Report: Oklahoma Headed to the Cheez-It Bowl

Oklahoma is heading again to Orlando.

The Sooners on Sunday accepted an invite to the Cheez-It Bowl, the place they’ll play Florida State of the ACC on Thursday, Dec. 29 at Tenting World Stadium.

The sport kicks off at 4:30 p.m. CT.

The information was first reported by Motion Community’s Brett McMurphy.

OU completed the common season with a 6-6 report. FSU is 9-3 in coach Mike Norvell’s third season. The Seminoles began 4-0 however however then skilled a three-game shedding streak earlier than profitable 5 in a row to shut the common season.

It’s the identical bowl — with a brand new title sponsor — that Oklahoma performed in 2014, when the Sooners have been routed 40-6 by Clemson. In what was then referred to as the Russell Athletic Bowl, the Tigers’ defensive coordinator was Brent Venables.

Venables is now wrapping up his first season as OU’s head coach.

There’s a direct trajectory between that sport — OU’s worst bowl loss in historical past — and this one.

After the season went south, Bob Stoops shuffled his workers, firing offensive coordinator Josh Heupel. Heupel’s substitute was Lincoln Riley, who changed Stoops as head coach from 2017-2021 earlier than leaving final 12 months for USC. That opened the door for Venables to return to Norman, the place his first season has been rocky.

In that sport, backup quarterback Cole Stoudt — in for injured Deshaun Watson — threw for 3 touchdowns and 319 yards and ran for an additional because the Sooners have been on the verge of being shut out earlier than Alex Ross scored on an 11-yard landing run with 6:57 left to play.

The Sooners dedicated 5 turnovers and managed simply 275 yards whole offense. Quarterback Trevor Knight accomplished 17-of-37 passes for 103 yards with three interceptions, together with a 47-yard pick-six by Ben Boulware. Samaje Perine led Oklahoma with 134 speeding yards on 23 carries, and Eric Striker led the Sooners with 12 tackles.

OU has a wealthy historical past of bowl video games towards Florida State.

• In 1964-65, the Sooners misplaced 36-19 to FSU within the Gator Bowl.
• In 1979-80, the Sooners beat FSU 24-7 within the Orange Bowl.
• In 1980-81, the Sooners beat FSU 18-17 within the Orange Bowl.
• In 2000-01, the Sooners beat FSU 13-2 within the Orange Bowl to win the BCS Nationwide Championship.

Oklahoma has performed a complete of 26 bowl video games within the Sunshine State — by far probably the most of any state. Most of these have been within the Orange Bowl in Miami, however they’ve performed in Orlando twice (2014 towards Clemson and the 1989 Citrus Bowl, a 13-6 loss to Clemson) and Jacksonville for the Gator Bowl thrice (1947, a 34-13 win over N.C. State, 1965, a 36-19 loss to the Seminoles, and 1991, a 48-14 win over Virginia).

OU is 14-12 all-time in bowl video games in Florida.

The Cheez-It choosing the Sooners — 3-6 in convention play and seventh within the Large 12 standings — was a shock. They picked OU over the likes of fourth-place Texas Tech (5-4), fifth-place Oklahoma State (4-5) and sixth-place Baylor (4-5). The Sooners misplaced their video games this 12 months to each Tech and Baylor.

Earlier within the day, TCU landed the No. 3 spot within the School Soccer Playoff, opening the door for Large 12 champ Kansas State to take the Large 12’s Sugar Bowl berth. Texas (6-3) went to the Alamo Bowl with the subsequent choose, and the Cheez-It Bowl surprisingly snatched up Oklahoma.

Oklahoma State went to the Assured Price Bowl in Phoenix (towards Wisconsin), Texas Tech went to the Texas Bowl in Houston (vs. Ole Miss), Baylor went to the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Value (towards Air Pressure), and Kansas went to the Liberty Bowl in Memphis (vs. Arkansas).

The Sooners don’t usually play in second-tier bowls, so their worldwide model and championship pedigree make them a pretty property. OU’s 690 wins because the finish of World Warfare II is probably the most of any program, and their profitable share of .771 going into this season was the most effective amongst any Energy 5 faculty in that stretch.

OU ranks second all-time with 41 seasons of no less than 10 wins (Alabama simply broke a tie with its forty second), and its 50 convention championships leads all of faculty soccer.

In postseason play, OU’s 24-year energetic bowl streak trails solely Georgia (26). The Sooners’ 56 bowl appearances ranks within the high 4 all-time, and OU’s 31 bowl victories is tied for fourth in faculty soccer historical past.