Tag: 2022 Bowl Season

Maryland’s Twitter account dunked on former conference rival N.C. State after Duke’s Mayo Bowl win

Maryland took a shot at its former ACC foe after Friday’s win.

It’s easy to bemoan bowl season’s diminishing returns year after year, both in terms of the quality of the contests and fan interest in what are increasingly becoming glorified exhibitions for next year’s team.

Those criticisms are still fair, but apparently, Friday’s win over North Carolina State in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl was meaningful for Maryland. Or at least, meaningful to whoever runs the athletic department’s Twitter account.

After the 16-12 win over the Wolfpack, which was sealed on an ugly interception from Ben Finley — the fourth quarterback to start for N.C. State this season — the Terrapins’ official account had a dunk ready in the drafts.

Aside from the malpractice in the spelling of “y’all,” which offends my sensibilities as a lifelong southerner, it’s easy to see why the Terps are taking some bragging rights from this one. Both founding members of the Atlantic Coast Conference, the two programs spent six decades in the same conference and were division rivals before Maryland left for the Big Ten after the 2013 season.

This was the first time the two teams have met since then, and the Terrapins extended their winning streak in the rivalry to two.

It’s always nice to renew a rivalry, but considering Maryland hasn’t finished higher than third in the Big Ten East since making the jump (and has only finished better than fifth twice), I’m not sure leaving the ACC in the dust is the dunk Maryland thinks it is.

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ESPN provides early prediction for Oklahoma vs. Florida State in Cheez-It Bowl

Can Oklahoma’s defense slow down a Florida State offense that’s averaging 36 points per game in 2022? From @john9williams

The Oklahoma Sooners drew a tough task in the bowl season when they travel to Orlando to face the 9-3 Florida State Seminoles. Florida State, who saved Mike Norvell from the hot seat, lost only to NC State, Wake Forest, and Clemson this season and looks to be a team on the upward swing.

They made significant strides on both sides of the ball, and will be a stiff challenge for Brent Venables and the Sooners, who are hoping to avoid their first losing season since 1998.

Over at ESPN, Adam Rittenberg looked at the bowl matchups and provided an early prediction for each game. For Oklahoma vs. Florida State, he sees the Seminoles coming out on top in a shootout. Rittenberg predicts Florida State to win the game 44-37, which would drop Oklahoma to 0-5 on the season in one-score games.

Here’s what Rittenberg had to say:

The Seminoles thought they were free of Brent Venables, the longtime Clemson defensive coordinator who had a difficult first season as OU’s coach. All the ingredients seem to favor FSU, which ended the season on a five-game win streak and has a short trip to the game site. The Seminoles’ improved defense must slow down Dillon Gabriel, the former UCF quarterback who returns to Orlando. But Oklahoma won’t have answers for quarterback Jordan Travis, running back Trey Benson, wide receiver Johnny Wilson and the Noles. – Rittenberg, ESPN

The biggest problem Oklahoma will face defensively is quarterback Jordan Travis. The Sooners have done a good job against traditional rushing attacks but have had a hard time slowing down running quarterbacks.

According to Pro Football Focus, who doesn’t take away rushing yards due to sacks, Seminoles quarterback Jordan Travis has run for 471 yards and seven touchdowns. Those seven touchdowns were tied for third in the ACC. His 7.6 rush yards per attempt leads all quarterbacks in the Power Five with at least 25 attempts on the season. 62% of his rushing yards came on designed runs.

We’ve seen how Oklahoma’s defense has struggled against the quarterback run game all season long. With several weeks to prepare, hopefully, the Sooners find some answers to slow down Travis and the Seminoles’ running game.

Running back Trey Benson ran for 969 yards and nine touchdowns, averaging 6.9 yards per carry, and Johnny Wilson is their version of Marvin Mims. Wilson averaged 19.9 yards per reception with 35 catches for 695 yards and five touchdowns.

Florida State’s offense averages 36.2 points per game in 2022, good for 17th in the nation. Their defense is what’s improved so much. They’re only allowing 19.7 points per game, which improved from 26.5 points per game a year ago.

It’s going to be a difficult 2022 finale for Brent Venables and company. But if they can limit the damage in the quarterback run game, they’ll have a shot to close the first season of the Brent Venables era with a winning record and on a high note.

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Report: Sooners to face Florida State in Cheez-it Bowl

The Oklahoma Sooners will be headed to Orlando to play the Florida State Seminoles in the Cheez-it Bowl.

The Oklahoma Sooners have their bowl game and their opponent. The crimson and cream will be headed to Florida to play in the Cheez-it Bowl against the Florida State Seminoles. We’ve got a 2000 national championship rematch according to Brett McMurphy of The Action Network.

The Cheez-it Bowl will be played on Dec. 29 at 4:30 CST on ESPN. All things considered, this is a solid bowl to play in for a team that finished 6-6.

 

There’s a bit of pride on the line for OU in this game. The Sooners haven’t finished with a losing record since 1998, with John Blake at head coach.

Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell gets FSU to a bowl for the first time in year three of his tenure. Norvell was rumored to be on the hot seat prior to the season, but it seems that he finally has his program turned around.

In last season’s Cheez-it Bowl, Clemson defeated Iowa State 20-13.

Winning in Orlando would be a nice way to end an incredibly frustrating 2022 campaign for Brent Venables and the Sooners. 7-6 would look a lot better than 6-7. And playing in one of the recruiting hot beds of college football provides a nice perk.

The loss against Texas Tech was incredibly frustrating, but this season could very well end on a positive note.

Now the question that lingers, which Sooners will stain the Cheez-It themed hotel rooms?

 

Season ticket holders will have the opportunity to purchase bowl game tickets from their allotment starting at 10 a.m. CT on Monday. Remaining tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. CT on Tuesday.

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Oklahoma Sooners to the Sugar Bowl in 247Sports way-too-early 2022 bowl projections

In 247Sports way-too-early bowl predictions, the Oklahoma Sooners take on Texas A&M in the Sugar Bowl.

Heading into the 2021 season, the Oklahoma Sooners were expected to return to the College Football Playoff led by the arm of their Heisman contending quarterback. Very little went according to plan last year, and now, the Sooners find themselves facing transition on both sides of the ball.

But that hasn’t dampened any of the optimism from fans and analysts alike who have high expectations for the Sooners in 2022.

247Sports is expecting a bounce-back season for the Sooners. On Monday, they shared their predictions for the College Football Playoff and the New Year’s Six Games.

Let’s take a look!

There’s a lot to unpack here:

As the only Big 12 team on the list, it shows how 247Sports feels about the Venables hire. If OU doesn’t make the playoff, there’s a loss or two on their schedule, which puts them out of the top four.

Seeing Venables take OU to the playoff in his first year would be amazing, but even with a weaker schedule in the Big 12, I don’t think that’s a reasonable ask from OU fans.

A matchup with Texas A&M would provide a glimpse of a future SEC West that could include the two former Big 12 conference-mates.

USC in the Rose Bowl in [autotag]Lincoln Riley[/autotag]’s first year is undoubtedly a bold prediction. With no one else from the PAC 12 on this list, 247Sports is predicting USC to win the PAC 12. I think Utah is at least a step ahead of USC, but we’ll see what happens.

The big one that sticks out on the list is Notre Dame. We all know that the CFP committee loves Notre Dame, but their schedule is more challenging this year.

They open against Ohio State and play both Clemson and USC in November. USC is a road game and is their final game of the year, which will do big numbers in the ratings.

The top four are more or less what actually will be.

Alabama and Georgia are still Alabama and Georgia. They’re not going anywhere. C.J. Stroud will probably win the [autotag]Heisman[/autotag], and Ohio State is still the best program in the second-best conference in football. Barring injury, they’ll be back. Notre Dame is the only one I could see realistically missing out on the College Football Playoff.

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