Clemson defense takes the wind out of the Cyclones in Cheez-It Bowl win

Clemson's defense shut down the Iowa St. offense.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Wed Dec 29 21:20:24 GMT-04:00 2021

ORLANDO – Clemson’s defense shut down opposing offenses late in games many times over the years, and Wes Goodwin saw more of the same in his first game at the helm as the Tigers shut down the Iowa St. offense and held on a late 4th-down in defeating the Cyclones 20-13 in the Cheez-It Bowl in Camping World Stadium.

Trailing 20-13, the Cyclones had one final chance to tie the score and drove to their own 36. Facing a 4th-and-2 with 39 seconds remaining, quarterback Brock Purdy scrambled and appeared to have the first down. However, cornerback Mario Goodrich came up to make the tackle and jarred the ball loose from Purdy. Purdy recovered, but it was behind the line to gain and the Tigers were able to run out the clock.

The Tigers finish the season with a 10-3 record while the Cyclones finish the season with a 7-6 record.

Clemson had just 315 yards of total offense, while Iowa St. had a season-low 270 yards (the previous low was 335 against Northern Iowa in the season opener). Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei was 21-of-32 for 187 yards and an interception. Will Shipley had 18 carries for 61 yards and added five receptions for 53 yards. Kobe Pace had 12 carries for 51 yards, while Dacari Collins had six catches for 56 yards.

The win gives Clemson its 11th consecutive 10-win season. Clemson becomes 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.

The win ties head coach Dabo Swinney (10-7 career bowl record) with Bobby Bowden for the most bowl victories in conference history, as 11 of Bowden’s 21 career bowl wins came during Florida State’s membership in the ACC.

Clemson won its 15th consecutive December game, dating to Clemson’s 2011 ACC Championship Game victory against Virginia Tech. Clemson (15-0) is one of three schools to be undefeated in December since 2011 with a minimum of five games played, a list that also includes Alabama (12-0) and Penn State (7-0).

Swinney said he was proud of his team.

"Just really proud of the team for getting ready. It was an awesome experience for us. Congratulations to Iowa State," Swinney said. "That's a good football team. They were exactly who they have been all year. You just know it's going to come down to a possession. They are a scrappy team, but man, the credit belongs to our players."

The Tigers won in short-handed fashion.

"I don't know if y'all heard me out there, but we had 28 scholarship players unavailable tonight, 28," Swinney said. "And then two more, Booth and Skalski, they are pretty good, they go out, so 30. 30 scholarship players unavailable, and then some pretty good coaches that are no longer with us, and an AD sitting on the beach under an umbrella right now.

"So that's a lot that's gone on around these guys in the last few weeks. And man, I just couldn't be more proud of our staff. That's a lot of players, nine guys that went in a portal somewhere between September and whenever, and then 19 guys out with injury, and we had three guys in the COVID protocol. Most of them have been out all year. For these guys to just continue to hang in there, the coaches continue to hang in there, and just find a way, all kind of musical chairs up front, man, I'm just really proud of this team. And to be sitting here 10-3 after starting 2-2 is just incredible. It just speaks to the leadership and the character of the young men in our program, the culture of our program, the heart of our coaching staff as well and the foundation that we have at Clemson."

The Tigers took the opening kickoff and used tempo to move methodically down the field. The two biggest plays of the drive were a 19-yard pass to Shipley and an 11-yard run by Kobe Pace. However, the drive stalled inside the 10-yard line and the Tigers settled for a 23-yard field goal from BT Potter and a 3-0 lead. The drive covered 15 plays, 69 yards, and took just over eight minutes off the clock.

The rest of the first half was starts and stops and both offenses failing to get any traction. Iowa St. added a 22-yard field goal from Andrew Mevis early in the third quarter, but BT Potter added a 51-yarder at the four-minute mark and the Tigers took a 6-3 lead into the half.

The Cyclones were forced to punt on the first possession of the second half and the Tigers responded with another long drive. This one ended in a touchdown, however. The longest play of the drive was an 11-yard pass to Beaux Collins as the Tigers dinked and dunked and ran the ball straight at the Cyclone defense. Sixteen plays and 79 yards later, Shipley scored on a 12-yard run around the right side to give Clemson a 13-3 lead with just over five minutes to play in the game.

Things didn’t get better for the Cyclones. Iowa St. had a penalty on the kickoff return that forced the drive to start at their own 10, and then a false start penalty pushed the ball back to the five. The Cyclones looked out of synch and were forced to call a timeout. On the ensuing play, quarterback Brock Purdy’s pass was batted at the line of scrimmage and Mario Goodrich snatched the ball at the Cyclone 18 and returned it for the touchdown. With 4:01 to play in the third quarter Clemson led 20-3.

The Tigers had a chance to put the game away, but Uiagalelei threw an ill-advised pass into coverage and it was intercepted by Jake Hummel at the Clemson 28. The Cyclones turned the turnover into a 45-yard field goal from Mevis, and Clemson led 20-6 late in the third quarter.

Iowa St. forced a Clemson punt and the Cyclones marched down the field, aided by a Clemson personal foul called on Barrett Carter. The Cyclones ended the 8-play, 63-yard drive with a six-yard scoring toss from Purdy to Charlie Kolar. With 9:42 to play in the game, Clemson led 20-13.

Clemson celebrating 11 consecutive 10-win seasons with some Cheez-Its ?? pic.twitter.com/dqH0PVm5rE
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