During a press conference on Sunday, Clemson super senior linebacker James Skalski explained why the Tigers didn’t have any players opt out of their Cheez-It Bowl matchup against Iowa State on Wednesday at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla.
“We get to play football,” Skalski said. “Yeah, we’ve been to the playoffs and on bigger stages, but to us, we get to go play a game again. We get a chance to go represent Clemson and show everyone what we can do, including ourselves. I think we all just love playing ball, and we love being together.”
On Monday, during the Packer and Durham show on the ACC Network, co-hosts Mark Packer and Wes Durham discussed Skalski’s comments and weighed in on Clemson having no opt-outs for the Cheez-It Bowl.
Durham: “Another positive from the weekend — no Clemson opt outs for the Cheez-It Game later this week in Orlando. That’s the surprising piece for a program like this, Pack. Because programs that didn’t have nearly the success Clemson’s had the last four or five years, you’d think, OK, they’re going to quote ‘a regular bowl game,’ maybe the Tigers wouldn’t be interested. Not the case. Not the case at all.”
Packer: “That’s what Skalski was talking about — the culture of this program that Dabo has built, these dudes want to play ball. So, to me, that is a sign. When you’re used to playing in the Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Cotton Bowl — when you’re one of those dudes, all of a sudden they say, ‘Hey, you’re going to the Cheez-It Bowl.’ The natural response would’ve been, ‘Ah, who wants to go to the Cheez-It Bowl?’ Not these dudes. They want to play football.”