Swinney says "crazy" Gator Bowl finish reminds him of win over LSU

Phil Mafah scores one of his touchdowns (Photo by Merrell Mann).

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Fri Dec 29 18:51:19 GMT-04:00 2023

JACKSONVILLE – Clemson takes the belt in another crazy bowl game.

Clemson overcame an 11-point deficit in the second half and scored with just 17 seconds left on the clock to defeat Kentucky 38-35 in the Gator Bowl at EverBank Stadium. After Kentucky scored to take a 35-30 lead with just over two minutes remaining, quarterback Cade Klubnik led the Tigers down the field for the game-winner, going 8-for-8 for 71 yards on the drive.

The Tigers scored 28 points in the fourth quarter, and Swinney said the finish reminded him of another big win.

“This game reminded me of the 2012 Peach Bowl against LSU, kind of the craziness of it. Ironically, we got a belt in that game, too. That's kind of weird. It's in my office,” Swinney said. “Listen, first of all, just an unbelievable game. You've got to give Kentucky a ton of credit. It's one of those games nobody really deserves to lose. Just a lot of fight and heart on both sides.

“Just an awesome job by Coach Stoops and those kids battling. We just found a way to make one more play. I think it was, like, five lead changes. I think it's the biggest comeback, maybe for us ever in a bowl game. 28 points. Maybe the most in a fourth quarter ever. You saw who we are tonight, and these guys, they finished. They finished. The foundational things that we've built this program on were on full display tonight. These guys strained and put their heart into what they were doing. It was awesome to see.”

The fourth quarter saw 42 combined points and five lead changes – the Wildcats began the quarter with a 21-10 lead – and Swinney said it’s just another in a list of crazy games.

“I've been a part of some crazy ones. I've been a part of some crazy ones, for sure. Two of them against LSU, for whatever reason. I was a coach at Alabama, and I think we were down 13 points with -- I don't know if it was a 1:40 or something, and we won the game in Baton Rouge. That was a crazy one,” Swinney said. “The LSU game in the Peach Bowl, that was one that was wild. Fourth and 16. Third and 18 down there at the stretch, and somehow, we found a way to get it done. Was it five lead changes? I mean, it was just back and forth, and just some -- we did some dumb stuff now. I mean, we did some -- I mean, we had four guys out. Obviously we had four starters out on defense, but guys -- I mean, we had Cover 2, and we let a guy run right by us, one of our best players. We did some dumb stuff that we'll grow from and learn from.”

Swinney said it was good to see the offense pick up the defense.

“Again, you hate to go through it, but the flip side of it to see your offense have to go win the game. The defense has been there all year,” he said. “And we wouldn't even have had a chance today, even though they gave up those big plays, if we hadn't got the takeaways. We would have had no shot. To see the offense go win it that way, that right there will be huge for the development of our guys -- our quarterback, our linemen, our skill, everybody.

“The belief, the confidence, the grit, the heart. Those things, man, great stuff happens when you have all that stuff in place. A game like that, a win like that, a drive like that will put a lot of wind in your sails.”