Big 12 Football: Cheez-It Preview - Iowa State vs. Clemson
Bowl season starts this week. This year, 84 teams were bowl eligible, and all of them will play in a bowl game between December 17 and January 4. The Big 12 Conference had seven teams qualify.
Two of those teams will play in one of the NY6 Bowls. As Big 12 champs, #7 Baylor will play #8 Ole Miss in the Allstate Sugar Bowl on January 1. #9 Oklahoma State will play #5 Notre Dame in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl on January 1.
Other teams to make a bowl include Iowa State (Cheez-It Bowl, December 29 vs. Clemson), Kansas State (TaxAct Texas Bowl, January 4 vs. LSU), Oklahoma (Valero Alamo Bowl, December 29 vs. Oregon), Texas Tech (AutoZone Liberty Bowl, December 28 vs. Mississippi State), and West Virginia (Guaranteed Rate Bowl, December 28 vs. Minnesota).
This article previews the Cheez-It Bowl.
Cheez-It Bowl: Iowa State (7-5) vs. #19 Clemson (9-3)
Wednesday, December 29, [FuboTV 4:45 p.m. CT, ESPN]
Camping World Stadium, Orlando, Florida
Line: Iowa State -1.5; over/under – 45.5
Both of these teams had great expectations when the season first began. Iowa State was looking to capitalize upon their 2020 appearance in the Big 12 Championship Game. They started the season ranked in the Top 10 with hopes of moving up from there. Clemson, a perennial College Football Playoff team, was moving forward after Trevor Lawrence was the number one draft pick in the NFL this year.
Clemson started the season hoping to make a big statement with a game in Charlotte against Georgia. The Dawgs won that game and ended up in the CFP. Clemson lost and didn’t make it to the CFP after being in the playoffs the last six seasons. Iowa State also had an early-season loss, losing to in-state rival Iowa in the CyHawk game in Week 2.
This will be the first time the two programs have met. This particular bowl game has been in existence since 1990, and it’s the second year with Cheez-It as the sponsor. Since 2014, the matchup has been the second pick after the CFP/NY6 bowls from the ACC and the third pick from the Big 12. Clemson is 2-1 in this bowl, having last appeared in 2014 with a win over Oklahoma. Iowa State has appeared once, a 2019 loss to Notre Dame.
Iowa State finished 7-5 and 5-4 in Big 12 play, which placed them fourth in the conference. Their wins included Northern Iowa, UNLV, Kansas, Kansas State, Texas, and TCU. They also had a huge home win over then #8 Oklahoma State, which kept the Pokes out of the CFP conversation until Championship Week. The Cyclones' five losses were to Iowa, Baylor, West Virginia, Texas Tech (thanks to Tech's incredible 62-yard field goal as time expired), and Oklahoma.
Clemson, after losing to Georgia in Week One, beat South Carolina State and Georgia Tech. They then lost their first ACC game to NC State to start the season 2-2 and already out of the CFP conversation. Their additional wins included Boston College, Syracuse, Florida State, Louisville, UConn, then ranked #10 Wake Forest and South Carolina. They had a mid-season loss to Pittsburgh. They finished 9-3 and 6-2 in ACC play, which placed them second in the ACC Atlantic Division and third overall in the ACC.
| Team Stats Per Game | Iowa State | Clemson |
|---|---|---|
Points Per Game | 32.8 | 26.8 |
Points Allowed Per Game | 20.6 | 15.0 |
Total Yards | 437.4 | 362.8 |
Yards Passing | 268.8 | 191.5 |
Yards Rushing | 168.6 | 171.3 |
Yards Allowed | 310.1 | 308.4 |
Pass Yards Allowed | 187.8 | 209.3 |
Rush Yards Allowed | 122.3 | 99.2 |
Season Leaders
Passing Yards
Iowa State – Brock Purdy – 269-368, 2,984 yards, 18 touchdowns, seven interceptions
Clemson – DJ Uilgalelei – 187-342, 2,059 yards, nine touchdowns, nine interceptions
Rushing Yards
Iowa State – Breece Hall - 253 carries, 1,472 yards, 20 touchdowns
Clemson – Will Shipley - 131 carries, 678 yards, ten touchdowns
Receiving Yards
Iowa State – Xavier Hutchinson - 82 receptions, 953 yards, five touchdowns
Clemson – Justyn Ross - 46 receptions, 514 yards, three touchdowns
The pick: Iowa State 27-17
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