FSU football: Best things about landing in Cheez-It Bowl against Oklahoma

No. 13 FSU football will face the Oklahoma Sooners in the Cheez-It Bowl Thursday, December 29th, at 5:30 p.m. ET.

The game will take place at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. It’s the first bowl appearance for the Noles since the 2019 season when they lost against Arizona State in the Sun Bowl.

FSU defeated Southern Mississippi in the Independence Bowl to conclude the 2017 season.

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The Oklahoma Sooners finished with a 6-6 regular season record behind new head coach Brent Venables. FSU had been rumored to face other teams like Minnesota, Texas Tech, and Maryland.

The Sooners were probably the best team FSU could have faced from a national brand perspective.

FSU also has a history with the Sooners and Venables from his time as defensive coordinator at Clemson. Let’s discuss some of the best aspects of landing in the Cheez-It Bowl against Oklahoma.

Location

FSU football hasn’t played at Camping World Stadium since their come-from-behind victory over Ole Miss to open the 2016 season.

The Noles will open the 2023 season in the same stadium against LSU. Those neutral site games have given FSU football fans the short end of the stick since they don’t get to experience the home atmosphere in Doak Campbell Stadium.

However, I suppose a bowl game in Orlando will serve as a replacement game for FSU fans. I’m sure some Oklahoma fans will make the trip, but the stadium should be a majority of FSU fans, which will serve as a quasi-home-field advantage for the Noles.

Plus, Orlando is easier to get to than Tallahassee from a traveling standpoint. The 5:30 p.m. start time will be right up FSU’s alley, which has played at night in the majority of their game this year.

We’ve nicknamed them the Box Office Boys because they’ve played in primetime so much. It’s not primetime per se, but the late start will likely mean the stadium will be near full capacity of around 60,000 fans.

That’s better than the reported 42,000 in the Sun Bowl in 2019.

Blueblood

No disrespect to Minnesota, Maryland, or Texas Tech, but FSU drawing the Oklahoma Sooners for an opponent was the best option.

Oklahoma has more brand recognition, and the Noles have much more history with them than the other potential opponents. FSU won the first matchup between the two teams, but Oklahoma has rattled off six consecutive wins.

The Sooners defeated the Noles in the 2001 Orange Bowl to prevent back-to-back national titles for Bobby Bowden. A Bob Stoops-led Oklahoma squad rudely welcomed Jimbo Fisher to Norman, Oklahoma, in a 47-17 thumping in Fisher’s first year.

The Sooners returned to Tallahassee the following year to pull out a thrilling 23-13 win in what many say is among the loudest games in Doak Campbell Stadium history. The two teams haven’t met since then, but FSU fans have some familiarity with Oklahoma’s new head coach, Brent Venables.

Venables was the defensive coordinator at Clemson for over a decade, and many FSU fans were glad to see him leave as he often helped Clemson field great defenses.

The good news is he hasn’t been at Oklahoma long enough to have that much of an impact on their defense, who will be among the worst FSU has faced this year.

Winnable Game

FSU football is a touchdown betting favorite over the Oklahoma Sooners on a neutral field. That means the Noles would likely be near -9.5 or -10 point betting favorites if the game took place in Doak Campbell Stadium. FSU ranks as the No. 11 team overall in FEI advanced metrics.

They have the No. 8 offense and No. 34 defense. Oklahoma ranks as the No. 29 team overall. They have the No. 27 offense and No. 42 defense.

We’ll break down the game more in-depth, but the Sooners have struggled to stop the run, allowing 4.44 yards per rush.

They allow 5.56 yards per play and have allowed 29.6 points per game. They have an explosive offense, averaging 6.27 yards per play and 32.9 points per game.

However, it looks like they could be without some key players as they will skip the bowl game to begin preparing for the NFL Draft.

It looks as though FSU will have all of their starters for the bowl game unless Fabien Lovett decides he’s not going to play. Jammie Robinson and Jared Verse have already confirmed they planned to suit up. FSU football is a touchdown betting favorite over the Oklahoma Sooners on a neutral field.

That means the Noles would likely be near -9.5 or -10 point betting favorites if the game took place in Doak Campbell Stadium. FSU ranks as the No. 11 team overall in FEI advanced metrics. They have the No. 8 offense and No. 34 defense. Oklahoma ranks as the No. 29 team overall.

They have the No. 27 offense and No. 42 defense. We’ll break down the game more in-depth, but the Sooners have struggled to stop the run, allowing 4.44 yards per rush. They allow 5.56 yards per play and have allowed 29.6 points per game.

They have an explosive offense, averaging 6.27 yards per play and 32.9 points per game. However, it looks like they could be without some key players as they will skip the bowl game to begin preparing for the NFL Draft.

FSU has rushed for over 200 rushing yards in seven consecutive games. It looks like this game has a great shot to be No. 8. As long as the FSU shows up, they should win. If that happens, that’s FSU’s first 10 win season since 2016 and possibly a top 10 finish.