ORLANDO – This year’s Cheez-It Bowl will feature two teams that are hungry for a great matchup and a spirited end to their respective seasons.
For the first time since the 2014 season, we have a Clemson program that is not in the College Football Playoff. Despite a relatively rough 4-3 start that featured close losses to Georgia, NC State, and Pittsburgh, Clemson ended its regular season on a five-game winning streak to be at 9-3.
Clemson is a relatively young team that gained a good amount of experience in overcoming adversity. This is something that does not get lost upon head coach Dabo Swinney.
“Well, we’ve got a great young nucleus of players,” Swinney said. “Got just about everybody back. Not a single lineman that’s going to play that’s not back. All the running backs are back. Eventually we’ll get all of these receivers back. We have got an unbelievable tight end room. We have got a great young quarterback that’s gotten better and better through the year. We’ve got a great recruiting class coming in, nine mid-years.”
Swinney had more to say about his group of players.
“Got a pretty good defensive line,” Swinney continued. “Every one of them, I don’t think – well, we might lose one, but they could all be back. Everybody inside’s back. We may lose a corner. Definitely going to lose one. We’re going to lose one safety, a couple linebackers, but we have got all these great young guys that have gained a lot of experience. We have our kicker back. He’s pretty good.”
Swinney also made sure to mention every other position group on the team and his entire coaching staff in yesterday’s (Dec. 28) pre-game press conference.
In addition to that, Swinney noted that Clemson was probably a few plays away from having yet another appearance in the College Football Playoff.
But regardless of the results, Swinney and his Clemson team are happy to be in the Cheez-It Bowl against Iowa State (7-5).
“Our team completed every snap all year and never made any excuses,” Swinney said. “And they are all here. So I mean, you can’t get excited about that, I don’t know what else there is to be excited about.”
As for Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell, the youth movement has been a key to his team’s relative success this season. It should help matters in tonight’s (Dec. 29) Cheez-It Bowl at Camping World Stadium.
“There are so many key contributors in this freshman class that came in with that competitive spirit and came in and challenged right away and I thought were really a huge asset for our team from the time they stepped on campus,” Campbell said in yesterday’s pre-game press conference.
“I just think it’s been really fun to watch that group grow and he involve over the length of the season,” Campbell continued. “I think there’s a general excitement. I don’t know if I’ve felt as much excitement about where our team is and where it has got the ability to go than what I have felt over the last month…What I think is huge for those guys is they gained real-life experience this fall for our team and in a lot of ways were a key part of our success in being able to fight through the adversities of the season and in some ways, I think our coaching staff felt like were the springboard to the future of our football program already because of what they have done this fall.”
QUARTERBACK MATCHUP: D.J. Uiagalelei (Clemson) vs. Brock Purdy (Iowa State)
The quarterback who plays better in today’s Cheez-It Bowl (5:45 p.m. EST kickoff; ESPN) will likely lead his team to a bowl victory.
GAME OUTLOOK: No. 19 Clemson is a 1.5-point favorite to beat Iowa State. This indicates the potential for a close outcome, as this showdown can go either way at Camping World Stadium in Orlando.
PHOTO CREDITS: Cheez-It Bowl
