Cheez-It Bowl Predictions and Odds | Clemson vs Iowa State
Cheez-It Bowl Betting Preview
Sportsmemo college football handicapper JM Sports offers his Clemson vs Iowa State Cheez-It Bowl betting preview for Wednesday, December 29. At the time of posting, the Tigers from the ACC have climbed to a 2-point favorite over the Cyclones from the Big XII, with the total at 44.5 points.
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| Cheez-It Bowl | Betting Notes |
|---|---|
| Point Spread: | Clemson Tigers -2 vs Iowa State Cyclones |
| Total: | 44.5 Points |
| Game Time: | 5:45 pm ET / 2:45pm PT on Wednesday, December 29 |
| Stadium: | Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida |
| TV: | ESPN |
Cheez-It Bowl Analysis
Clemson has to be disappointed thus far in the season. They started out with a couple good wins but no where near the original expectations of the season which was anticipated to be a potential birth in the CFP. When you look at it from the betting side, they started the season on an embarrassing 0-7 ATS stretch. Since then, Clemson has covered 4 of the L5, in those 5 games Clemson has put up at least 30 points in every game, which has resulted in a PPG differential of 15.6 points per game.
Although, Clemson is just 2-4 ATS away from their home stadium, a noticeably step back from their total season record. The offense has stepped up of late, not only are they putting up 30+ points in the L5 games, but they are also out-gaining their opponents by 151.2 YPG in the L5 overall.
When you look at Iowa State against the spread, it tells a different tale of their season story. Their defense has stayed solid throughout the year, but they are just 2-4 ATS away from home, just like Clemson, but they have covered just 1 game in their L5 on the road.
Clemson comes into this bowl game as a 1 point favorite (some places have the game as PK), which again could stem from their recent play. Clemson also has the better run in recent bowl history, covering 10 of their L13 bowls and any team w/ 3+ SU wins all by 21 or more points are 7-1 ATS. While I don’t foresee the line shifting much, a shift in the other direction could potentially swing the rends and odds. B12 bowl favorites of < 5 points are 4-1 in the L5Y, although, Clemson is 9-3 ATS in the L12 as a D.
Defense is something that both this teams thrive off of, and has been the reason these two teams ended with the records they did. Iowa State has been at the top of the list of most defensive categories, as they should be, the Cyclones are the #9 team in the nation in YPG differential (out-gaining opponents by 128 YPG), stemming from a defense that is only allowing 309.2 YPG. In terms of YPP, Iowa State is #10 in differential, out-gaining opponents by 1.47 yards per play this year (allowing just 5.12 YPP to opponents).
Clemson has actually been the better team defensively, which mainly stems from the fact that Iowa State has struggled defensive in the last couple weeks. Clemson ended the season #9 in YPG allowed (308.4), #5 in YPP allowed (4.44) and #2 in the nation allowing just 15 PPG to the opposition. Clemson has also ended the season as the #2 team on the defensive side of the ball in the RZ, but they take on an Iowa State team that is #2 team in the RZ on the offensive side of the ball.
The biggest story of the year has been players opting out of their bowl games and this game is no different. So far, Iowa State has lost their leading rusher in Breece Hall, on top of being the teams 3rd leading receiver, on top of being the leading scorer in the nation per game, being responsible for 11.5 PPG. On top of that, they lose 2 of their top 7 other receivers in Joe Scates and Tarique Milton, who are #1 & #2 on the team in yards/reception (when you exclude the player who ended the season w/ 1 catch).
On the defensive side of the ball, Iowa State is also w/o co-B12 defensive freshman of the year in Isheem Young, who is the #4 tackler on the team and he leads the team in interceptions, along side being #2 on the team in forced fumbles. They also will be without CB Kym-Mani King & LB Aric Horne, who combined for 23 games played this season, 49 tackles and 2 INT’s.
Clemson on the other hand doesn’t have quite as many issues with missing players. The biggest loss will be on the coaching staff w/ DC Brent Venables (who took the Oklahoma HC job), but it looks as though this team will still be without Justyn Ross. Ross is the team’s leading WR, but they have played the L3 games without him already, on top of potentially being without Joseph Ngata who holds the #2 spot on the WR list. It is also worth mentioning to keep an eye on CB Andrew Booth and EJ Williams who may return from injury in time for the bowl game.
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Cheez-It Bowl Preview from GoldSheet
It’s been a disappointing season for both of these schools, who were counting on playing for a berth in a National Championship game if you would’ve told them that this would be their bowl matchup. Instead, they’re squaring off in the Cheez-It Bowl in Orlando. Insert your own joke here.
I’m sure that Clemson getting to remain on brand with the color orange may come to mind. Dabo Swinney’s team began the season with a rough loss to Georgia but things never got much better on the offensive side of the ball until a late revival in November. The loss of No. 1 overall NFL draft pick Trevor Lawrence and RB Travis Etienne was insurmountable and it didn’t help matters that QB DJ Uiagaleilei struggled to pick up the system, held the ball too long and was plagued with accuracy issues. Even though it was expected that he’d transfer out, he ended up staying put to his credit and will look to put his best foot forward in this bowl game against a stingy Iowa State defense as he looks to turn the page and cement his role as the starter heading into the spring.
The Tigers have more talent on both sides of the ball, especially with Cyclones standout back Breece Hall opting out to focus on becoming an NFL first-round pick. Look for the Tigers to flex a little muscle as they attempt to snap a two-game bowl losing streak after Dabo Swinney had won nine and covered ten of his previous 11 in bowl/playoff action.
Cheez-It Bowl Stats
College football handicappers Ralph Michaels and JM Sports have put together a 66-page Bowl Betting Guide featuring everything from first quarter scoring to yards per point to plays per minute. Don’t place a bet on the Cheez-It Bowl before diving into this FREE download.
College Football Daily
Join Joe Raineri, Dave Cokin, Tony Mejia and Bryan Leonard for College Football Daily as we preview this week’s bowl slate. In this episode, we’ll break down Purdue vs Tennessee (Music City Bowl); Pittsburgh vs Michigan State (Peach Bowl); Arizona St vs Wisconsin (Las Vegas Bowl); Rutgers vs Wake Forest (Gator Bowl).
WagerTalk Live Odds Screen
WagerTalk’s live odds screen features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the moneylines, point spreads, first half lines and betting percentages for all of the college football bowl games, including this Cheez-It Bowl showdown between Clemson and Iowa State, from your desktop or phone.
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