Picking Every Bowl: Cheez-It Bowl, Clemson vs. Iowa State

Cheez-It Bowl
December 29
Clemson (9-3) vs. Iowa State (7-5), Camping World Stadium, Orlando, Fla, 5:45 p.m., ESPN
Clemson -2.5 – O/U 44.5

Oh, what could have been. Clemson spent the first half of the season figuring out its offense, and the second half of the season punishing its opponents on both sides of the ball. The Tigers have had a first-rate defense throughout the season and rank 9th overall and 2nd in scoring. But it was the Tigers’ offense that finally emerged after seven games. In the first six games against FBS opponents, Clemson went 3-3 and scored 15 points per game. In the last five, the Tigers went 5-0 and scored 36 points per game. They’ll be facing off against an inconsistent Iowa State squad that struggled against solid defenses all year. The Cyclones can move the ball and score, but it’s unlikely that without a rushing attack (and they won’t have one) that they’ll be very effective through the air. The result will be a competitive, but definitive, Clemson victory.
Prediction: Clemson 30-21
Result: Clemson 20-13

Record:
Bowl season: SU – 15-8; ATS – 12-11-0; O/U – 10-13-0
Overall: SU – 607-189; ATS – 379-331-6; O/U – 341-363-12

About Douglas Blaine

Capnpen is a writer who was a newspaper and magazine journalist in a previous life. A college journalism major, he now works as an English teacher, but gets his writing fix by blogging about a variety of topics, including politics, religion, movies and television. When he's not working or blogging, Capnpen spends time with his family, plays a little golf (badly) and loves to learn about virtually anything.

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