The No. 22 Clemson Tigers will be returning to a very familiar site when they face the Kentucky Wildcats in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl on Dec. 29.
Although it is familiar, it is not quite where Dabo Swinney and his Tigers (8-4) thought they would be at season’s end. Clemson football is suffering its first non-10 win season since 2009 and the second worst since Swinney took over the program. It’s also the first year since 2011 that the Tigers haven’t played for the ACC Championship.
This time of year was usually a time when Clemson was in, at the very least, a New Year’s Six bowl game, if not in the College Football Playoff. Being back in the Gator Bowl, a bowl the program has been to 10 times, more than any other bowl, feels eerily similar to the old Clemson football days. Their last appearance was back in 2008.
Kentucky (7-5) was just in the Gator Bowl two years ago, and was one of their now eighth consecutive bowl games, which is the longest streak in Wildcats history. That’s a testament to the job the Mark Stoops has done while in Lexington, which is not the easiest place to win while in the middle of other monster elite SEC programs.
The Wildcats are coming off a huge upset win over in-state rival Louisville, who was ranked No. 10 at the time. The Tigers got back on track a bit towards the end of the season, winning their last four games, getting to eight wins and back in the CFP rankings. But who will walk out with a bowl game victory? Let’s get into some TaxSlayer Gator Bowl bold predictions.
