Oklahoma Sooners vs. Florida State Seminoles: Cheez-It Bowl Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 12/29/2022

by Chuck Sommers

Sunday, Dec 25, 2022
Cheez-It Bowl

Time: 5:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL
Where to watch: ESPN

Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks


DraftKings: Florida State -9.5; Florida State -330, Oklahoma +275; O/U 65.5
FanDuel: Florida State -9.5; Florida State -345, Oklahoma +275; O/U 65.5
BetMGM: Florida State -9.5; Florida State -350, Oklahoma +275; O/U 66.5
Caesars: Florida State -9.5; Florida State -370, Oklahoma +275; O/U 66

Season record
Oklahoma: 6-6
Florida State: 9-3

Bowl season is here! There are 42 games that are going to be determining how this season ends. We appreciate you for hanging with us during this college football season, and you know it’s not over yet. We’re going to keep on rolling and giving your our best picks over the course of the next month. All the way up until the College Football Playoff, which is going to have some incredible games. Do you have the right idea when you head to the books for these important games? Our champion handicappers surely have you covered. Will Rogers is running an impressive 24-11-0 in the last month. Al McMordie has also been cashing in heavily with a 40-29-1 mark in college football over the last 30 days. Our guys here have you ready to go for what should be an exciting week. Be tuned to bigal.com for everything!

Oklahoma - Florida State preview, analysis and prediction


Oklahoma analysis
 
How exactly did the Oklahoma Sooners make a bowl game? It’s likely the greatest mystery of this season for how disappointing they were. The Sooners even closed the season losing three of four and still found a way to finish at .500. And for as bad as they were, going against the spread wasn’t any better for OU, going 4-8-0 on the season and failing to cover in seven of their final nine games. After starting 3-0 with wins over UTEP, Kent State and Nebraska, things fell off the rails for the Sooners. They dropped three straight, giving up at least 41 points in each of those games while scoring a combined 58. They were also shut out in one of them, a 49-0 loss to Texas. Their season was saved with back-to-back wins against Kansas and Iowa State, and the 28-13 Oklahoma State victory — their best of the season — clinched them the six-win mark. The inconsistent play from quarterback Dillon Gabriel didn’t help matters. He did turn it on at the end of the year with a 449-yard, six-touchdown performance against Texas Tech … in a 51-48 overtime loss. This defense, which is supposed to be vastly improved, was horrible this season and paid a price for it. Oklahoma is just a weird team that makes no sense in any lexicon whatsoever. They shouldn’t have been here to begin with after how things transpired in the middle of the season, but there is something to be said about being lucky. And this season, Oklahoma was very lucky.
 
Florida State analysis
 
Imagine how things would have gone this year had the Florida State Seminoles not lost those three straight games in the beginning of October period this is a situation where Florida State could have absolutely contended for the ACC championship and possibly a spot in the College Football Playoff. But with three losses to ranked opponents by a combined 18 points put a damper on Florida state's revival season and put a damper on that 4-0 start. But to Florida state's credit, they closed the year with five straight wins and dominated in four of them. You could tell how far the competition level was in the ACC with Florida State beating Georgia Tech by 25, beating Miami by 42 on the road, beating Syracuse by 35 on the road and then winning their final two home games against Louisiana and Florida. This is a team that has exceeded expectations all season long thanks to the play of their quarterback Jordan Travis. The junior quarterback is nearing 3000 yards on the season through the air along with 22 touchdowns to only four interceptions. You talk about consistency and you talk about needing a star at the quarterback position at Florida State, and that is exactly what Travis is.
 
Prediction
 
The state has covered its last four following a loss against the spread and the under has cashed in five of their last six games following a loss against the spread. The only reason why those coordinate is because Oklahoma is not that good and is about to face a very stingy Florida State defense. It would not shock me in the least if Florida State dominated this game. Florida State 34, Oklahoma 7

Betting trends


Florida State is 4-0 ATS in its last four after an ATS loss.

The under is 5-1 in Florida State’s last six following an ATS loss.

Oklahoma is 1-6 ATS in their last 7 against teams with a winning record.

Statistical leaders

Oklahoma:
Passing: Dillon Gabriel – 2,925 yards, 24 TD, 6 INT
Rushing: Eric Gray – 1,366 yards, 11 TD
Receiving: Marvin Mims Jr. – 1,006 yards, 6 TD

Florida State:
Passing: Jordan Travis – 2,796 yards, 22 TD, 4 INT
Rushing: Trey Benson – 965 yards, 9 TD
Receiving: Johnny Wilson – 695 yards, 5 TD

Don't miss our champion handicappers' free picks and expert football picks today. And if you enjoyed this Oklahoma - Florida State prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our daily college football projections and previews.

Chuck Sommers

About the Author:

Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.

All photographic images used for editorial content have been licensed from the Associated Press.

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