Florida State: 2022 Cheez-It Bowl Champions

Ryan Fitzpatrick hit a 33-yard field goal with just 55 seconds left to give 13th-ranked Florida State a 35-32 win over Oklahoma in the 2022 Cheez-It Bowl in Orlando, Fla. Thursday night.

In a game full of big plays on both sides of the ball, the Seminoles churned out 587 yards of total offense and recorded six quarterback sacks and 11 tackles for loss in the win that secured a 10-win season and continues the national narrative of FSU as one of the hottest programs in the country.

Game Most Valuable Player Jordan Travis was 27-of-38 passing for 418 yards and a pair of touchdowns.  He completed two or more passes to six different receivers with Johnny Wilson having a great night with eight receptions for 202 yards.  Treshaun Ward led all FSU rushers with 81 yards on 10 carries, and Travis had 50 on the ground.

Oklahoma had a pair of running backs go for over 100 yards each and quarterback Dillon Gabriel was 14-of-24 through the air with one touchdown.

Florida State opened the game with an impressive75 yard, 13-play drive and took a 3-0 lead when Fitzgerald’s 22-yard field goal split the uprights with 11:26 left in the first quarter.

Oklahoma scored on the ensuing drive when Dillon Gabriel’s pass found Jalil Farooq in the end zone from 22 yards out to give the Sooners a 7-3 lead at the 7:01 mark of the initial stanza.

The Seminole defense came up big later in the first quarter when the offense failed to convert on fourth down and Oklahoma took over at the Seminoles’ 43-yard line.  But Oklahoma’s three plays lost yards back to their 48-yard line and they were forced to punt.

The Sooners’ offense had a short field once again late in the first quarter setting up at FSU’s 49-yard line.  Eight plays later, Gabriel scored from eight yards out on a quarterback keeper around the right end to make it 14-3 OU with 14:31 left before the half.

A second fourth down conversion attempt by Florida State failed setting Oklahoma up at their own 43-yard line with 11:39 left.  After a 28-yard pass got the Sooners down to the 16, FSU’s defense stuffed the Sooner attack and forced a 28-yard field goal attempt that sailed wide left.

The defensive stand ignited the FSU sideline and the offense ripped off big chunks of yardage on its next drive with Travis hitting Ontaria Wilson with a perfectly placed 16-yard touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone.  The Seminoles went for two with Jordan hitting reserve tight end Brian Courtney for the conversion and a 14-11 score with 7:18 left in the half.  The drive covered 56 yards on six plays with the biggest plays being a pair of passes to Johnny Wilson of 14 and 23 yards.

Oklahoma drove 65 yards on 7 plays on their final possession of the half extending their lead to 17-11 on a 41-yard field goal with 15 seconds left, which held up when Fitzgerald tried a 54-yard field on the last play that fell short.

Travis completed 10-of-14 passes for 170 yards and one TD in the first half.  He also led the Seminoles in rushing with 34 yards on five carries.  Johnny Wilson had 110 receiving yards on seven catches for his third 100-yard game of the season.

Oklahoma’s Dillon Gabriel was 7-of-13 through the air for 110 yards and one TD.  Jovantee Barnes had 70 yards on 15 carries to lead the Sooners in rushing over the first half.

Florida State had a great start to the second half taking its first lead since its first possession in the game on a masterful 94-yard drive on its initial drive of the second half.  The Seminoles used 15 plays and nearly five minutes to take the 18-17 lead when Ward took the snap in the wildcat formation and plunged in from the one.

The Sooners, who were shutout during the third quarter, went up 25-18 with 13:22 left in the game on a Gavin Sawchuck touchdown run up the middle and a successful two-point conversion.

FSU bounced right back on its next drive capping a 75-yard scoring drive with a 38-yard touchdown run by Ward that tied the score at 25-25 with 11:05 left.

The Seminole defense came up with a huge play on Oklahoma’s next possession when Omarion Cooper’s hit on Sawchuck knocked the ball out and Jammie Robinson recovered it at the FSU 36.  Six plays later, Travis hit tight end Markeston Douglas with a 17-yard touchdown pass to put FSU up 32-25 with 7:22 left.

Oklahoma tied the score at 32-32 with 3:37 left on a 12-yard Jovantae Brown run that capped a nine-play, 75 yard drive, before FSU used up most of the clock to kick the game winner.

Clemson: 2021 Cheez-It Bowl Champions

D.J. Uiagalelei threw for 187 yards, Mario Goodrich scored on an 18-yard interception return and No. 19 Clemson beat Iowa State 20-13 on Wednesday night in Orlando, Florida, in the Cheez-It Bowl for coach Dabo Swinney’s 150th victory.

Will Shipley had a 12-yard touchdown run and finished with 61 yards rushing and 53 yards receiving for Clemson (10-3). Dacari Collins caught six passes for 53 yards, and B.T. Potter made two field goals.

Clemson won its sixth straight game to reach 10 victories for an 11th consecutive season. Florida State (14 from 1987-00) and Alabama (14 from 2008-21) are the only programs with longer streaks.

The Tigers, who came in with the nation's second-ranked scoring defense, held the Cyclones (7-6) to three field goals over the first three quarters. Iowa State finished with 270 yards and 14 first downs.

Goodrich sealed Clemson’s victory with 33 seconds to play when he stripped the ball away from Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy on fourth-and-2.

Iowa State dropped four of its final six games of the season and lost in a bowl game for a fourth consecutive year.

Maryland 54, Virginia Tech 10: Tarheeb Still returned a punt 92 yards for a touchdown, Taulia Tagovailoa threw touchdown passes of 70 and 32 yards to Darryl Jones and Maryland routed Virginia Tech at Yankee Stadium in New York in the Pinstripe Bowl.

The game belonged to Tagovailoa, an Alabama transfer and younger brother of Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa. He threw for 265 yards and the two TD passes brought his season total to 26, which tied Maryland’s single-season record.

Coach Mike Locksley led the Terrapins (7-6) to his first bowl victory and winning record in three seasons at Maryland.

Jones, a senior wide receiver, had never caught a touchdown pass over his first 40 games. He had two and finished with 111 yards receiving against the Hokies (6-7).

Antwain Littleton II added a 4-yard rushing TD for Maryland and Joseph Petrino answered the Hokies’ lone touchdown with a 44-yard field goal with 59 seconds left in the first half for a 24-10 lead. Roman Hemby scored on a 2-yard run in the third quarter.

Oklahoma State: 2020 Cheez-It Bowl Champions

Dec. 30 (UPI) -- The Oklahoma State Cowboys stormed out to a 21-0 lead before they held off a late Miami Hurricanes rally to win the 2020 Cheez-It Bowl.

Cowboys quarterback Spencer Sanders completed 27 of 40 passes for 305 yards and four scores in the 37-34 win on Tuesday at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla.

"[We are] playing with 22 people, and there's 11 people on defense and 11 people on offense," Sanders told reporters. "I feel like everybody deserves it. It's not just one person. And I feel like I did a great job of spreading the ball this game."

The Cowboys (8-3) and Hurricanes (8-3) combined for 930 total yards in the postseason matchup.

"That was probably an outstanding ballgame, highly competitive," Hurricanes coach Manny Diaz said.

"At no point did I think we would lose that game, and I don't think our team did, either, until it hit triple-zeros. The way we battled, the way we fought, the way we played for each other was inspiring."

The Cowboys began the game with 15 consecutive pass plays. They used that script to produce touchdowns on their first three drives.

Sanders threw a 30-yard score to Brennan Presley on the opening possession. L.D. Brown ran for a two-yard touchdown on the Cowboys second drive.

Sanders then threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Presley for a 21-0 Cowboys lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Hurricanes answered when quarterback D'Eriq King threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Brevin Jordan to start the second quarter. Miami added a field goal on its next drive, but lost King for the remainder of the game due to a right knee injury.

Oklahoma State held onto a 21-10 lead at halftime.

The Hurricanes got a second Jose Borregales field goal to start the second half. Miami then cut the Oklahoma State lead to two points with a Cam'Ron Harris 42-yard touchdown run with 8:45 remaining in the third quarter.

The Cowboys answered with a Brady Pohl field goal on their next drive. They then capitalized on a Hurricanes fumble to push their lead to 31-19 at the start of the fourth quarter. Sanders threw a touchdown toss to Dillon Stoner to end that drive.

The Hurricanes and Cowboys then traded touchdown drives before the Oklahoma defense tightened up and secured the victory.

N'Kosi Perry threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes for the Hurricanes. Presley also caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Sanders in the final frame.

Presley had six catches for 118 yards and three scores in the win. Perry completed 19 of 34 passes for 228 yards and two scores for the Hurricanes. King completed 10 of 13 passes for 113 yards and a score for Miami.

"This was a really, really good college football game and we beat a good football team," Cowboys coach Mike Gundy said.

"Miami is very talented and very athletic. I don't know if anybody has done their research, but the last four years, they have had 26 players that are in a draft-able position for the NFL. That will give you some kind of idea of what kind of talent and players that they have."

Air Force: 2019 Cheez-It Bowl Champions

Air Force polished off its best season in 21 years with a 31-21 victory over Washington State at the Cheez-It Bowl at Chase Field in Phoenix on Friday.

The Falcons ran for 371 yards, including 178 from Kadin Remsberg. The 5'9" junior running back provided the play of the day after withstanding a crushing hit and extending the ball to score a touchdown that gave the Falcons a 30-21 edge with 3:50 remaining.

Taven Birdow added 108 yards and one touchdown for Air Force, which finished its year with 11 victories. That mark is one shy of the school record set in 1985 and matched in 1998.

The Falcons ended on an eight-game win streak, with their only losses occurring against No. 19 Boise State and No. 23 Navy.

Washington State wideout Brandon Arconado had 11 catches for 167 yards and touchdown for the 6-7 Cougars, whose four-year streak of winning seasons ended.

                   

Notable Performances

Air Force RB Kadin Remsberg: 26 carries, 178 yards, 1 TD

Air Force QB Donald Hammond III: 15 carries, 62 yards, 2 TD; 4-of-12, 30 yards, 1 INT

Air Force FB Taven Birdow: 20 carries, 108 yards, 1 TD

Washington State QB Anthony Gordon: 28-of-42, 351 yards, 3 TD

Washington State WR Brandon Arconado: 11 catches, 167 yards, 1 TD

Air Force entered Friday ranking third in the FBS with 292.5 rushing yards per game.

Washington State began the day first in the FBS with 444.3 passing yards per matchup, or 57.5 more yards than second-place LSU.

While neither offense is the most efficient (the rushing and passing honors go to Clemson and Oklahoma, respectively), it's clear how these two teams like to operate.

The question was which offense would win in a clash of disparate styles, and the answer was Air Force thanks to 373 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 67 attempts.

The Falcons made an immediate statement by going 98 yards in 20 plays and taking up 12:23 of the clock en route to a Donald Hammond III one-yard touchdown run.

That drive helped Air Force dominate time of possession, with the Falcons holding the ball for 43:24. Air Force also mounted three other scoring drives of six minutes or longer.

As for Washington State, the Cougars offense didn't have much trouble moving the ball down the field en route to 366 scrimmage yards. The problem was that they didn't have much to show for it.

A game-opening 71-yard drive ended at the Air Force 2-yard line when a 4th-and-goal conversion attempt proved unsuccessful. A 75-yard drive in the third quarter down to the Air Force 5-yard line finished with WSU getting stuffed on a 4th-and-2 run.

The Cougars did mount scoring drives that combined for 180 yards, with Anthony Gordon tossing touchdown passes to end each one. The final TD was a 13-yard pass to Brandon Arconado, the leading receiver on the night.

However, Air Force responded with Remsberg's score on 4th-and-goal to take a two-score lead. Washington State couldn't score on its final drive, and Air Force ended the game in victory formation.

TCU: 2018 Cheez-It Bowl Champions

PHOENIX -- TCU swapped kickers after California called a timeout at the end of regulation -- and missed.

Faced with a similar decision in overtime, the Horned Frogs stuck with their original kicker.

Jonathan Song delivered on his second-chance kick, ending a strange night in the desert.

Song kicked a 27-yard field in overtime after being replaced at the end of regulation, lifting TCU to a 10-7 win in an interception-filled Cheez-It Bowl on Wednesday night.

`They talked me out of it," TCU coach Gary Patterson said. "I obviously got a chance to tell them they were wrong on the headset. We got another chance and did it."

TCU and Cal spent the night trading interceptions, turning the Cheez-It Bowl into the Cheez-INT Bowl by combining for nine interceptions, most in the bowl's 30-year history.

TCU's Jawuan Johnson had the final interception of the night to open overtime, nearly returning it for a pick-six.

At the end of regulation, the Horned Frogs (7-6) followed a Cal timeout by switching from Song to Cole Bunce, who hooked his 44-yard attempt wide left. TCU sent out Song again in overtime and, after another Cal timeout, opted to leave him.

The junior sent the kick straight through the uprights and the Horned Frogs rushing onto the field after a night of survival.

TCU's Sewo Olonilua ran for 194 yards and a touchdown -- one of the few offensive bright spots outside of Song's kick.

"It was a rough day for sure. Ugly win," said TCU quarterback Grayson Muehlstein, who threw four interceptions and had 27 yards on 7-of-20 passing. "Turned the ball over way too many times, but we managed to just hang in there and just keep fighting."

Jaylinn Hawkins had three interceptions, breaking the Cheez-It Bowl record while earning defensive player of the game.

The Bears (7-6) just couldn't overcome their own miscues.

Cal's Chase Garbers threw three interceptions before being replaced by Chase Forrest, who threw two more -- including the biggest one by Johnson in overtime.

"We just made too many mistakes during the game to win against a quality opponent like that," Cal second-year coach Justin Wilcox said.

Cal had the first big play after a miscommunication between Muehlstein and Jarrison Stewart led to Hawkins' first interception. Garbers scored two plays later on a 4-yard run .

Five more interceptions followed in the first half -- one on a failed TCU trick play -- and Cal led 7-0.

Garbers completed 12 of 19 passes, but had three interceptions so Cal's coaches opted to start Forrest in the second half.

"After the first half, you have some decisions like that that," Wilcox said. "Chase Garbers made and a couple of balls he obviously would like to have back. We felt like we needed a little bit of a spark."

TCU left Muehlstein in at quarterback despite three first-half interceptions. Hawkins picked up his third interception of the game on the opening drive and Muehlstein was briefly replaced by true freshman Justin Rogers before returning.

The Horned Frogs finally got something going in the third quarter, scoring their only touchdown on Olonilua's 2-yard run -- a run initially ruled short before being overturned on review.

Neither team could get much going the rest of the half and the interceptions continued until Song sent his chance kick through the uprights.

"I'm glad that's over," Patterson said.

TAKEAWAY

The Horned got in their own way all night, yet found a way to close out the season with a victory.

The Bears also couldn't get out of their own way, suffering a defeat that will sting all offseason.

HIGH-LEVEL TROLLING

Buffalo Wild Wings was the bowl's sponsor from 2012-13 before it became the Cactus Bowl. Cheez-It came on as the title sponsor this year and Buffalo Wild Wings couldn't resist a little Twitter jab as the strange night wore on.

"Cal-TCU is headed to overtime, and we've never owed you a bigger apology," the company tweeted.

SID PENALTY

TCU was called for a sideline interference penalty on Johnson's overtime interception when sports information director Mark Cohen stepped onto the field to celebrate.

Patterson was not thrilled and couldn't resist a couple of digs.

"Jiminy Christmas," he said. "Have you guys ever known that, in 150 years of a football that the SID gets a penalty?"

UP NEXT

TCU: Robinson transferred to Missouri, but the Horned Frogs hope to have Collins back and healthy next season. Top receiver Jalen Reagor also is a sophomore, so he should be back in 2019.

Cal: RB Patrick Laird and top linebacker Jordan Kunaszyk are seniors, but Garbers is a freshman and the offensive line is relatively young.