Clemson running back Kobe Pace (7) runs during the third quarter of the 2021 Cheez-It Bowl at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida, Wednesday, December 29, 2021.
ORLANDO, Fla. — Clemson’s 20-13 Cheez-It Bowl victory over Iowa State turned out to be precisely what most of us thought it would be — a defensive bout likely to swing on a bad mistake by one of the quarterbacks or a special teams score.
Unfortunately, Brock Purdy made the biggest mistake in the third quarter via a bizarre batted-down pass/swat turned INT/TD (I don’t know how else to describe it). Trying to come back from a three-score deficit was going to be next to impossible against Clemson’s heavyweight defense.
Here are some additional thoughts on the game and beyond.
1 – It’s difficult to take too much from the loss: Even more so than we thought entering Wednesday. Iowa State’s roster was a shell of what it was all season long.
Missing for the Cyclones, among others, were:
Mike Rose: 2020 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year
Breece Hall: Two-time Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year
Collin Newell: Four-year starter
Isheem Young: 19-straight starts
Xavier Hutchison, who recently had a procedure on his hand, played sparingly (although he might have made the catch of the year in the first half).
That’s a lot of mass out of the lineup for the Cyclones against a team full of four and five-star players (and, in all fairness, Clemson had a lot of guys out too).
It was fun to watch some of the young guys mixed in with the veterans, but this roster was very random.
2 – Speaking of the youth movement: Ready or not, it’s coming in 2022. Next September, Iowa State will be a better football program because of this experience. But the end doesn’t hurt any less right now for the most significant senior class in program history.
3 – That’s not the way you wanted to see Brock Purdy go out: I’m not going to pile on, though.
Iowa State’s offensive line was vastly overmatched by the best defensive front it has seen all season. This was expected.
Purdy needed to scramble and look like old-school Brock because of the circumstances around him.
4 – Iowa State physically shared the field with Clemson: This was not the case two years ago down here against Notre Dame. Iowa State competed hard against the Fighting Irish, but when it came down to being an actual physical matchup vs. the blue blood, Iowa State fared much better this time around. That’s encouraging when you consider the number of guys out.
Now, up front offensively was another story, and we’ll get to that here.
5 – The running game predictably struggled vs. Clemson’s defense: For the record, my guess is that this would have been the case even had Breece Hall played.
Iowa State’s offensive line needs to get better in the future. There is no way around that.
On Wednesday, it had a fresh look, notably with Tyler Miller (RS Fr.) getting the start at left tackle. Stalwart Trevor Downing got the nod at center (for Newell). Jarrod Hufford moved inside to guard.
The Cyclones only gained 66 yards on 21 careers, a 3.1 average clip.
Pretty meh, but par for the course as Clemson gave up only 2.9 yards per carry all season long.
6 – Clemson’s lack of trust for its passing game was astounding: Just one quick note on the Tigers … their lack of confidence in quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei and that beaten-up group of wide receivers was staggering.
Even without Rose and Young, Iowa State’s defense clamped down and held the Tigers to only 315 yards on 4.3 yards per play.
7 – Beau Freyler claimed his position: The guy who replaced Isheem Young in the defensive starting lineup was probably Iowa State’s player of the game. Beau Freyler, who had been taking more and more snaps away from Young towards the end of the season, was a madman recording 15 tackles with one quarterback hurry.
Isheem Young was phenomenal during his time in Ames, but there’s been a sense of calm regarding his transfer from within the program. That’s because the coaches know exactly how good Freyler is, and he proved it on a big stage during his first start.
