ORLANDO, Fla. -- Clemson Coach Dabo Swinney became the sixth-fastest coach in college football history to reach 150 voctory. He gave the credit to his players following the No. 19 Tigers' 20-13 victory over Iowa State on Wednesday night in the Cheez-It Bowl.
"This team's journey was full of adversity and we probably had more adversity this year than the last seven combined," said Swinney, who became just the third coach to win at least 150 games in fewer than 15 seasons. "What made it great was how everybody in the whole program, the thing that never flinched was the leadership.
"This was a complete program effort. ... What made this team special was because they didn't make excuses."
Clemson (10-3) won its sixth consecutive game to reach 10 victories for an 11th consecutive season. Florida State (14 from 1987-00) and Alabama (14 from 2008-21) are the only programs with longer streaks.
Cornerback Mario Goodrich was named the game's MVP after returning an interception 18 yards for a third-quarter touchdown and swatting the ball out of Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy's hands in the final minute to preserve the victory.
"It means a lot for everyone on this team because we started off 2-2 and to rally back and get 10 wins is amazing," Goodrich said. "To keep the tradition going, it's a legacy. It's amazing to finish my last game with these guys and go out on a good note."
Will Shipley ran for a 12-yard touchdown in the second quarter, B.T. Potter kicked two field goals and the Clemson did the rest for the Tigers' eighth bowl win in the past 10 seasons. The Tigers, who lost All-ACC linebacker James Skalski to a foot injury in the second quarter, held the Cyclones (7-6) to three field goals over the first three quarters.
Iowa State, which was severely limited playing without star tailback Breece Hall, mustered just 270 yards and 14 first downs against a Clemson defense that came into the game second in the nation in scoring defense.
Iowa State dropped four of its final six games of the season and lost in a bowl game for a fourth consecutive year. The Cyclones got within 20-13 with 9:42 to play on Andrew Mevis' third field goal and Purdy's 6-yard touchdown pass to Charlie Kolar.
Purdy, the winningest quarterback in school history, completed 22 of 39 passes for 204 yards, but his two turnovers -- both produced by Clemson's Goodrich -- proved costly.
"For me, a result doesn't dictate what Brock Purdy has done for Iowa State football," Iowa State Coach Matt Campbell said. "There were a lot of plays he made that were huge for our team to get back in the game. There's no greater competitor that I've been around who wanted the result to be different (than Purdy). For Brock, it's, `Thank you for all you've done.'"
Clemson quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei completed 21 of 32 passes for 187 yards. Shipley finished with 61 yards rushing and 53 yards receiving for Clemson.
ALAMO BOWL
NO. 16 OKLAHOMA 47, NO. 14 OREGON 32
SAN ANTONIO — Kennedy Brooks ran for 142 yards and three touchdowns as No. 16 Oklahoma rode a dominant first half to a victory over No. 14 Oregon in the Alamo Bowl.
Caleb Williams threw three touchdown passes for the Sooners, who gave interim Coach Bob Stoops career win No. 191 and a special family moment when he could hug son Drake, an Oklahoma wide receiver, after a first-half touchdown.
Oklahoma (11-2) bolted to a 30-3 lead as Brooks and Williams sliced up the Oregon defense. Brooks had 127 yards on just 10 carries in the first half with scoring runs of 16 and 29 yards, and another 40-yard run that set up Williams’ first touchdown pass to Drake Stoops.
Williams’ 55-yard TD pass to Marvin Mims Jr. hit the receiver perfectly in stride behind two Ducks defenders that were two steps late. Brooks then punched in the final score of the half.
At that point, the Sooners were so dominant they were looking like some of Stoops’ old teams when he won a national championship and 10 Big 12 titles as Oklahoma’s coach from 1999-2016.
Travis Dye rushed for 153 yards and a touchdown for Oregon (10-4). The Ducks scored three touchdowns in the third quarter, two coming on long throws by quarterback Anthony Brown, to get within 44-25 by the start of the fourth, but couldn’t get the stops on defense needed to close the gap.
Brown finished with 306 yards passing for the Ducks.
PINSTRIPE BOWL
MARYLAND 54,
VIRGINIA TECH 10
NEW YORK -- Tarheeb Still returned a punt 92 yards for a touchdown, Taulia Tagovailoa threw touchdown passes of 70 and 32 yards to Darryl Jones, and the sudden scores sparked Maryland to a rout of Virginia Tech in the Pinstripe Bowl.
The game belonged to Tagovailoa, an Alabama transfer and younger brother of Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa. He threw for 265 yards and the two TD passes brought his season total to 26, which tied Maryland's single-season record.
The game's MVP, Tagovailoa helped the Terrapins (7-6) get the better of the Hokies at Yankee Stadium -- and even on TV.
Brent Pry was hired last month as Virginia Tech's coach -- J.C. Price served as interim coach -- and went on ESPN during the game to hype the 2022 season. Pry boasted, " We are gonna play a great brand of defense." Seconds later, Tagovailoa connected with Jones for the deep play and a 14-3 lead. Pry was good-naturedly roasted on social media, and Maryland even tweeted the clip with a grimacing face emoji.
Pry must have grimaced when Tagovailoa hit Jones again in the third quarter for a 34-10 lead that helped send the Terps to their first bowl win since 2010.
Jones, a senior wide receiver, had never caught a touchdown pass over his first 40 games. He had two and finished with 111 yards receiving against the Hokies (6-7).
Antwain Littleton II added a 4-yard rushing TD for Maryland and Joseph Petrino answered the Hokies' lone touchdown with a 44-yard field goal with 59 seconds left in the first half for a 24-10 lead. Roman Hemby scored on a 2-yard run in the third quarter.
GUARANTEED RATE BOWL
MINNESOTA 18,
WEST VIRGINIA 6
PHOENIX -- Ky Thomas ran for 144 yards and a touchdown, Mar'Kiese Irving added 129 yards rushing and Minnesota shut down West Virginia.
Thomas and Irving became the Gophers' 1-2 punch after Mohamed Ibrahim and Trey Potts sustained season-ending injuries. The two running backs carried most of the load offensively against West Virginia (6-7), accounting for 273 of Minnesota's 358 total yards.
The Gophers (9-4) overwhelmed the Mountaineers defensively, holding them to 206 total yards to win their fifth consecutive bowl game, third under Coach P.J. Fleck.
West Virginia was without leading rusher Leddie Brown, who opted to skip the bowl game to prepare for the NFL, and struggled to find much of an offensive rhythm against the swarming Gophers.