ORLANDO – The No. 19 Clemson Tigers (9-3, 6-2 ACC) will meet the Iowa State Cyclones (7-5, 5-4 Big 12) in 2021 Cheez-It Bowl. Florida Citrus Sports chairman Ken Robinson and CEO Steve Hogan announced the matchup Sunday on behalf of the organization’s Team Selection Committee.
The 32nd edition of the game will take place at 5:45 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 29, at Camping World Stadium and will be televised nationally by ESPN.
This year’s Cheez-It Bowl will be the first meeting between the Cyclones and Tigers and just the second Orlando bowl trip for Iowa State, which returns after facing Notre Dame in the game in December 2019.
Clemson will be making its fourth appearance in the Cheez-It Bowl and its first since 2014, when the Tigers defeated Oklahoma in what was then known as the Russell Athletic Bowl. Clemson has also appeared in the Vrbo Citrus Bowl three times (1988, 1989, and 1992) and won the 2016 ACC Championship Game over Virginia Tech in Orlando.
The Tigers boast a strong defense that comes in ranked second in the nation in scoring defense, holding opponents to 15 points per game. The Tigers’ D also leads the ACC and ranks ninth nationally in total defense, allowing just 308.4 yards of offense per game.
The Tigers defense will be tested by Iowa State senior quarterback Brock Purdy, who ranks Top 25 in the nation in passing yards (2,984), with his 153.55 passing efficiency good for 35th nationally. The Cyclones offense is also paced by its rushing attack led by Breece Hall, who leads the team with 1,472 rushing yards on the season and is tied for first in the nation with 20 rushing touchdowns. Hall also enters the game with a rushing touchdown in an NCAA record 24 straight games.
Iowa State’s defense has also been one of the nation’s stingiest, allowing just 20.6 points per game (23rd in the nation) and ranks 10th nationally in total defense, allowing just 310.3 yards of offense per game.
Tickets for the Cheez-It Bowl are available via Ticketmaster by visiting bigtime.games/2021cheezitbowltix. Groups of 10 or more may call the Florida Citrus Sports offices at 407.423.2476.
