Brent Venables reveals Oklahoma's health situation before Cheez-It Bowl

Before Oklahoma faces No. 13 Florida State in the Cheez-It Bowl, Sooners’ head coach Brent Venables gave injury updates for two of his key players. Venables was asked about the status of running back Marcus Major and offensive lineman Andrew Raym, two players that had been battling injuries in the final stretch of Oklahoma’s regular season.

“You just named two of them that won’t play. Other than that, we feel the guys that traveled down here are with us. We haven’t had any injuries, so everybody else will be full tilt,” Venables said.

Major was spotted in a walking boot down in Orlando, still battling an ankle injury that kept him out of the Sooners’ season finale versus Texas Tech. Major was Oklahoma’s third leading running back this season with 227 yards and four touchdowns on the ground this year. He’ll be a big loss considering the Sooners will already be without their leading rusher Eric Gray who declared for the 2023 NFL Draft, and will likely have to lean on freshman Jovantae Barnes to take on a majority of the workload out of the backfield.

Raym started 10 games at center for the Sooners this season before missing the last two games of the season due to an injury that required surgery. Fifth-year senior Robert Congel has started in Raym’s place at center in the team’s last two contests, and will likely do so versus Florida State on Thursday.

Brent Venables says Jordan Travis is a ‘fantastic football player’

If the Oklahoma Sooners want to leave the Cheez-It Bowl with a win over No. 13 ranked Florida State, stopping Seminoles quarterback Jordan Travis is a great place to start. Travis had a phenomenal season and established himself as one of college football’s most dangerous dual-threat quarterbacks. Sooners head coach Brent Venables spoke about Travis ahead of the game, giving nothing but praise for No. 13.

“You have Jordan Travis running the mesh, you know, and it is the lesser of all evils. Fantastic football player. Have enjoyed watching him grow and mature. I love college football. I love players. I love watching journeys. I am a fan of everybody. I am a fan of Jordan Travis for what he is about,” Venables said.

There’s no question that Travis has the best season of his career this year, earning second-team All-ACC honors and leading the Seminoles to their best record since 2016. He was one of the most effective and efficient quarterbacks in the ACC this season, throwing for 2,786 yards and 22 touchdown passes with just four interceptions. Travis completed 63.2% of his passes this season with a 158.2 passer rating, taking a major leap this year.

Travis also got the job done with his legs this season, running less than he normally does, but still extremely effectively and dangerously for opposing defenses. Travis called his own number 75 times this season, rushing for 357 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground, which ranks second on the Seminoles’ roster.

“Man, he has guts. He has toughness,” Venables said. “He has matured from where he was as a freshman to where he is now. He has done it all, man. He has gone through the ups and the downs, the highs and lows. He is scarred up. He is proven. He is battle tested. I have tremendous respect for him.”