Dabo Swinney Respects Iowa State's Brock Purdy, Knows Clemson's Ready for Talented QB

Clemson has faced some pretty talented quarterbacks in 2021, like Heisman Trophy finalist Kenny Pickett of Pittsburgh, Wake Forest's Sam Hartman, N.C. State's Devin Leary and Louisville's Malik Cunningham.

All of those signal-callers made a bowl game this season, although Pickett opted not to play in the Peach Bowl. So Dabo Swinney feels good about his defense being battled-tested when the No. 19 Tigers (9-3) take on Iowa State (7-5) quarterback Brock Purdy in Wednesday's Cheez-It Bowl in Orlando.

"He is a great player," Swinney said about Purdy, who's thrown for nearly 12,000 yards and 80 touchdowns as a four-year starter. "He is a gamer. We are not playing freshmen over there. (Clemson defensive lineman) Myles Murphy is not a young player. Xavier Thomas is not a young player. K.J. (Henry) is not young. (Justin) Mascoll. Ruke (Orhorhoro's) played 12 games now as a third-year sophomore. Tyler Davis is a junior. (Linebackers James) Skalski has played 10,000 games. (Safety) Nolan Turner has played 20 years. (Cornerbacks Andrew) Booth and Mario (Goodrich) are juniors and seniors.

"So, we don't really have a lot of young guys over there. They have played against a lot of great players. So, you just have to get ready for what they do and try to affect him. It is easier said than done."

Swinney isn't wrong. Purdy led the Big 12, an offensive-minded league, with 2,984 passing yards. He's completed an impressive 73.1 percent of his passes and averaged 8.2 yards per attempt while tossing 18 touchdowns to seven interceptions.

"The flip side of that is he's seen it all, too," Swinney said. "He's very well-coached and very well prepared and has a great understanding of their offense and ownership of what they do and knows how to get them in and out of bad plays. So, you know, takes care of the ball."

However, there will be multiple challenges for Purdy. The veteran quarterback will be without star running back Breece Hall, so much of Iowa State's chances to win the game will fall heavily on Purdy's shoulders against a stingy Clemson defense that's allowed the second-fewest points per game in college football.

"This is a team that doesn't beat itself," Swinney said. "That is the one thing that jumps out at you about Iowa State when you watch them. They don't make a lot of mistakes. They don't beat themselves. They are one of the least penalized teams in the country.

"So, it's a challenge, again, schematically in what they do, but we just got to apply our knowledge. The knowledge we have all acquired, some knowledge at this point, but wisdom is applying the knowledge. So, that's what we have to do. We have to be a wise football team against a great quarterback."

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