Dantzler tossed touchdown passes of five yards to tight end Ben Hall and 62 yards to Bernard Rambert in the third quarter, during which the Tigers (7-5) broke open the contest with 28 unanswered points.

Clemson snapped a five-game bowl losing streak, posting its first postseason win since a 14-13 victory over Kentucky in the 1993 Peach Bowl. Coach Tommy Bowden lost his first two two bowl appearances with the Tigers.

Clemson had expected to go to the Tangerine Bowl, but after losing three of their last four games, it was fortunate to go to any bowl.

Instead of sunny Florida, Clemson was sent to frigid Boise for New Year's Eve, where close to four inches of snow fell Monday before stopping in the third quarter.

Louisiana Tech (7-5), which won the Western Athletic Conference in its first year in the league, gave Clemson a battle in the first half and trailed by just 14-10 at the intermission.

But the Bulldogs were snowed under in the third period as the Tigers scored on all four of their possessions.

After taking a 28-10 lead on Dantzler's touchdown strikes to Hall and Rambert, the Tigers cashed in a pair of interceptions to put away the contest with two touchdowns in a span of just over two minutes.

Cornerback Brian Mance's interception led to Rambert's 21-yard touchdown run with 6:36 left in the period. Safety Charles Hafley picked off a deflected pass on Louisiana Tech's next possession and wide receiver Airese Currie's 19-yard touchdown run up the middle gave Clemson a 42-10 cushion with 4:34 remaining in the quarter.

Dantzler, who this year became the first player in NCAA Division I history to reach 2,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing in a season, completed 15 of 23 passes for 218 yards. He also rushed for 57 yards on 15 carries.

Willie Simmons replaced Dantzler in the fourth quarter and tossed a 57-yard touchdown pass to Derrick Hamilton with 9:24 left, extending Clemson's advantage to 49-10.

Luke McCown, who engineered two late scoring in the final seven minutes, completed 24 of 51 for 323 yards with three interceptions and touchdown for Louisiana Tech.