Clemson Defense Once Again Comes up Big in Big Moments

Tigers might have a new defensive coordinator, but result was still the same

ORLANDO — It was fitting it was Clemson’s defense that won Wednesday’s Cheez-It Bowl at Camping World Stadium. It is what they have done all year.

Though they had a new person calling the plays and their senior leader was injured and got knocked out of the game in the second quarter, the defense did not flinch when it had to get one more stop to seal the 19th-ranked Tigers’ 20-13 victory over Iowa State.

Cornerback Mario Goodrich, who had earlier returned an interception 18 yards for a touchdown, stripped the ball from Brock Purdy after it appeared the Cyclones’ quarterback had picked up a first down to keep the potential game-tying drive alive. Instead, the subsequent five-yard gain, turned into a one-yard rush when Purdy jumped on the lose football at his own 36-yard line.

The fumble caused Iowa State to fall a yard shy of the first down and turning the ball over to Clemson on downs.

“That is how it should have ended, right? Think about the whole year and the situations we have been in,” linebacker James Skalski said after the game. “We knew they needed a touchdown and they had two minutes or however much it was. We were all looking at each other like, ‘We got them right where we want them.’”

Iowa State (7-6) got the football back at its own 11-yard line with 1:52 to play in the game and with the Tigers clinging to a 20-13 lead. Purdy had already converted one third-down pass earlier to keep the drive going and then moved the football to his own 36 before Goodrich made his game-winning strip fumble on fourth-and-two with 33 seconds to play.

It marked the sixth time this year the Clemson defense sealed a victory with a game-winning stop. Earlier this year, the Tigers (10-3) beat Georgia Tech, Boston College, Syracuse, Florida State and Louisville in the final seconds.

“We wanted the challenge of it being on our shoulders to go win the game,” new co-defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin said. “That was an unbelievable moment and will be something I will always remember. It was such an awesome experience.”

Though Skalski was forced to leave the game midway through second quarter after hurting his lower right leg, the Clemson defense still dominated the Cyclones. Iowa State finished the night with a season-low 270 total yards, including just 66 on the ground.

Purdy, who led the Big 12 in passing yards and passing yards per game this season, had just 204 yards on 23-of-29 passing yards. The Cyclones led the Big 12 in passing (268.8 yards/game), ranked second in total offense (437.4 yards/game) and third in scoring (32.8 points/game) coming in.

“I think there was a little bit of uncertainty not knowing what we were going to do defensively. That probably helped,” Goodwin said. “They give you so much snap movement, shifts and motions, and we had to do a great job of communicating and being on the same page.

“Our players executed at high level. That is part of the battle. Just getting lined up, being sound and being able to adjust to everything pre-snap, and our guys were tremendous at that.”

And like all season, they were tremendous when they had to be the most.