The Clemson Tigers coach Dabo Swinney became the sixth-fastest coach in college football to reach 150 victories. He credited his players following the No. 19 Tigers’ 20-13 win over the Iowa State Cyclones on Wednesday in the Cheez-It Bowl.
“This team’s journey was full of adversity and we probably had more adversity this year than the last seven combined,” said Swinney, who became just the third coach to win at least 150 games in fewer than 15 seasons. “What made it great was how everybody in the whole program, the thing that never flinched was the leadership. “This was a complete program effort. … What made this team special was because they didn’t make excuses.”
Clemson (10-3) won its sixth straight game to reach 10 victories for an 11th consecutive season. Florida State (14 from 1987-00) and Alabama (14 from 2008-21) are the only programs with longer streaks.
The Tigers cornerback Mario Goodrich was given the MVP honors after returning a pick 18 yards for a third quarter touchdown and knocking the ball out of Iowa’s quarterbacks Brock Purdy’s hands in the final minutes of the game to seal the deal.
Clemson got the ball first and started at the 25 yard line after a touchback. The Tiger drive started with a nice mix of runs and short passes. Will Shipley and Kobe Pace had some nice runs. Signal caller D.J. Uiagalelei picked up five on a designed quarterback run and the place kicker B.T. Potter kicked the field goal to give Clemson a 3-0 advantage.
Iowa State started with two good downs, but then they got stopped on 3rd and 1. After that, the Tigers had the ball on their 28, but after some poor passes, they were forced to punt the ball. Iowa completed a couple of passes to move into the red zone. The Tigers defense held their ground and forced the Cyclones to kick a field goal, tying the game 3-3 at 11:25 left in the half.
Shipley had a great catch, but an illegal block in the back negated it, which forced Clemson to settle for a field goal 51 yards away, making the score 6-3 with 4:07 left in the half. Two incomplete passes brought Potter out again, but he missed the field goal to end the half.
Iowa received the ball first after halftime and picked up a first down, but the Tigers defense halted the drive and they had to punt a few plays later. Freshman running back Will Shipley scampered for a 12 yard score with 4:54 left in the third quarter. Iowa had a nice kickoff return, but an unacceptable penalty brought it all the way back to the 10 yard line. Purdy attempted a pass, but it was deflected into Goodrich’s hands and he ran it back for a touchdown making the score 20-3.
The Tigers defense did their job and shut down the Cyclones offense. They forced a field goal attempt that was good. Clemson led 20-6 with 1:23 left in the third.
Clemson backup running back Phil Mafah came into the game and had a couple of decent runs. With a short punt by Spiers, that only traveled 32 yards, Iowa took over at their own 37 yard line. Purdy hit Charlie Kolar in the back of the end zone. Clemson led 20-13 with just over nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. The Tigers defense was stout, applying pressure to Purdy and he had the ball stripped. Clemson took over on downs and closed out the game.
Clemson quarterback Uiagalelei completed 21 of 32 passes for 187 yards. Shipley finished with 61 yards rushing and 53 yards receiving. Kobe Pace had 51 yards rushing on 12 carries.
Iowa State’s quarterback Purdy completed 23 of 39 passes for 204 yards. Jirehl Brock had 42 yards on 14 carries. Jaylin Noel had 54 yards receiving on four catches.
