the stretch, and it’s hard to think OU’s defense has been able to find the recipe for success in this last month to stop that balanced FSU offense that has scored at least 38 points in the five-game winning streak.
Really, you just turn toward 2023 and trying to see who might be those guys who can perform well at Camping World Stadium and use it as a catalyst for next season.
You want to know what you have in the running back room with freshmen Jovantae Barnes and Gavin Sawchuk and let them figure things out as they go. Give wide receiver Jayden Gibson a chance or two to make a big play.
You hope offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby, orchestrating a game plan without Anton Harrison and Eric Gray, calls everything freely. No reason to be tight. Nobody is expecting much from this OU team at this moment so get creative and have some fun.
Even if OU does all that and quarterback Dillon Gabriel puts up 300 yards and four touchdowns, still not sure it would be enough.
Look for the bright moments. Don’t expect there to be a lot of them but look for them as OU suffers its first losing season since 1998.
And remember this moment when Venables has things rolling again. Sometimes you gotta fail before you find success.
FSU 38, OU 21.
@Eddie_Rado - This feels bad. This doesn't seem good. Two name brand programs sure. But two programs that appear to be playing for something very different. You know the story about Oklahoma. They're happy to be here. Looking for momentum to build upon into the off-season and 2023. The Seminoles on the other hand looking to make a statement. A loud punctuation on a season that could end with double-digit wins for the first time since 2016. In their own backyard at that. We've seen Seminoles fans scattered across Orlando since arrival on Monday.
But it is college football. And this is a bowl game where anything can happen. Take solace in that. Weird stuff happens with student-athletes on the field. Afterall that's why they play the game. It's hard to find reasons why Oklahoma will win the game. It was a bad match-up even before the opt outs. Even before the injuries.
Dillon Gabriel and the Oklahoma offense will need another performance like they did in Lubbock. That should have been good enough win a football game. But can the Sooners defense slow down Jordan Travis and the Noles? No. Probably not. It's hard to imagine this operation changing much over night. But hey you got Peyton Bowen and a tremendous 2023 recruiting class. Don't let that bad taste in your mouth get the best of you over the off-season.
We're going to miss you college football season. Maybe we'll all be surprised.
Florida State 41
Oklahoma 31
@Josh_M - Man, I'd love to come in here and tell these guys how wrong they are and I think if Oklahoma had kept all of their potential early entries on the roster for one more game, I might even lean that way as I think Oklahoma can match up with Florida State.
But the bottom line is Florida State seems to have the right mindset and if focused on the next year being a big-time show of where their program is headed.
The way for Oklahoma to do something meaningful in this game?
Run the ball and milk the clock. You're just not going to want to get into a shootout with Florida State, I just don't see that as a good recipe with their dynamic playmakers - particularly Jordan Travis.
But can the Sooners swallow their pride and play the game that probably best suits them?
We'll see but, honestly, I'd bet against it.
In the end I'm more focused on young guys like Jacob Sexton, Jovantae Barnes, Jaren Kanak, and maybe a few others and how they have progressed with a month to really focus on their games and grow. To me THAT is the most meaningful aspect of this game - play respectably and get the hell out of Dodge.
Florida State 38
Oklahoma 27
