Clemson vs. Kentucky Prediction: Tigers take on the Cats in Jax

Clemson takes on Kentucky at noon on Friday.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Thu Dec 28 16:30:15 GMT-04:00 2023

One more time in 2023, and then we can begin looking forward to 2024.

Clemson will face off against Kentucky Friday in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl and put an end to a 2023 season that began with high hopes, crumbled under the pressure of early losses and turnovers, and found a resurgence in the last four games of the regular season.

Can the Tigers end the season on a five-game winning streak?

CLEMSON (8-4, 4-4 ACC) vs. KENTUCKY (7-5, 3-5 SEC)

WHEN: FRIDAY, DEC. 29, NOON ET
WHERE: EVERBANK STADIUM (67,838), JACKSONVILLE, FLA.
TELEVISION: ESPN (Wes Durham, Tim Hasselbeck, Taylor Tannebaum)
RADIO: Clemson Athletic Network (Don Munson, Tim Bourret, Reggie Merriweather)
RADIO: Touchdown Radio (Gino Torretta, Frank Frangie)
SATELLITE RADIO: SiriusXM 106 or 193

NOTABLE

*Clemson will make its record 10th all-time Gator Bowl appearance, and it will be Clemson's 50th bowl appearance in school history. Clemson will become the 12th program in the nation to play at least 50 all-time bowl games. Though Clemson's streak of consecutive 10-win seasons concluded this year at a dozen (the third longest streak in FBS history), Clemson can still extend a historically profound streak of consecutive nine-win seasons with another victory (13).

*Clemson is attempting to win a postseason game (conference championship, bowl game and/or national championship game) for a 13th consecutive season. Clemson’s current 12-year streak is the longest streak on record in major college football history.

*Clemson is attempting to win nine games in a season for the 31st time in school history. It would be Clemson's 13th consecutive nine-win season and its 14th overall in Dabo Swinney's 15 full seasons as head coach.

*Clemson (12) is attempting to tie Yale (13 straight from 1886-98) for the fourth-most consecutive nine-win seasons in major college football history, trailing only Nebraska (33 from 1969-2001), Alabama (16 from 2008-23) and Florida State (14 from 1987-2000).

WHAT CLEMSON NEEDS TO DO WHEN KENTUCKY HAS THE BALL

The Kentucky offense is….interesting. The Wildcats rank 100th nationally in total offense, and rank 133rd nationally (dead last) in plays per game (56 plays per game). The offense isn’t flashy, it wants to run the ball, take its time, and wear you down with the running game and then play-action. Still, the Wildcats average a little over 28 points per game despite its plodding manner.

Quarterback Devin Leary averaged 203.3 passing yards per game with a 23-10 TD-INT ratio. Leary played well in the finale against Louisville with 206 passing yards and three touchdowns with just one interception. Ray Davis is heading to the NFL but will play against Clemson - he led the team with 1,066 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns. The Wildcats have two receivers to watch. The first is Dane Key, he had 553 yards and five touchdowns on the season, while Tayvion Robinson added another 507 yards and four touchdowns.

Clemson is without several key defenders in linebacker Jeremiah Trotter, defensive tackle Ruke Orhorhoro, safety Andrew Mukuba, and cornerback Nate Wiggins. But that means it’s go time for several young players, and it will be interesting to see who plays MIKE linebacker. Could it be Wade Woodaz or Kobe McCloud? Or will they move Barrett Carter back to Mike and let Woodaz play the WILL?

I think the tractor-pull nature of the offense plays into defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin’s hands – he will have more than enough time to diagnose personnel groupings and formations (a strength of his) and put his players in the right place to make plays.

WHAT CLEMSON NEEDS TO DO WHEN IT HAS THE BALL

Kentucky allowed 24.8 points per game on defense. Their leading tackler this season was linebacker D'Eryk Jackson with 81 tackles, and he also added two interceptions. Defensive end Deone Walker led the team with 5.5 sacks and linebacker JJ Weaver was not far behind with five. Defensive back Maxwell Hairston led the team with five interceptions.

The Wildcats are good at forcing turnovers - Kentucky forced 17 turnovers on defense through 12 games this season.

Clemson sophomore quarterback Cade Klubnik averages 215 passing yards per game with a 19-8 TD-INT ratio. Clemson's strength will be their running game - Phil Mafah ran for 894 yards and nine touchdowns while Will Shipley ran for 798 yards and five touchdowns. Mafah is more of a power back that can run downhill, while Shipley is quicker and is utilized more in the passing game. Freshman receiver Tyler Brown led the team with 519 yards and four touchdowns. Tight end Jake Briningstool finished the year with 407 yards and five touchdowns.

The Tigers get a playmaker back in Antonio Williams, who missed the majority of the season battling injuries. He gives the Tigers another speed threat on the outside. Clemson will do what it's done during the four-game winning streak – lean on the running game.

What would I like to see? It’s the bowl game, you’ve got Williams back and hopefully, the offensive line has a little juice after the hire of Matt Luke. Swinney said after the South Carolina game that he nixed a lot of the playcalls and wanted to keep it conservative on offense – punt and don’t turn it over. I would like to see deep shots, pass the ball, move Klubnik around, and open it up for once. Will they do it?

WHAT WILL HAPPEN

The weather is supposed to be cooler, with winds gusting to 20 MPH. That might hinder my dreams of a downfield passing game, and this has all the makings of a low-scoring affair. When Clemson wins the turnover battle, it has a chance to win the game. When it loses the turnover battle against better teams? Not much of a chance. They will run the ball and find some cracks in the Kentucky defense, while Goodwin’s group does what it does and stifles the Kentucky rushing attack.

FINAL SCORE: CLEMSON 20, KENTUCKY 16

TigerNet picks

David Hood - TigerNet senior writer - 20-16 Clemson
Mickey Plyler - The Roar 105.5 morning show host - 30-17 Clemson
Nikki Hood - Staff writer - 27-10 Clemson
Brandon Rink - Associate editor - 21-17 Clemson
Tony Crumpton - Associate editor - 24-17 Clemson
Pigskin Prophet - 23-20 Clemson
Ryan Kantor - Contributing Writer - 23-21 Clemson
Ariana Pensy - TigerNet Intern - 28-23 Clemson
Merrell Mann - Photographer - 28-23 Clemson

PREDICTION TRACKER

Game	Actual	David Hood	Plyler	Nikki Hood	Rink	Crumpton	Prophet	Kantor	Pensy	Mann
Duke	28-7 DU	38-20 CU	31-17 CU	45-17 CU	31-16 CU	34-20 CU	37-17 CU	41-17 CU	35-10 CU	35-13 CU	-
CSU	66-17 CU	56-3 CU	56-0 CU	42-10 CU	52-3 CU	45-6 CU	60-13 CU	41-10 CU	21-14 CU	45-3 CU	-
FAU	48-14 CU	38-10 CU	49-14 CU	49-17 CU	42-17 CU	42-10 CU	44-3 CU	41-10 CU	45-14 CU	42-14 CU	-
FSU	31-24 FSU OT	30-24 FSU	31-30 CU	28-20 FSU	30-28 FSU	28-27 CU	30-27 CU	31-28 FSU	37-34 FSU	29-28 CU	-
SU	31-14 CU	30-20 CU	34-17 CU	35-17 CU	28-23 CU	31-21 CU	34-23 CU	28-17 CU	35-31 CU	28-24 CU	-
WF	17-12 CU	37-13 CU	47-17 CU	38-10 CU	38-16 CU	42-13 CU	45-9 CU	35-10 CU	35-14 CU	38-17 CU	-
MIA	28-20 MIA 2OT	31-20 CU	31-21 CU	30-17 CU	24-20 CU	28-20 CU	27-17 CU	24-17 CU	28-24 CU	31-17 CU	-
NCSU	24-17 NCSU	28-13 CU	31-13 CU	28-17 CU	26-16 CU	27-17 CU	38-10 CU	24-14 CU	28-24 CU	24-14 CU	-
ND	31-23 CU	27-17 ND	20-17 ND	28-24 CU	23-16 ND	24-21 ND	27-24 ND	28-14 ND	31-24 ND	24-21 CU	-
GT	42-21 CU	34-24 CU	31-21 CU	40-24 CU	34-21 CU	34-20 CU	44-27 CU	28-21 CU	27-21 CU	35-14 CU	-
UNC	31-20 CU	35-22 CU	34-24 CU	42-28 CU	34-26 CU	31-24 CU	34-27 CU	35-28 CU	38-35 CU	35-31 CU	-
SC	16-7 CU	30-16 CU	30-20 CU	28-13 CU	28-17 CU	28-21 CU	38-16 CU	31-17 CU	31-17 CU	31-14 CU	-
Points	-	10	11	15	8	9	9	12	10	8

* Points: 3 pts for best correct prediction of the week (tiebreaker is Clemson score), 2 pts for picking score exactly, 1 pt for picking the correct winner