Dabo Swinney makes history with Cheez-It Bowl win
It was quite a victory for Clemson in the Cheez-It Bowl Wednesday night. But it was even more special for Tigers coach Dabo Swinney.
With the win, Swinney notched his 150th victory in his 14th season at the helm. He became the third coach in FBS history to reach that mark in his first 15 seasons, joining Oklahoma legend Bob Stoops and former Florida and Ohio State coach Urban Meyer.
After 15 years, Meyer had 165 wins and Stoops had 160. Now through 14 seasons with Clemson, Swinney can add to that total next year and potentially top Stoops’ mark.
Clemson led 6-3 after the first half of the Cheez-It Bowl, but the Tigers wound up winning 20-13. The ending was crazy. Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy scrambled on 4th and 2 with 42 seconds left, but fumbled after he got the first down. He recovered — but the ball went behind the line to gain, giving Clemson the ball with 33 seconds left.
The Tigers took a knee to secure their 10th win of the season. What a way to do it. It’s the 11th straight season Clemson has won 10 or more games under Swinney.
Clemson has the No. 11 recruiting class from the Class of 2022, according to the On3 Consensus Team Rankings, so the future looks bright, as well.
Clemson football makes history with Cheez-It Bowl win
Sure, it wasn’t pretty, but Clemson managed to get its 10th game of the 2021 season Wednesday night in its 20-13 Cheez-It Bowl win over Iowa State. In doing so, the Tigers became just the third program in FBS history with double-digit wins in 11 straight seasons.
The win was not only historic for the Clemson program, but also for the ACC, as the win stopped the league’s 13-game losing streak in bowl games.
In the Cheez-It Bowl, the Tigers were certainly helped by the bizarre pick- six by Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy. It’ll go down as one of the strangest pick sixes in college football history.
Purdy went to throw a pass, but it got tipped. Purdy tried to tip it again, but ended up knocking it right into the hands of Clemson’s Mario Goodrich, who took it to the house for a pick-six. The score put the Tigers ahead 20-6.
The pick six was a game-changing play that ended up being the difference in the game. Purdy had a forgettable performance, as he also fumbled on a fourth down play with 42 seconds remaining that helped seal the win for the Tigers.