5 things to know about Clemson football, Iowa State's opponent in the Cheez-It Bowl
Iowa State on Sunday found out its bowl game destination and opponent, and it's a doozy.
The Cyclones (7-5 overall, 5-4 in the Big 12) had what many fans considered a disappointing regular season, but they'll have a chance to end the year on a high note in the Cheez-It Bowl in Orlando, Florida.
Lining up across from the Cyclones will be national powerhouse Clemson (9-3 overall, 6-2 in the ACC). The Tigers need a victory against Iowa State to finish with double-digit wins for the 11th season in a row, a streak that dates back to the 2011 season.
More: How to watch Iowa State football vs. Clemson in the Cheez-It Bowl
Here's everything you need to know about the Clemson Tigers.
Clemson won national championships in 2016 and 2018
The Tigers are no stranger to postseason play.
Since head coach Dabo Swinney's first full season in 2009, Clemson has played in a bowl game every season.
In the College Football Playoff era, however, Clemson has taken it up a notch. The team ranks second behind only Alabama in playoff appearances, making it to the final four every year from 2015-20.
The highlight came at the end of the 2016 and 2018 seasons, when Clemson won national titles.
This will be the first year since 2014 that Clemson is not participating in the College Football Playoff.
Clemson has an elite defense
While the offense hasn't been as explosive as previous Clemson teams, the defense hasn't missed a beat in 2021.
Led by defensive coordinator Brent Venables, the Tigers' defense ranked second in FBS (15.0 points allowed per game).
Clemson's defense had plenty of impressive performances, including holding playoff-bound Georgia to just 10 points. Even more impressive is that Georgia's only touchdown was scored against Clemson's offense on an interception returned to the end zone.
The Tigers shut out South Carolina and held seven of their 12 total opponents to 14 points or less.
Clemson's quarterback is D.J. Uiagalelei
Uiagalelei is in his first season leading Clemson, and he had some big shoes to fill.
Uiagalelei took over this year for Trevor Lawrence, who guided the Tigers to the 2018 national championship before being selected first overall in the 2021 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Uiagalelei had a breakout performance last season in a close loss at Notre Dame, throwing for 439 yards and two touchdowns but losing in double-overtime. His 2021 season hasn't produced those statistics, however. Entering the Cheez-It Bowl, Uiagalelei has 2,059 passing yards and is completing 54.7% of his passes, along with nine touchdowns to eight interceptions.
Not sure how to pronounce his name? You're not alone. Here's how to pronounce Uiagalelei, according to the Tigers quarterback himself: oo-ee-ANH-gah-leh-lay.
Clemson has some Big 12 connections
The most notable Big 12 connection is outgoing defensive coordinator Brent Venables. Venables — who is headed to Oklahoma to replace outgoing head coach Lincoln Riley — played college football at Kansas State under coach Bill Snyder.
He coached at Kansas State before joining Oklahoma, where he had numerous roles including co-defensive coordinator. Venables left the Big 12 for Clemson in 2012. While he won't be coaching the Clemson defense against Iowa State in the Cheez-It Bowl, the Cyclones can get glimpse of what Oklahoma's defense may look like in future years.
There's even some familiarity between these two defenses, thanks to Venables; Venables is among several college coaches to travel to Ames in recent years to learn from Cyclones' defensive coordinator Jon Heacock.
Iowa State and Clemson have never played each other
Both programs have played more than 1,000 games over the course of more than a century, but Iowa State and Clemson have never directly crossed paths on the field.
Perhaps the closest we've come to an Iowa State vs. Clemson battle was in 2005, when Clemson and then-Big 12 member Colorado played in the Champs Sports Bowl.
Iowa State and Colorado finished with identical 7-4 regular season records that season with the Cyclones winning the head-to-head matchup. Colorado finished one game ahead of the Cyclones in the Big 12 North race and eventually earned the Champs Sports Bowl bid while Iowa State lost to TCU in the Houston Bowl.
More Iowa State football news
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Iowa State's 2022 football schedule includes Thursday night home game against Oklahoma
Aaron Marner is a digital producer with the USA Today Network. You can follow him on Twitter @A_Mar32 or reach him at amarner@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Get to know Clemson, Iowa State's 2021 Cheez-It Bowl opponent
