FSU football: Ryan Fitzgerald kicks Seminoles to Cheez-It Bowl victory over Oklahoma | Takeaways
ORLANDO − Redemption.
That’s what the Cheez-It Bowl turned into for Florida State football kicker Ryan Fitzgerald on Thursday evening at Camping World Stadium.
Fitzgerald connected on a 32-yard field goal with 55 seconds left to give the Seminoles a 35-32 victory over Oklahoma.
Defensive linemen Jared Verse and Dennis Briggs Jr. combined to sack Sooners quarterback Dillon Gabriel to end the game.
No. 13 FSU (10-3) reached 10 wins for the first time since 2016 and for the 25th time in program history.
OU (6-7) finishes with a losing record for the first time since 1998, the year before Bob Stoops took over as head coach in Norman, Okla.
Fitzgerald had been 10-of-17 kicking entering the bowl game, with struggles in the middle of the season. He was 2-for-3 on kicks in the Cheez-It Bowl.
RecapFlorida State Seminoles take lead over Oklahoma Sooners in third quarter
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Sooner running back Gavin Sawchuck scored the tying touchdown with 3:37 left in the game on a third and long from the FSU 12-yard line.
On the ensuing drive, FSU QB Jordan Travis hit Johhny Wilson for a 58-yard pass to set up the winning score for the Seminoles.
Travis finished 27-of-38 passing for 418 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
He became the 11th QB in FSU history to throw for 3,000 yards in a season. He is the first since Deondre Francois in 2016 to achieve the feat. Johnny Wilson set an FSU bowl record with eight catches for 202 yards.
Gabriel completed 14 of 24 passes for 243 yards with a touchdown. Jalil Farooq finished with four catches for 59 yards and a TD, while Brayden Willis had four grabs for 58 yards and Marvin Mims finished with two catches for 77 yards.
"It was really special to be able to finish this year with our tenth win," FSU head coach Mike Norvell said. "Even in the way that it had to happen tonight, guys that went down, it was a back-and-forth game.
"There were some good moments and really tough and challenging situations, but their heart is what showed up. They continued to fight and continued to believe. You did everything necessary to be able to finish the game andsecuring that tenth win."
Here are the takeaways from the game.
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Redemption for Fitzgerald
Throughout the season, the Seminoles showed strong faith in their starting kicker, despite struggles at times.
Fitzgerald went through a rough stretch, missing five of seven field goals from LSU (Sept. 4) to Wake Forest (Oct. 1). He also missed kicks against Syracuse and Florida, as well as a 54-yard kick just before halftime.
Yet Norvell showed continued faith in his redshirt sophomore kicker. Following the long completion from Travis to Wilson, the Seminoles ran three straight run plays to run the clock down instead of letting Travis potentially make a play for a game-winning touchdown.
"You talk about a response, you talk about growth, you talk about continuing to try to be the best that you can be," Norvell said. "It doesn't mean it is always going to go your way on the journey, but sometimes challenges are necessary.
"You have to know what you can go through to be able to prove what you can get through, and Ryan has done that. That was a big moment for him. That is one that was the difference in the game. Just proud of him, proud of this team, and grateful for the opportunity that I have to be able to work side-by-side with him each day."
Fitzgerald was called on with less than a minute left and connected on the biggest kick of his career.
He finishes the season 12-for-19 kicking, with two of the misses coming from 50-plus yards out.
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Jordan Travis, Cheez-It Bowl MVP
Travis picked a great time for his first career 400-yard passing game. He had two 300-yard games coming into the bowl game.
With running back Trey Benson and Treshuan Ward struggling to find running room − outside of a 38-yard touchdown run by Ward in the third quarter − the team turned to Travis in the air for much of their production.
The biggest statistical game of his career resulted in him earning Cheez-It Bowl MVP honors.
Travis completed passes to nine different receivers and could have had even more yards if not for two dropped passes.
Johnny Wilson led the receivers with eight catches for 202 yards, while Ontaria Wilson added five catches for 74 yards and a touchdown and Markeston Douglas had four catches for 50 yards and a TD.
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Johnny Wilson shows off NFL skills, why he needs to return
Wilson is another player weighing his options of coming back or not. During the Cheez-It Bowl, he showed why he could be a great NFL receiver and why another season of college football would be big for him.
Wilson finished with eight catches for 202 yards. He made the biggest catch of the game, a 58-yard grab in the fourth quarter to set up the game-winning field goal.
"We ran the play earlier in the game and it was open and he asked me, 'Is it open?'" Wilson said of the catch that set up the game-winner. "'Yes, it's open.' We ran it again, and it wasn't as open as it was last time, but he threw it anyways. I expect him to throw it to me every time, you have to, and everyone does. The ball is the in air, and I just had to make the play. I knew the situation. And yeah, I tried to stiff-arm him and I tried to score; I caught it. That's all that mattered."
Wilson also made a crucial catch on the third down on FSU’s drive to take the lead on its opening drive of the first half.
However, a few plays earlier, he dropped a perfect pass from Travis, which could have resulted in an easy touchdown for himself.
Wilson entered the game with five drops on the season, according to Pro Football Focus.
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Struggling to control the run game
The Sooners had the Seminoles’ number on the ground. For the second straight game, FSU allowed an opponent to rush for more than 250 yards.
Florida gained 262 yards, a season-high allowed for the Seminoles on Black Friday. Oklahoma rushed 60 times and averages 4.2 yards en route to 253 total yards rushing.
The Sooners did this despite being without four starting offensive linemen: left tackle Anton Harrison (opt-out), right tackle Wanya Morris (opt-out) and center Andrew Raym (injury).
Starting running back Eric Gray (opt-out) also did not play.
Freshman Jovantae Barnes rushed for 108 yards on 27 carries and a touchdown. Another freshman Gavin Sawchuk added 15 rushes for 100 yards and a touchdown.
Barnes’ TD tied the game at 32 with 3:37 left.
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Slow start for the Seminoles
FSU had seven drives in the first half, scoring on just two. Kicker Ryan Fitzgerald missed a 54-yard kick before the halftime buzzer, though he hit a 22-yard one to open the scoring.
Tight end Cam McDonald also dropped a big ball over the middle of the field on a fourth down in plus territory.
FSU actually outgained OU 264-225, but it could not execute to score other than one field goal and a touchdown in the first half.
The Seminoles also missed plenty of tackles, allowing Barnes and Sawchuch to each rush for more than 100 yards.
Missed coverages resulted in big plays for the Sooners down the field and Gabriel.
"Honestly, it was no different than usual," Travis said of the halftime talk. "We know who we are. We know our identity as a team. We work really hard, and we work hard for situations like that in the off-season. We are made for times like that.
"The guys stepped up. The defense came up big. Shout-out to the offensive line, Johnny Wilson, Pokey and the running backs running hard. We couldn't do without all of our guys. Special teams are big, too. I feel like that gets overlooked, our special teams unit is really special. It was a big-time win for this football team."
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Big first half for Jammie Robinson
Before Thursday’s bowl game, Robinson tweeted “last one.”
Whether that meant his final game before going pro with the Seminoles is unclear.
If it was his last game, he left a lasting impression. Robinson had 13 tackles, two for loss and one sack and forced a fumble. He also had another play where he got to the QB, but was not credited with the sack.
Robinson also recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter, which was caused by defensive back Omarion Cooper.
Reach Ehsan at ekassim@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @Ehsan_Kassim. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports) and Instagram (tlhnolesports).
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida State score: Ryan Fitzgerald kicks Seminoles to win over OU
