ORLANDO, Fla. — If Cyclone fans were told at the beginning of the season Iowa State would play Clemson in a bowl game, they probably would not have expected it to be in Orlando: for a bowl of Cheez-Its.
While it’s not a New Year's Six game, the Cyclones have certainly earned the respect to play a high-caliber, Top-25 team like the Tigers to finish off the season.
"That part for me is a great honor to be able to compete, our team and our program, against this great Clemson program and what he’s been able to build," Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell said Tuesday.
Don’t think Dabo Swinney is scoffing at having to play Iowa State either. The Clemson head coach has history with Campbell.
"The first time I met him was in an airport, we were crossing paths like kind of a random meeting and swapped numbers there. Then the next thing you know, brought him out Clemson, spent some time together for a day or two and then he spoke at our clinic," Swinney said. "Then our defensive staff went out there. So, I just think that he’s a very bright coach."
Tuesday’s Cheez-It Bowl press conference felt less like the day before a bowl game and more like two old friends getting together for the first time in a long time.
Still, there’s football to be played. And the Cyclones will be without Breece Hall.
"He’s a young man that has done everything for the betterment of Iowa State football from the day he’s been on our campus," Campbell said.
WATCH: 2021 Cheez-It Bowl Head Coaches Press Conference
So, in steps Jirehl Brock.
"Me and him are roommates so he just kind of told me 'Run the ball, do what you do,'" Brock said.
Brock Purdy said, "With Jirehl being the guy this week and going into this game, nothing has changed. He's been like that all season and I’m excited to see what he’s going to be able to do with more carries and more snaps."
Then there’s cracking that Clemson defense that ranks second in the nation giving up just 15 points per game.
"It’s a veteran defense. They’re elite at almost every position group. I think when you have really talented players that have great experience like coach has, the way they’ve played really through the entirety of the football season, it’s a great challenge for our football team," Campbell said.
That sounds eerily similar to the last team Iowa State played at Camping World Stadium: the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the 2019 Camping World Bowl.
And in case Cyclone fans washed that game from their memory, the Cyclones fell in that one 33-9.
- No. 19 Clemson (9-3) vs. Iowa State (7-5)
- Wednesday, Dec. 29 at 4:45 p.m. CT (ESPN)
- Vegas odds: Clemson -1.5 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
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Watch complete coverage of the 2021 Cheez-It Bowl on YouTube