Two second half turnovers proved costly for Iowa State Wednesday night, as No. 19 Clemson downed the Cyclones 20-13 in the Cheez-It Bowl.
Clemson (10-3) won its sixth straight game to reach 10 victories for an 11th consecutive season, while Iowa State ended the season 7-6.
D.J. Uiagalelei completed 21 of 32 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown, Mario Goodrich scored on an 18-yard interception return and Will Shipley had a 12-yard touchdown run and finished with 61 yards rushing and 53 yards receiving for Clemson. Dacari Collins caught six passes for 53 yards, and B.T. Potter made two field goals.
Brock Purdy was 23 of 39 for 204 yards, tied for the third-most completions and second-most attempts in a Cyclone bowl game. Andrew Mevis connected on a pair of field goals, as he tied the school record for 20 on the season. His first field goal was the 15th-straight make, also tying a school record. His 45-yard field goal in the third quarter was the third-longest in ISU bowl history. Mevis is the fourth player to make two or more field goals in a Cyclone bowl game.
Iowa State finished with 270 yards of offense against a Clemson defense that came into the game ranked second in the nation in scoring defense. Jirehl Brock rushed for 42 yards on 14 carries. Jaylin Noel and Charlie Kolar each had four receptions for Iowa State, with Noel going for 54 yards and Kolar 33 yards and a touchdown.
Goodrich sealed Clemson’s victory with 33 seconds to play when he stripped the ball away from Purdy on a fourth-and-2 play. Purdy, the winningest quarterback in school history, had a pass picked off by Goodrich in the third quarter when Clemson’s Justin Mascoll swatted the ball at the line and Purdy accidentally batted it ahead into the waiting arms of the Tigers’ cornerback. Goodrich’s 18-yard scoring run gave Clemson two scores in a 53-second stretch of the third quarter to push the score to 20-3.
Iowa State cut the lead to 20-13 with 9:42 to play on Mevis’ second field goal and Purdy’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Kolar. It was the 22nd time Purdy had thrown a touchdown pass to Kolar.
Beau Freyler led the Cyclone defense with 15 tackles, the third-most by a Cyclone in a bowl game and the most by a freshman. Jake Hummel intercepted his third career pass, becoming the 10th Cyclone to pick off a pass in a bowl game.
