28 observations from Gator Bowl, one for every fourth quarter point Clemson scored

Dabo Swinney (12) has more bowl wins than South Carolina (10). Photo by Merrell Mann

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Wed Jan 03 07:00:05 GMT-04:00 2024

Twenty-eight thoughts, notes, and glimpses from the Gator Bowl, one thought for each of the 28 points the Tigers scored in the decisive fourth quarter.

The Tigers needed all of those 28 points in defeating Kentucky 38-35 to end the season with a 9-4 record and a five-game winning streak. These thoughts are collected from Nikki Hood, Brandon Rink, Tommy Crumpton and photographer Merrell Mann.

1. This one is just funny to me, because I like watching people’s faces. A Kentucky media person asked me how I thought Clemson would stand up to “an SEC roster.” I said, “Well, it depends. We talking about an SEC roster like South Carolina or Vanderbilt or Miss. State, or a roster like Georgia?”

2. Kicker Jonathan Weitz was in a no-win situation after being added to the roster for the Florida St. game, but he rebounded to hit three big field goals at South Carolina and then hit three more in the Gator Bowl. The fact that he had to sell his truck so he could keep his apartment in NYC while kicking here makes the story even better.

3. Clemson’s defense forced four more turnovers against Kentucky and finished with 28 on the season. That’s good for first in the country, along with Bowling Green and Cal. Michigan has 25, so the Wolverines could tie with three or take the lead with four against Washington in next week's National Championship.

4. Speaking of the defense – you might have to return to the Wake Forest game in 2022 to find as many busts in the secondary as the Tigers had against the Wildcats. Still, the Tigers managed to find a way to win the game.

5. In the fourth quarter, some of the breaks that have gone against the Tigers over the past few seasons went their way. Cade Klubnik fumbled but it bounced right back to him, Weitz’s kick hit the crossbar and bounced over, and the busts in the secondary didn’t lead to a loss.

6. We love how Phil Mafah has learned to slow down and set up his blocks. On his 29-yard run, he had two pulling linemen and a fullback and let them all set their block before he passed them.

7. Seeing many of the 2024 signees at practice and then in jerseys at the game put the class back into focus. I will say this – Sammy Brown already looks the part.

8. Also, it was fun seeing how all of those signees and many of the freshmen responded to having Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne on the sideline.

9. Back to Mafah, on Will Shipley’s big return, Mafah had a huge block in which he simply threw a Wildcat defender into the ground.

10. Wide receiver Adam Randall had a nice day, and after he made a big catch and bulled his way forward for a first down, one of Clemson’s ballboys overheard a Kentucky staffer say, “I can’t believe we are letting Adam Randall do this to us.”

11. I mentioned this in my earlier story but watching tight end Jake Briningstool grab Mafah by the shoulder pads and drag him into the endzone was another example of Clemson’s fortunes in the game. Right place, right time. Tommy calls that one a reverse tush push.

12. Clemson now has a modest five-game winning streak that is the longest in the ACC. The Tigers were seventh in the nation heading into Monday’s action, but Alabama, Texas, and Liberty all lost. Either Michigan or Washington will lose next Monday, leaving the Tigers trailing only the winner of that game and Arizona for the longest streak heading into next season. Of course, that streak has a big test in the season opener against Georgia.

13. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney won his 12th bowl game, surpassing FSU legend Bobby Bowden for most bowl wins leading an ACC program. It’s interesting to note that Swinney has 12 bowl wins in 15 years, and South Carolina has ten bowl wins in 131 years.

14. New defensive ends coach Chris Rumph was in the box, along with tight ends coach Kyle Richardson. All of the other on-field coaches were on the sideline.

15. New offensive line coach Matt Luke is an identifiable presence on the sideline. He has the presence of a head coach, which he was, and it’s obvious that the players listen to what he has to say.

16. I would love to put a step counter on Luke during a game – he walked maybe 500 or 600 steps each possession, but all within a 5-10 yard box. He does a lot of pacing.

17. Antonio Williams had a quiet game until the final drive, but his 16-yard catch on third-and 18 on that drive set up the short conversion with Mafah. He backed that up with another 11-yard reception to move the chains into the red zone. The original stats tabbed Troy Stellato with the 16-yard catch but it was definitely Williams, so he finished with five catches for 32 yards. So Stellato was then 4-42 receiving.

18. Klubnik had a smile on his face as the final drive neared the endzone. It was like he knew and was simply out there having fun. I tend to think he grew up a lot on that drive. During the season – because the media didn’t get to talk to the coordinators after games – it was Klubnik who stepped up and answered questions for the offense. He talked about the pain of the loss at Duke and how it would be a “sweet story” when it all turned around. He was back out there after the Miami loss and said the same thing. Following the Gator Bowl, I saw him in the tunnel outside the locker room, and he was still wearing that smile.

19. Ask a lot of fans, and they will tell you (I know, I’ve seen the message boards and social media) that Briningstool was less than impressive this season. However……he led Clemson in receptions (nine) and receiving yards (91). Briningstool’s nine receptions tied the Clemson single-game school record for receptions by a tight end, matching John McMakin (vs. Florida State in 1970) and Brandon Ford (vs. LSU in 2012).

20. Briningstool’s ninth reception of the game was his 50th of the season, tying the single-season school record for receptions by a tight end set by Dwayne Allen in 2011 (50). With 91 yards in the Gator Bowl, Briningstool finished the year with a career-high 498 receiving yards, two yards shy of posting the first 500-yard season by a Clemson tight end since Jordan Leggett in 2016 (736).

21. With his 13th completion of the game, Klubnik (351) passed Clemson great Rodney Williams (333 from 1985-88) to enter the Top 10 in Clemson history in career completions.

22. In case you missed it, Clemson elected permanent team captains for the 2023 season prior to the Gator Bowl. Clemson’s captains were defensive tackle Tyler Davis, wide receiver Hamp Greene, defensive end Justin Mascoll, center Will Putnam, running back Will Shipley and placekicker Jonathan Weitz. Their names will now be etched in stone in Tiger Walk.

23. When it came to the crowd, it was obvious that Kentucky fans showed up early in the week and spent time in Jacksonville. I thought for sure that Kentucky fans would outnumber Clemson fans, but those $2 bills started showing up Thursday morning, and at the game, the numbers were very much in Clemson’s favor.

24. Clemson’s 11-point deficit overcome was its largest in a bowl game since overcoming a 16-point deficit against Ohio State in that 2019 Fiesta Bowl win. It was Clemson’s largest fourth-quarter deficit overcome in a bowl game, surpassing its 10-point deficit overcome in the fourth quarter against Alabama to win the 2016 national championship.

25. I covered Clemson in that stadium when the Tigers played Nebraska in the Gator Bowl, so it wasn’t a new one for me. But I have covered the Tigers in 12 different NFL stadiums. Clemson improved to 21-12 in games at NFL stadiums under Swinney and 18-8 at NFL stadiums since 2015.

26. I was a little late in getting the game story published. Why? The game included five fourth-quarter lead changes, all of which came in the final 6:45 of game time.

27. Back to those four turnovers forced by the defense - Clemson matched a season high with four takeaways, all of which came in the fourth quarter. It was Clemson’s third four-takeaway game of the season and Clemson’s first four-takeaway bowl game since the 2014 Russell Athletic Bowl.

28. Swinney cited turnovers as the main culprit in the 4-4 start. Clemson won the turnover margin, 4-1. Clemson won the turnover margin for a fifth consecutive game (and a five-game winning streak) for the first time since a nine-game streak in 2019. Clemson finished the season 7-0 this year when it won the turnover margin and 2-4 when it did not.