Tag: Cheez-It Bowl

Clemson scores first touchdown of Cheez-It Bowl

Clemson scored the first touchdown of the Cheez-It Bowl in the second half on Wednesday at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla. Will Shipley ran for a 12-yard touchdown with 4:54 left in the third quarter to give the Tigers a 13-3 lead over Iowa …

Clemson scored the first touchdown of the Cheez-It Bowl in the second half on Wednesday at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla.

Will Shipley ran for a 12-yard touchdown with 4:54 left in the third quarter to give the Tigers a 13-3 lead over Iowa State.

Shipley’s touchdown capped a 16-play, 79-yard drive that consumed 7:39 of clock.

With the touchdown, Shipley now has 11 rushing touchdowns this season and passed his running backs coach — C.J. Spiller — for the most rushing touchdowns by a Clemson true freshman running back since 1972. Spiller had 10 in 2006.

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Halftime Photo Gallery: No. 19 Clemson 6, Iowa State 3

ORLANDO, Fla. – No. 19 Clemson led Iowa State, 6-3, at halftime of the Cheez-It Bowl on Wednesday night at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla. B.T. Potter booted field goals of 23 and 51 yards for the Tigers, while Andrew Mevis made a 22-yard …

ORLANDO, Fla. — No. 19 Clemson led Iowa State, 6-3, at halftime of the Cheez-It Bowl on Wednesday night at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla.

B.T. Potter booted field goals of 23 and 51 yards for the Tigers, while Andrew Mevis made a 22-yard field goal for the Cyclones.

At halftime, Clemson had 212 total yards to Iowa State’s 153.

Clemson quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei went 15-of-24 passing for 145 yards, and Iowa State’s Brock Purdy completed 9-of-15 passes for 112 yards.

Check out The Clemson Insider’s photo gallery of the first-half action: LINK.

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Tigers, Cyclones locked in a tight one at the half

ORLANDO – Clemson heads into the break hanging onto a 6-3 lead over Iowa State at the Cheez-It Bowl at Camping World Stadium. The Tigers dominated the first quarter but had just three points to show for it. Clemson totaled 104 yards of total offense …

ORLANDO — Clemson heads into the break hanging onto a 6-3 lead over Iowa State at the Cheez-It Bowl at Camping World Stadium.

The Tigers dominated the first quarter but had just three points to show for it. 

Clemson totaled 104 yards of total offense in the game’s first 15 minutes. But Brandon Streeter’s unit was unable to get much of anything going after a relatively successful first drive.

From there, the offense experienced some of the similar struggles that plagued the unit throughout the course of the regular season — execution —proving to be transcendent even through a changing of the guard at offensive coordinator.

Though, Clemson did outgain Iowa State 212-153.

D.J. Uiagalelei was methodical and played relatively well. His pocket presence is still somewhat lacking, but he didn’t get the help he needed from some of his teammates.

Uiagalelei went 15-of-24 with 145 yards passing in the first half of play. He completed 63% of his passes, though, it would’ve been more if not for the combined drops of Will Shipley, Joseph Ngata and Beaux Collins.

Wes Goodwin’s first half as Clemson’s co-defensive coordinator couldn’t have fared much better. Sure, the Tigers did allow Iowa State to drive the football down the field methodically on two separate offensive possessions, but both drives ended in field goal attempts.

The defense’s bend, but don’t break mentality proved to be a relative theme in the first half of Wednesday’s contest.

The Tigers would catch a huge break on a would-be touchdown, late in the first quarter.

Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy had an open target in his veteran tight end, Brandon Allen, in between two Clemson defenders. The senior quarterback sailed the throw wide of Allen, forcing the Cyclones to settle for 3-points.

They would settle for two field goals, but Iowa State kicker Andrew Mevis went 1-of-2 on those attempts, missing from 43-yards out.

Clemson had to reach further into its depth chart after James Skalski limped off injured midway through the second quarter. Skalski did not return to the game in the first half and was on the sideline without his helmet.

In addition to Skalski, Clemson was already down starters Nolan Turner (toe) and Baylon Spector (wrist). 

LaVonta Bentley started in place of Spector, but he struggled in coverage. The absences of Skalski and Spector paved way for an interesting linebacker configuration as the Tigers had Barrett Carter at the SAM-backer position with Keith Maguire as the MIKE and Jeremiah Trotter, Jr. as the WILL-backer.

LaVonta Bentley started in place of Spector, but he struggled in coverage.

The Cyclones did have absences of their own, including leading-rusher Breece Hall, who opted out of Wednesday’s game.

Purdy completed 9-of-15 passes with 112 yards passing, while Iowa State ran for just 41 yards on 11 carries.

B.T. Potter, who missed a field goal as time expired on the first half, gave Clemson the lead behind a 51-yard field goal. The Tigers clung onto that lead heading into halftime at 6-3.

Iowa State will receive the second-half opening kickoff.

Bart Boatwright’s Photo Gallery: Tigers arrive for Cheez-It Bowl

ORLANDO, Fla. – No. 19 Clemson has arrived to Camping World Stadium in Orlando for tonight’s Cheez-It Bowl matchup vs. Iowa State. Check out Bart Boatwright’s photo gallery of the Tigers’ arrival for the bowl game: LINK. Clemson Variety & Frame is …

ORLANDO, Fla. — No. 19 Clemson has arrived to Camping World Stadium in Orlando for tonight’s Cheez-It Bowl matchup vs. Iowa State.

Check out Bart Boatwright’s photo gallery of the Tigers’ arrival for the bowl game: LINK.

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ACC analyst talks Cheez-It Bowl, important streak at stake for Tigers

A significant streak is at stake for No. 19 Clemson (9-3) when it battles Iowa State (7-5) in the Cheez-It Bowl this evening. The Tigers are vying for their 11th consecutive 10-win season to join Florida State (14, 1987-2000) and Alabama (14, …

A significant streak is at stake for No. 19 Clemson (9-3) when it battles Iowa State (7-5) in the Cheez-It Bowl this evening.

The Tigers are vying for their 11th consecutive 10-win season to join Florida State (14, 1987-2000) and Alabama (14, 2008-21) as the only schools to reach double-digit victories in at least 11 straight seasons.

ACC Network analyst Kelly Gramlich, who co-hosted the Packer and Durham show on the network this morning, talked about the streak that’s on the line for Clemson and previewed its Cheez-It Bowl matchup vs. Iowa State.

“That’s a big deal. The 10-win streak is a huge deal,” Gramlich said, “and I think Iowa State is also very motivated — trying to get to eight wins, trying to get a big win over Clemson. This is a marquee opponent for Iowa State. At 7-5, they probably didn’t think they’d get a chance to play this kind of a program in a bowl at 7-5. So, it’s huge for both teams. And I think the 10-win mark — I know how important that is for Clemson, having covered this program pretty closely over the last 10 years.”

Gramlich compared Clemson’s season this year to the 2014 campaign, when the Tigers earned their 10th win with a 40-6 victory over Oklahoma in the Russell Athletic Bowl on the same date that the Cheez-It Bowl is being played today — Dec. 29.

“You look back at a season like 2014, where they also found a way to get 10 wins — nine wins in the regular season, then the win over Oklahoma in the Russell Athletic Bowl, which is what this bowl used to be,” Gramlich said. “And then that season really propelled you to the 2015 playoff, and Clemson fans still take a lot of pride in winning 10 games in that year where you had a lot of injuries, at quarterback specifically. So, I know that’s a big deal.”

Gramlich also believes the consecutive 10-win seasons streak is a big deal to Clemson’s seniors, who are hoping to go out on top with a victory over the Cyclones.

“I know it matters so much for these seniors,” she said. “They didn’t have the season they wanted, but to go out and say I never had a year where I didn’t at least win 10 games, even a COVID year, that’s huge for (James) Skalski and (Nolan) Turner and (Darien) Rencher and all of these guys who have been at Clemson for it seems like decades.”

The Cheez-It Bowl will kick off at 5:45 p.m. at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla., and be televised on ESPN. Clemson is a 1.5-point favorite.

“When you look at bowl games, you look at motivation and you look at location,” Gramlich said. “The location doesn’t really affect either of these teams, it being in sunny Orlando. But I think both teams are highly motivated, so I expect a really fun and exciting game in the Cheez-It Bowl.”

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Former NFL linebacker explains why he is ‘juiced up’ for the Cheez-It Bowl

A former NFL linebacker is “juiced up” for the Cheez-It Bowl. OutKick contributor Bobby Carpenter – an Ohio State product and 2006 first-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys who played seven seasons in the league with the Cowboys, Rams, Dolphins, Lions …

A former NFL linebacker is “juiced up” for the Cheez-It Bowl.

OutKick contributor Bobby Carpenter – an Ohio State product and 2006 first-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys who played seven seasons in the league with the Cowboys, Rams, Dolphins, Lions and Patriots – explained this week why he is super excited for tonight’s Cheez-It Bowl matchup between No. 19 Clemson (9-3) and Iowa State (7-5).

“This is why I think it’s intriguing,” Carpenter said. “Not a great season for Iowa State, 7-5. I guarantee you, (Iowa State head coach) Matt Campbell is not feeling great about how it went down. This was supposed to be the year that they get it done, and they lose to Iowa early in the season and things kind of snowballed a little bit, and now (star running back) Breece Hall opts out for the game. So, it’s less than ideal when it comes to that. But, they’re going to be fired up, they’re going to be ready to go. If you would have told them at the beginning of the season, you’re going to play Clemson in a bowl game, they probably would have thought they were making the College Football Playoff.

“Now, this isn’t the playoff, and Clemson obviously wasn’t as good – they were 9-3, lost to Georgia, struggled a little bit in the ACC, had a couple losses, but finished really, really strong.”

After a 2-2 start, the Tigers won seven of their final eight regular season games, and their offense that was much-maligned early in the season made improvements down the stretch, averaging 36.4 points per game over the last five games following the loss at Pittsburgh on Oct. 23.

Clemson’s attack will face a tough test against an Iowa State unit that ranks 10th nationally in total defense (309.2 yards per game allowed).

“Now, they’ve had some departures. Brent Venables is gone, defensive coordinator, they’ve lost some offensive staff as well. They’re in a state of transition, losing both coordinators,” Carpenter said. “Let’s see how far D.J. Uiagalelei has come. Let’s see how far that Clemson offense has come against a pretty good, when they put it together, Cyclone defense.”

Carpenter added that the Cheez-It Bowl features two teams he considered potential playoff teams at the outset of the season, and he thinks it will be a clash between two programs with similar mindsets in terms of culture and player development.

“This is a matchup that I would’ve said, at the beginning of the season, this could’ve been maybe a semifinal matchup,” Carpenter said. “Even after Clemson lost to Georgia, you’re thinking, ‘Man, Clemson’s defense is good. Got some dudes out there.’ And Iowa State, they had all this offensive firepower. They’re going to be, like I said, without a little bit of it with Breece Hall opting out, their star running back moving on. But they still have a lot of guys there.

“They talk about not having five-star recruits but five-star culture, and so this will be a battle of that because both of these programs I think pride themselves on culture and developing players. Clemson probably gets a little better players, but I think that this is something that’s going to be really big and very, very exciting.”

Clemson is a 1.5-point favorite heading into the Cheez-It Bowl, which is set for a 5:45 p.m. kickoff at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla., and will be televised on ESPN.

“This is a bowl game of the week outside of once we get to the weekend and the New Year’s Six and semifinals and all those things,” Carpenter said. “So for a midweek bowl game, something that’s going on that maybe might not attract a lot of your attention, may I steer you towards this game because I think it should be a good one. The line’s really tight, and it’s two teams that at the beginning of the year had high expectations.”

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TCI Game Day: Cheez-It Bowl

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: …

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

 

Get fired up for Cheez-It bowl with highlights from pep rally

ORLANDO – Game day has arrived for the Cheez-It Bowl where Clemson will battle Iowa State. To get you fired up for the game we bring you some highlights from the pep rally held Tuesday afternoon.

ORLANDO —  Game day has arrived for the Cheez-It Bowl where Clemson will battle Iowa State.

To get you fired up for the game we bring you some highlights from the pep rally held Tuesday afternoon.

Why Matt Campbell has ‘so much respect’ for Dabo Swinney amid transfer frenzy

Iowa State has sporadically dipped into the transfer market during Matt Campbell’s six-year tenure as head coach, but it’s a lot compared to Clemson. Of course, that’s not exactly a high bar. Dabo Swinney’s preference to recruit high school …

Iowa State has sporadically dipped into the transfer market during Matt Campbell’s six-year tenure as head coach, but it’s a lot compared to Clemson.

Of course, that’s not exactly a high bar.

Dabo Swinney’s preference to recruit high school prospects and develop them over their time at Clemson has been well-documented. During his 13 years as the Tigers’ head coach, Clemson has only brought in one transfer. That was former Stanford quarterback David Olson, a graduate transfer who served as a scout-team signal caller on the 2014 team.

Clemson has largely done fine without FBS transfers, ripping off 10 straight double-digit win seasons with seven ACC championships and six College Football Playoff appearances during that span. The Tigers will try to keep the string of 10-plus win seasons going Wednesday against Campbell’s team in the Cheez-It Bowl.

In Campbell’s opinion, it’s made Clemson’s recent run of success all the more impressive considering the sports’s current transfer climate.

“The rest of the college football landscape wants you to become transactional,” Campbell said. “To be honest with you, it’s why I have so much respect for Coach Swinney and really what Clemson has done because I really believe he’s built his program through transformational leadership and transformational value system. I think it’s really hard to find in our profession today and only getting harder and will continue to get harder.”

Campbell has used a mix of his own players and transfers to help turn around an Iowa State program that was in a much different place than Clemson in terms of talent when he took over the Cyclones’ program in 2016, though he’s been selective with his additions from outside the program. Iowa State, which has rebounded from a 3-9 season in 2016 with five straight winning campaigns, hasn’t signed more than three FBS transfers in any of Campbell’s recruiting classes so far.

Quarterback Brock Purdy, the Big 12’s leading passer, is a senior whom Campbell signed out of the prep ranks as part of his first recruiting class at Iowa State. The Big 12’s leading rusher (Breece Hall, who has opted out of the Cheez-It Bowl) and the Cyclones’ leading tackler (linebacker Jake Hummel) were also high school recruits. Iowa State’s leading receiver (Xavier Hutchinson) is in his second year with the program after transferring from junior college.

Transfers have always been a part of college football, but the one-time transfer rule the NCAA passed last year allowing players transferring for the first time to be immediately eligible at their next school has put the portal in overdrive. With players entering the transfer portal on nearly a daily basis, there’s plenty of movement on rosters nationwide.

And if players are looking for a new team to join, that means they’re leaving another. Iowa State has had more than 10 players enter the portal since the start of the season while the number of transfer defections for Clemson sits at nine as of Tuesday. 

“It’s certainly an interesting time,” Campbell said.

Clemson has been active in seeking additions from the portal for next season, so the Tigers could soon join Iowa State and other FBS programs around the country in supplementing its roster with transfers. But Campbell said he and Swinney are similar in their thinking of how to primarily go about continuing to build their respective programs.

“I think whatever my opinions are on what this time is (in college football) are really irrelevant other than I still believe the college journey between 18 and 22 years old is transformational rather than transactional, and I’ve always believed it’s about the entire collegiate experience,” Campbell said.

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