Brent Venables, C.J. Coldon offer final thoughts on FSU before Cheez-It Bowl

Florida State and Oklahoma hold a lot of respect for one another entering Thursday.

The stage is set for No. 13 Florida State (9-3) against Oklahoma (6-6) in the Cheez-It Bowl on Dec. 29. 

READ MORE: Staff Score Predictions - Florida State Seminoles vs. Oklahoma Sooners

Before the two kick off in Orlando, Florida, Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables and redshirt senior defensive back C.J. Coldon spoke during the week leading up to the matchup.

Venables is familiar with the Seminoles after spending 2012-21 as Clemson's defensive coordinator.

In his one matchup against a Mike Norvell-led offense, Venables and the Tigers' defense held the Seminoles to 241 total yards in Clemson's 30-20 victory on Oct. 30, 2021. Clemson also forced two turnovers. 

Since that meeting, FSU's offense has added playmakers in redshirt sophomore running back Trey Benson, redshirt sophomore wide receiver Johnny Wilson and redshirt junior wide receiver Mycah Pittman.

A little over a year later, Venables said he's seen Norvell and his staff's fingerprints all over the Seminoles program.

"Coach Norvell and his staff deserve so much praise for the way they have built the program the right way in the last three years," Venables said. "Their players have tremendous belief in what they are doing, great chemistry and cohesion, and [it's] going to be a great, great challenge for the Sooners tomorrow night."

Unlike the Sooners, who finished 3-6 in their final nine regular season games, the Seminoles enter bowl season with momentum. Florida State is riding a five-game win streak and Venables specifically pointed out the Seminoles' threat to hit big plays.

"Florida State is playing as well as anybody in college football here in the back half of the season and has had a terrific, outstanding season," Venables said. "[They're] an incredibly talented team. They are long and fast and incredibly explosive."

It’s clear that Brent Venables thinks highly of #FSU after competing against the program over the last decade.

“Florida State’s playing as well as anybody in college football. Coach Norvell and his staff deserve so much praise.” #Noles

— Dustin Lewis (@DustinLewisNG) December 28, 2022

FSU's offense is led by redshirt junior quarterback Jordan Travis, who has accounted for 3163 total yards and 30 total touchdowns.

"I am a fan of Jordan Travis for what he is about," Venables said. "Man, he has guts. He has toughness. 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."

In his last three meetings as Clemson's defensive coordinator against Florida State, Venables coached the Tigers' defense to 14 combined sacks.

However, under offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Alex Atkins, Florida State's offensive line has flipped. The unit won Offensive Line of the Year in College Football Network's 2022 All-ACC College Football Honors and Venables offered more praise.

"I think the offensive line is as good as we have seen all year, probably the best unit that we have seen, Venables said. "They are incredibly well-coached by Alex Atkins .. just do a terrific job. They play with great cohesion. They make very few mistakes and do a great job of identifying what is in front of them and what they want to do from a targeting standpoint."

Oklahoma redshirt senior defensive back C.J. Coldon leads the Sooners with four interceptions (team-high) and five pass deflections.

Coldon praised FSU and said he's eager for the opportunity of competing against a balanced team.

"[They're] very skilled, great skill players, great line," Coldon said. "They just have great players all around, great coaching. It'll be a good game ... I'm excited myself, the whole defense is excited."

For Coldon's interview, click here.

For the full transcript of the press conference, click here. The video of the press conference can be found here.

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