Shipley hopeful Cheez-It win is springboard to SoFi Stadium and title shot

Shipley jumps over a defender against the Cyclones.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Fri Dec 31 13:48:25 GMT-04:00 2021

Will Shipley has next year’s sites for the College Football Playoff etched into his memory, and he’s already dreaming of a trip to Los Angeles in early 2023.

Shipley had a 12-yard touchdown run and finished with 61 yards rushing and 53 yards receiving for Clemson (10-3) in Wednesday's 20-13 win over Iowa State.

Clemson won its sixth straight 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.

The Tigers missed this year’s College Football Playoff for the first time in six years as the program dealt with major injuries on offense. In 2022, the CFP Semifinals are at the Fiesta Bowl and the Peach Bowl and the National Championship Game will be held at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, the home of the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers.

Shipley thinks the Tigers’ end-of-season success can act as a springboard for a trip out West.

"The momentum we're going to take from this game is going to help us during the offseason and during the season,” Shipley said. “Hopefully it can spring us forward to Los Angeles next year."

The Tigers were able put up points on the opening drive of each half, giving the offense confidence.

“We were able to kind of come out and get two good drives at the start of the game and at the start of the second half,” Shipley said. “It just creates momentum for the rest of the half. It was huge to start off with that especially with it being Coach Streeter's first game calling plays. It was big for our offense.

"It gives you a good feeling. We kind of knew we would be able to drive on them all night."

Shipley scored the first touchdown of the night on a 12-yard run in the third quarter.

“One of our draw plays, we ran it a couple of times. Threw me in the pistol slot side and let Kobe Pace run the fake,” Shipley said. “Took it up the middle and tried to draw those defenders in then snuck my way around the corner. Saw the end zone and the rest is history."

He said that head coach Dabo Swinney had a special message for the offense heading into the game with a new offensive coordinator.

"We have to put points on the end. We wanted to end every drive with a kick. We weren't fully successful with that, but we were able to drive,” Shipley said. “We shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times. The defense definitely helped us, but we did our job."

The Clemson offense totaled just 315 total yards. The Tigers ran for 128 and had just one offensive touchdown. However, one stat line stood out in the win over the Cyclones: time of possession.

Clemson possessed the football for 32 minutes and 10 seconds, including two scoring drives that combined for 31 plays and took 15:47 off the clock. That number helped earn the win for Streeter and new defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin.

"We were so happy with that, and not only that but to send coach (Robbie) Caldwell off with a win. For the seniors,” Shipley said. “Get an eleventh 10-win season. So many big things happened tonight with this win. Just happy for everybody, especially coach Streeter."