Tigers to see familiar face in Gator Bowl

Leary played at Clemson last season.

David Hood · Senior Writer · Monday, December 04 2023

A familiar face will be at quarterback when Clemson takes on Kentucky in the Gator Bowl.

The 79th annual Gator Bowl will take place at Everbank Stadium, home of the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars, on Friday, Dec. 29. The game will kick off at noon ET on ESPN.

While Kentucky leads the all-time series vs. Clemson 8-5, this will mark the third bowl matchup between the Wildcats and Tigers. Clemson won the 1993 Peach Bowl 14-13, and the two teams split Music City Bowl wins, with Kentucky winning 28-20 in 2006 and Clemson winning 21-13 in 2009.

How did the Wildcats make it to Jacksonville?

Kentucky finished the 2023 regular season with a 7-5 record. The Wildcats lost to South Carolina in their last SEC game but won its fifth straight Governor's Cup with a 38-31 comeback victory over No. 10 Louisville. Kentucky started the season 5-0 and was ranked as high as No. 20 in both the AP and Coaches Polls following a 33-14 win over Florida at Kroger Field.

Quarterback Devin Leary, a transfer from NC State, leads the Cats. In 2022, Leary and the Wolfpack lost 30-20 to Clemson, but he completed 28 of 47 passes for 245 yards with a touchdown and an interception. In 2021, Leary helped engineer the end of a long losing streak for the Pack to Clemson, completing 32 of 44 passes for 238 yards and four touchdowns.

The teams didn’t play in 2020, but back in 2019, Leary was 14 of 29 for 166 yards in the Packs’ 55-10 loss. This season, Leary completed 56.3% of his passes for 2,440 yards and 23 touchdowns, ranking second in the SEC.

At running back is Ray Davis, who rushed for 1,066 yards and 13 touchdowns while also recording 29 receptions for 317 yards and seven scores, but he has declared for the NFL Draft and is not expected to compete in the bowl game.

Sophomore wide receivers Barion Brown and Dane Key combined for 78 receptions for 992 yards and eight touchdowns.

Kentucky’s defense is led by nose tackle Deone Walker, who totaled 51 tackles and team-highs of 10.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks. Linebackers D'Eryk Jackson and Trevin Wallace combined for 150 total tackles, 14.0 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks and three interceptions. Cornerback Maxwell Hairston ranked tied for fifth nationally with five interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns, with 64 total tackles and a team-best six pass breakups.