By Mike Bonts
ORLANDO (Florida Sports Wire) – Ryan Fitzgerald’s 39-yard field goal with 55 seconds left gave No. 13 Florida State (10-3) a 35-32 win over Oklahoma (6-7) in the 2022 Cheez-It Bowl Thursday night.
“It was really special to be able to finish this year with our tenth win. Even in the way that it had to happen tonight, guys that went down, it was a back-and-forth game,” said FSU head coach Mike Norvell. “There were some good moments and really tough and challenging situations, but their heart, it is what showed up. They continued to fight, continued to believe. You did everything necessary to be able to finish the game and securing that tenth win.”
The bowl’s Most Valuable Player, FSU QB Jordan Travis, was 27-of-38 passing for 418 yards and a pair of touchdowns. After announcing he would return to FSU for the 2023 season, Travis ranks 11th in program history with 5,888 career passing yards; 12th with 426 completions; and 9th with 45 passing touchdowns.
FSU wide receiver Johnny Wilson set a Cheez-It Bowl record, FSU bowl record and career high with 202 receiving yards. Wilson’s 202 yards are the most in a bowl game this season and the 13th-most in FSU history, while his eight catches were also a career high. Wilson finished 2022 with three 100-yard receiving games.
Ontaria Wilson caught five passes for 74 yards, including a 16-yard touchdown.
Seminoles running back Treshaun Ward led FSU with 81 rushing yards, including his sixth and seventh rushing scores of the season. Ward’s second touchdown went 38 yards to tie the game in the fourth quarter, the longest touchdown of his career. Ward’s two touchdowns tied his career high.
FSU’s six sacks were a season high and tied for the 2nd-most in a bowl game in program history. Defensive back Jammie Robinson had a game-high 13 tackles, including 1.0 sack,
one pass breakup and one fumble recovery
The Seminoles scored two straight touchdowns to move ahead 32-25 with 7:22 remaining, but Jovantae Barnes capped a nine-play, 75-yard drive with a 12-yard rush to tie the game 32-32 with 3:37 to play. FSU took the next 2:42 off the clock before kicking a field goal to go up 35-32.
Oklahoma had a pair of running backs go for over 100 yards each. QB Dillon Gabriel was 14-of-24 through the air with one touchdown.
