ORLANDO — It is Game Day at Camping World Stadium where Clemson looks to continue the momentum they built late in the season as they whipped Wake Forest and South Carolina.
The Tigers look to keep the streak of ten win seasons alive.
Location: Camping World Stadium
Kickoff: 5:45 PM
Television: ESPN
Announcers: Dusty Dvorocek, Tom Luginbill, Dave Pasch
2021 Record: Clemson 9-3, Iowa State 7-5
ACC Record: Clemson 6-2
Series History: First Meeting
Last Meeting: First Meeting
CLEMSON TO FACE IOWA STATE IN 2021 CHEEZ-IT BOWL
Clemson will attempt to close its resilient 2021 campaign on a winning note on Wednesday, Dec. 29, when the Tigers face the Iowa State Cyclones in the
2021 Cheez-It Bowl. Kickoff at Camping World Stadium is set for 5:45 p.m. ET.
Clemson enters the contest at 9-3 and in search of its 10th win of the 2021 season. A win would give Clemson 11 consecutive 10-win seasons, placing the Tigers alongside Florida State (14 from 1987-2000) and Alabama (14 from 2008-21) as the only programs ever to reach double-digit wins in 11 straight seasons.
Clemson’s shot at another 10-win season was salvaged by a committed Tiger team that overcame adversity by going on a 7-1 run after a 2-2 start through
September. Entering October, 28 different Power Five teams including Clemson had two or more losses. Of that group, only Utah (10-3) and Clemson (9-3) rebounded to enter bowl season with at least nine wins.
The Cheez-It Bowl will be Clemson’s first bowl game in Orlando since 2014, and the circumstances come with a multitude of historical parallels. That year, Offensive Coordinator Chad Morris left to become the head coach
at SMU in advance of Clemson’s Russell Athletic Bowl date with Oklahoma. Clemson promoted Tony Elliott and Jeff Scott into co-offensive coordinator roles and hired Brandon Streeter as its quarterbacks coach, and the group led a masterful performance in a dominating 40-6 win against the Sooners.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR THIS WEEK
– Clemson attempting to win 10 games for a schoolrecord 11th consecutive season. Clemson would become only the third program in history ever to post
11 consecutive 10-win seasons, joining Florida State (14 from 1987-2000) and Alabama (14 from 2008-21). Clemson would be the first school to win 10 games in 11 straight seasons as a member of the ACC, as only the final nine of Florida State’s 14-straight 10-win seasons came during the Seminoles’ tenure in the ACC.
– Clemson attempting to win 10 games in a season in which it started 2-2 or worse for the second time in school history, joining the 2014 Tigers that rebounded from a 2-2 start through four games (and a 1-2 start through three games) to finish 10-3 with a bowl win in Orlando. Beyond the 2014 team, the only other Clemson team to reach even nine wins after starting .500 or worse through four games was its 2009 team, which started 2-2 and finished 9-5.
– Clemson attempting to improve to 3-1 all-time in the Cheez-It Bowl across the game’s various monikers. Clemson lost to Texas Tech in the Tangerine Bowl in 2002 but defeated Colorado in the Champs Sports Bowl in 2005 and beat Oklahoma in the Russell Athletic Bowl in 2014.
– Clemson attempting to improve to 6-4 all-time against teams in the Big 12 Conference at the time of the game, including winning its two most recent
meetings in 2014 and 2015, both against Oklahoma in postseason play. Six of Clemson’s nine previous games against the Big 12 have come against teams no longer in the conference (two against Missouri, two against Texas A&M and one each against Colorado and Nebraska).
– Clemson attempting to even its all-time record against schools currently in the Big 12 Conference at 7-7.
– Clemson attempting to improve to 26-22 all-time in bowl contests. A 26th bowl win would tie Nebraska and Ohio State for 10th-most in FBS history.
BOWL SUCCESS UNDER SWINNEY
Clemson has posted a 10-7 bowl record under Head Coach Dabo Swinney, including a 9-4 mark in its last 13 bowl games dating back to the 2012 season.
Clemson’s nine bowl wins since 2012 have not come against run-of-the-mill opponents. Eight of Swinney’s nine bowl victories in that span have come against head coaches with national championship victories to their credit at various levels of NCAA play, including two wins each against Nick Saban, Urban Meyer and Bob Stoops, as well as single victories against Les Miles and Brian Kelly. Four of those coaches have won FBS titles, while Kelly was a two-time champion at the Division II level.
CLEMSON VS. NEW OPPONENTS
Iowa State will be the 107th different opponent faced by Clemson all-time. Clemson holds a 64-38-4 all-time record when facing an opponent for the first time.
Including first meetings with UConn and Iowa State, the 2021 season marks the fourth time in five years in which the Tigers will face an opponent for the first time in school history. It marks the first time since 2014 that Clemson has faced two different schools for the first time in a single year.
Clemson has won 15 of its last 16 games when making its all-time debut against a new opponent, dating back to 2003. The team’s lone debut loss in that time frame came against South Florida in the 2010 Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte, N.C., the last game before Clemson embarked upon its active streak of 10 consecutive 10-win seasons.
Included below is a list of Clemson’s first meeting with all 106 opponents in school history in chronological order.
TCI Predictions
Robert: Clemson 34, Iowa State 13
Gavin: Clemson 21, Iowa State 17
Davis: Clemson 24, Iowa State 14
Sam: Clemson 27, Iowa State 13