Clemson football is excited and ready to take the field in Jacksonville for Friday’s Gator Bowl match-up with SEC foe Kentucky.
The Tigers have a rich history competing in the Gator Bowl dating back to the 1940s and this incarnation of Clemson football is ready to leave its mark on one of college football’s longest-tenured bowl games.
Clemson completed their first practice in Jacksonville on Christmas Eve, using the facilities of a local high school. Coach Dabo Swinney celebrated Christmas with his team and the players’ families in what he described as a gathering of over 400 people. It was a joyous occasion as the Tigers prepared to bring to a close the tumultuous 2023 season that saw them start 4-4. Winners of their last four games to end the regular season, all of that seems like a distantly unpleasant memory now.
“It’s great to go and spend some time with your team in a setting like this,” said Swinney. “To be 4-4, everybody had a decision to make. Our team chose to believe that it was still half-full and kept a great attitude and just kept finding a way. What we were able to do against some really good teams and four really, really good quarterbacks in a row, the credit belongs to these players because they made a choice to finish. They’ve done a great job. They’ve won four in a row, they went from 4-4 to the Gator Bowl and this is a great opportunity to finish our season on a really positive note.”
Dabo Swinney
On the way to their on-field turnaround, Clemson defeated Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The Fighting Irish and Tar Heels were top 20 opponents when the Tigers took them down, catapulting Clemson back into the top-25 rankings. The Tigers enter the Gator Bowl ranked 22nd.
Clemson will be without some of their mainstays come Friday, especially on defense, but plenty of young and experienced talent alike is ready to step up and answer the call.
Linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and cornerback Nate Wiggins, both of whom have announced their intention to turn pro, have opted not to play in the bowl game. Others, like safety Andrew Mukuba, have entered the transfer portal. Still, there are plenty of dynamic playmakers who will be on the field.
Running backs Will Shipley and Phil Mafah will play, as will defensive tackle Tyler Davis and sixth-year senior defensive end Xavier Thomas. Joining them will be freshman defensive end T.J. Parker who was a revelation as a true freshman, and true freshmen cornerbacks Aveion Terrell and Khalil Barnes, both who have put together sensational seasons.
Clemson also welcomes back wide receivers Antonio Williams and Brannon Spector which should give quarterback Cade Klubnik plenty of weapons at his disposal.
As for their Gator Bowl appearance, Clemson has lots of history to defend.
The Tigers are making their 11th all-time Gator Bowl appearance, their most frequented bowl destination in the history of the program. Historically, Clemson is 5-5. Their first trip to the Gator Bowl came in 1948, a 24-23 win over Missouri to cap a perfect 11-0 season.
While the 2023 Tigers are not perfect, there is still much to play for. Dabo Swinney’s first bowl win as a head coach came in the Gator Bowl on New Year’s Day in 2009. This game will be the 14th meeting all-time against Kentucky, with Clemson’s first tilt against the Wildcats having come in 1925. The three most recent meetings were a 14-13 Clemson win in the 1993 Peach Bowl and a split of two meetings in the Music City Bowl in 2006 (28-20 Kentucky win) and 2009 (21-13 Clemson win).
This season marks the 19th consecutive season in which Clemson has played in a bowl game which is the longest streak in the ACC and fifth longest nationally. The Tigers have been bowl eligible in 25 consecutive seasons but did not participate in a postseason game in 2004 due to self-imposed sanctions.
“To have that type of consistency there has to be some substance to what you do,” added Swinney. “You can’t be smoke and mirrors. It can’t be something where you’re up one year and down the next year. The only other program out there that has been as consistent as us over the past 13 years in Alabama. I know our record this year wasn’t quite what we want it to be but we built this program on belief, we built it on integrity, we built it on toughness, and we built it on people. You just have to have the right people.”
Dabo Swinney
Clemson will try to extend their streak of winning at least one postseason game to 12 years. The 2023 Clemson Tigers are ready to tee it one more time and make believers out of everyone else that the Tigers are here and not going anywhere, anytime soon.
Kick-off is slated for Friday, December 29th at noon at Jacksonville’s EverBank Stadium.
