James Skalski: Opting-Out of Cheez-It Bowl 'Isn't a Thing' for Clemson Players

Clemson linebacker James Skalski said he and his Tiger teammates are committed to playing the game they love more than following a dominating trend in college football postseason.

For James Skalski and the rest of his teammates, a dominating, attention-grabbing trend in college football's postseason did not apply. 

"Opt-out? What?" was the Clemson senior linebacker's response when asked why there's been a high level of commitment from the team for Wednesday's Cheez-It Bowl against Iowa State in Orlando, which is expected to be a close game according to FanDuel, who currently has the winning margin for Tigers at +165 for a win of 1-13 points. 

"I think it's just the culture of this team," Skalski said during Sunday's media day. "We get to play football."

That seems to be the theme for this No. 19 Tiger squad, which is going for double-digit victories for the 11th consecutive season in this game. Clemson (9-3) had five players enter the NCAA transfer portal after the end of the regular season, but none of them were starters or were going to be major contributors in the bowl game. 

The rest of the roster, at least the healthy Tigers, are present and accounted for in Orlando and ready to play, even though this isn't the kind of postseason experience a program that had been to six consecutive College Football Playoff semifinals before this season is used to. 

Still, there is no opting out of the Cheez-It Bowl for Clemson veteran seniors like Skalski or NFL draft hopefuls who have a shot at going in the first round like cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. Iowa State star running back Breece Hall, like many players around the sport, decided to skip the bowl game to get ready for the next level.

"Yeah, we've been in the playoff and on the bigger stages but to us, we get to go play the game again," Skalski said. "We get to represent Clemson and show everyone what we can do ourselves. I think we all love playing ball and we love being together so...(opting-out) isn't a thing."

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