| 2023 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 79th Gator Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 29, 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | EverBank Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Jacksonville, Florida | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Phil Mafah (RB, Clemson) Barion Brown (WR, Kentucky)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Clemson by 6.5[2] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | John Love (Pac-12)[3] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 40,132 | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Wes Durham, Tim Hasselbeck, Taylor Tannebaum[4] | ||||||||||||||||||
The 2023 Gator Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 29, 2023, at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. The 79th annual Gator Bowl featured Clemson from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and Kentucky from the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The game began at approximately 12:00 p.m. EST and was aired on ESPN.[5][6] The Gator Bowl was one of the 2023–24 bowl games concluding the 2023 FBS football season. The game was sponsored by financial technology company TaxSlayer and was officially known as the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.
Consistent with conference tie-ins, the bowl featured the Clemson Tigers of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the Kentucky Wildcats of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).
This was the 14th meeting between Clemson and Kentucky; entering the game, the Wildcats led the Tigers in the all-time series, 8–5. This was also the fourth time the teams met in a bowl game; Clemson won two of their three prior bowl meetings, including their most recent postseason meeting, the 2009 Music City Bowl.[7]
On two occasions, Clemson and Kentucky competed in the same conference, playing together as members of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (1896–1904 and 1912–1920) and the Southern Conference (1922–1932).
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Main article: 2023 Clemson Tigers football team |
The Tigers entered the game with an 8–4 record (4–4 in the ACC), tied for sixth place in their conference and ranked 22nd in the College Football Playoff rankings.
This was Clemson's 10th Gator Bowl, setting a new mark for most appearances in the game. The Tigers were 4–5 in prior Gator Bowl appearances; they had most recently appeared in (and lost) the January 2009 edition.
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Main article: 2023 Kentucky Wildcats football team |
The Wildcats entered the game with a 7–5 record (3–5 in the SEC), tied for fourth place in their conference's East Division.
This was Kentucky's third Gator Bowl; the Wildcats previously lost the December 2016 edition and won the January 2021 edition.
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 22 Clemson | 3 | 7 | 0 | 28 | 38 |
| Kentucky | 7 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 35 |
at EverBank Stadium • Jacksonville, Florida
| Game information |
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First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
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| Statistics | CLE | KEN |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 24 | 12 |
| Plays–yards | 80–367 | 51–398 |
| Rushes–yards | 39–103 | 23–92 |
| Passing yards | 264 | 306 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 30–41–1 | 16–28–2 |
| Time of possession | 34:58 | 25:02 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clemson | Passing | Cade Klubnik | 30/41, 264 yards, 1 INT |
| Rushing | Phil Mafah | 11 carries, 71 yards, 4 TDs | |
| Receiving | Jake Briningstool | 9 receptions, 91 yards | |
| Kentucky | Passing | Devin Leary | 16/28, 306 yds, 2TDs, 2 INTs |
| Rushing | Ray Davis | 13 carries, 63 yards, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | Barion Brown | 3 receptions, 100 yards, 1 TD |