Oklahoma football ranked 13th in the nation in rushing offense, averaging 217 yards per game, but the Sooners were without their No. 1 running back and going up against the ACC’s best defensive team in the Florida State Seminoles in the Cheez-It Bowl.
This did not appear to be a favorable matchup for the good guys from Norman. That’s not, however, the way the Sooners themselves saw things. Instead of a problem area, Brent Venables and offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby saw it as an opportunity.
It was next-men-up mindset, and a pair of Oklahoma freshmen running backs charged through the open door like a couple of raging bulls. Jovante Barnes and Gavin Sawchuk, elite running back prospects out of OU’s 2022 class, had been sidelined behind Eric Gray, arguably the best player on this year’s Sooner team. All Gray did this season was run for 1,366 yards, 11 touchdowns and a nation’s 12th-best 6.4 yards per carry. So it’s easy to understand why Gray got most of the offensive snaps this season.
When Gray was given a breather during the season, Barnes was the one who would come in to spell him for short periods. Gawchuk, however, one of the fastest players on the team, played in just two games all season, gaining 105 yards on 17 carries.
Man, oh man, did the two of them seize their opportunity on Thursday night. Both reached triple digits in rushing yards with Barnes gaining 106 yards on the ground and Sawchuk 100 along with an average of 6.2 yards every time he toted the ball. Those were career highs for both freshman.
Florida State is a team that thrives on being able to run the ball, and they are one of the best rushing offenses in the nation, ranked 12th, averaging close to 220 yards per game. The Sooners’ two running backs combined for 206 rushing yards in the Cheez-It Bowl compared to Florida State’s 169 total rushing yards.
Here are some other compelling numbers that help tell the story of the game:
.536 — Oklahoma’s winning percentage in 56 bowl games (31-24-1).
1 — The only Oklahoma turnover of the game came at the 9:41 mark of the fourth quarter when Gavin Sawchuk fumbled at the Florida State 38-yard line after a nine-yard run.
2 — The Cheez-It Bowl loss is only OU’s second loss in eight all-time meetings with Florida State.
3 — Three Oklahoma players made their first career start in the Cheez-It Bowl game (RB Jovante Barnes and offensive linemen Savion Byrd and Jacob Sexton).
5 — OU’s Billy Bowman intercepted a pass from Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis at the end of the third quarter to stop an FSU drive at the Sooners’ 38-yard line. It was only Travis’ fifth interception all season.
16 — Gavin Sawchuk’s 16-yard touchdown run with over 11 minutes left in the second quarter would have given Oklahoma a 21-3 lead, but the touchdown was negated by a holding penalty called on the Sooners. Several plays later, OU’s Zach Schmit missed a 45-yard field goal.
17 — Billy Bowman’s interception in the third quarter was OU’s 17th of the season, which ranks 6th nationally.
31:11 — Possession time for Oklahoma in the Cheez-It Bowl. It was only the second time this season the Sooners have possessed the ball in a game longer than their opponent.
60 — Oklahoma ran 84 plays in the game. Sixty of those were running plays.
61,520 — Attendance for the game at Camping World Stadium. A huge majority of the fans in attendance were for Florida State, which is only a three-hour drive from Tallahassee.