Kentucky vs. Clemson in the Gator Bowl probably boils down to one question
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Gator Bowl preview: Kentucky vs. No. 22 Clemson
The University of Kentucky football team concludes its 2023 season Friday against ACC rival Clemson in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl at Everbank Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. Click below to view all the stories previewing the game that have been published on Kentucky.com.
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In this chaotic college football era of transfers and opt-outs and NIL deposits, the outcome of most every one of the 585 bowl games — a slight exaggeration — can be boiled down to a simple matter of desire.
Who wants it more?
Friday’s TaxSlayer Gator Bowl in Jacksonville is one of those unlikely situations where two teams who didn’t achieve their regular season aspirations have plenty of reasons to want to finish the 2023 season by sticking the landing.
True, Clemson is used to socializing with a more high-brow New Year’s crowd. Since 2011, the Tigers have played four times in the Orange Bowl (2011, 2013, 2015, 2022), twice in the Sugar Bowl (2017, 2020) and twice in the Fiesta Bowl (2016, 2019). From 2015 through 2019, the Tigers were included in the College Football Playoff four out of five years — 2017 being the lone exception. In fact, Clemson won the whole enchilada in 2016 and 2018.
The 2023 season hasn’t been your typical Clemson football season, however. The Tigers’ eight regular-season wins are their fewest since 2010. They lost 28-7 at Duke in the season opener, 31-24 in overtime to visiting Florida State, 28-20 at Miami in double overtime and 24-17 at North Carolina State, which dropped the Tigers to 4-4 on Oct. 28.
The struggles prompted critics to question head coach Dabo Swinney’s stance on NIL (“We built this program in God’s name, image and likeness.”) and transfer portal additions (no thank you) in the face of a rapidly changing college landscape.
After the loss in Raleigh, the Tigers pulled it together, however. Swinney’s team won its final four, beating Notre Dame 31-23, an improving Georgia Tech 42-21, North Carolina 31-20 and archrival South Carolina 16-7 in Columbia.
“We’ve kind of been battling for awhile,” Swinney said after the win over South Carolina. “To respond the way they have, from 4-4 to 8-4, undefeated in November . . . is a big deal.”
So surely Clemson would love to end a rocky campaign on a five-game win streak to build momentum toward 2024.
Kentucky owns its own motivations. The preseason goal of being a legitimate contender for a spot in the SEC championship game never materialized. The enthusiasm generated by a 5-0 start hit a brick wall once the schedule grew tougher. Losses to Georgia, Missouri and Tennessee — interrupted by a win at Mississippi State — and later Alabama, led to a rock-bottom 17-14 loss at South Carolina.
“I’ve been doing this a long time in this league and at Kentucky, and that’s a very difficult loss for us right there,” UK coach Mark Stoops said afterward.
Ah, but in the annual Governor’s Cup game, the Cats found a way to pull it together and upset Jeff Brohm’s 10-1 Cardinals 38-31 in Louisville to put a different spin on the 2023 campaign.
A Gator Bowl win would continue that narrative. Especially over a brand-name program like Clemson. That’s why quarterback Devin Leary, running back Ray Davis, linebacker Trevin Wallace and cornerback Andru Phillips have all chosen to play in Jacksonville despite knowing they will be playing elsewhere in 2024.
It was Leary, the transfer from North Carolina State, who made the reference to being able to “get one last ride, being able to represent Kentucky and wear that blue one last time.”
A bowl victory doesn’t guarantee future returns. Same for a bowl loss. The 2006 Cats beat Clemson in the Music City Bowl to finish 8-5, then finished 8-5 the next season. The 2007 Cats beat Florida State 35-28 in the Music City Bowl, then went 7-6 the next season. Stoops’ 2017 team lost to Northwestern 24-23 in the Music City Bowl, then rebounded to go 10-3 in 2018, the school’s first 10-win season since 1977.
Still, a bowl victory Friday could send a message for both programs. Clemson can say, “See, we’re on our way back to being Clemson again.” Kentucky can say, “We had the fortitude to survive 2023 and will be better in 2024.”
Question being: Who wants to send that message more?
Friday
Kentucky vs. No. 22 Clemson
What: TaxSlayer Gator Bowl
When: Noon
Where: EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida
TV: ESPN
Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1
Records: Kentucky 7-5 (3-5 SEC), Clemson 8-4 (4-4 ACC)
Series: Kentucky leads 8-5
Last meeting: Clemson won 21-13 on Dec. 27, 2009, in the Music City Bowl at Nashville, Tennessee
This story was originally published December 26, 2023 at 1:26 PM.
