The Oklahoma Sooners took a loss in their final game of the 2022 regular season, a 35-32 loss to Florida State in the Cheez-It Bowl. If you were an independent observer, the game was an entertaining matchup of two of college football’s best programs.
The game didn’t end like we would have liked it, but it was an entertaining game from start to finish. Oklahoma’s defense was up to the task in the first half, but the Seminoles tall and athletic wide receivers were too much for the Sooners’ secondary to match up with in the second half.
CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli ranked each of the bowl games this season, and Oklahoma’s loss to Florida State came in at No. 4.
For the Sooners, you can’t spin the 2022 season as anything other than a failure. It’s the first time the Sooners finished with a losing record since going 5-7 in 1998, the season before Bob Stoops was hired. Still, this game showed plenty of signs for how good the Sooners can be next year.
Offseason narratives aside, the game itself was just a lot of fun. It was high-scoring with a lot of exciting plays, and the fourth quarter was nonstop drama. Oklahoma took a 25-18 lead early in the quarter; the Noles responded right away to tie the game at 25-25 and then took a 32-25 lead a few minutes later. It was then Oklahoma’s turn to respond with a 75-yard touchdown drive to tie the game one more time at 32-32. Finally, with the game on the line, Florida State drove into field goal range, and Ryan Fitzgerald kicked the game-winning 32-yarder with 55 seconds left to send the Noles home with all the Cheez-Its. – Fornelli, CBS Sports
For the Sooners, this game was a microcosm of much of the 2022 season. They had a good defensive half but couldn’t sustain that level of play for four quarters. With four offensive linemen missing in action due to NFL draft opt-outs and injury, they couldn’t pass block well enough to give Gabriel the time to make plays down the field.
It ended in another close loss for the Sooners in their first losing season since 1998.
Oklahoma took some positive things out of the game like the play of their true freshmen running backs, Jovantae Barnes and Gavin Sawchuk. Jalil Farooq continued to display his versatility as a pass catcher and runner on jet sweeps. He looks primed for a breakout 2023 season if Marvin Mims heads to the NFL.
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