Florida’s Jacksonville Devin Leary, the quarterback for Kentucky, launched

Florida’s Jacksonville The atmosphere on the Tigers’ sideline may have changed as Kentucky quarterback Devin Leary lofted passes over a reeling Clemson secondary.

This almost lost season, which began 4-4 before Clemson won four straight games in November, looked like it might fail in the Gator Bowl when Kentucky pulled ahead by 5 points with 2:39 remaining.

Running back Phill Mafah of Clemson remarked, “At that point, we didn’t know what the outcome was going to be.” “All we needed to do was keep believing and fighting.”

In a 38-35 victory on December 29 at EverBank Stadium, Clemson (9-4) pulled away from the jaws of disaster with a clutch drive from an offense that was its usual uneven selves for the most part. The Tigers secondary had many breakdowns.

a large portion of the day.

After being sacked eight times, Clemson sophomore quarterback Cade Klubnik saved his best series for last, putting together a 12-play, 68-yard drive that included eight consecutive completions. The winning team’s MVP, Mafah, scrambled for the final three yards to give the Tigers the lead back.

With 17 seconds remaining, Kentucky’s big-play offense had more than enough time to complete the play. But Shelton Lewis, a rookie cornerback, intercepted Leary’s last pass, setting off a passionate postgame celebration for Clemson because of the weight that had been removed.

The high of victory ended the 2023 season in a very different way than the loss to Tennessee in the previous season, but the lows of the Tigers’ performance leave many questions unanswered going into the offseason.

the Bowl in Orange.

“The faith, self-assurance, perseverance, and compassion. Coach Dabo Swinney of Clemson stated, “Those things, man, great stuff happens when you have all that stuff in place.” “A match like that, a victory like that, and a drive like that will boost your confidence greatly.”

What worked well

In the fourth quarter, Clemson’s defense produced four turnovers: interceptions by linebackers Barrett Carter and Lewis, as well as forced fumbles by Xavier Thomas and Khalil Barnes.

In the decisive game, the Tigers defeated the Wildcats 28–14 thanks to that.

“The defense has existed the entire season. And even though they gave up those big plays, if we hadn’t gained the takeaways, we wouldn’t even have had a shot today, according to Swinney. “There wouldn’t have been a shot.”

With the Tigers behind 21-16, sixth-year senior defensive end Xavier Thomas caused the first turnover by blowing by Leary on a speed rush and then pursuing him down for a strip sack.

Klubnik spoiled that chance, which would have put Clemson on Kentucky’s 25, by taking a

hit from behind, and his misdirected ball was intercepted in the end zone.

Carter, though, intercepted the ball the very next series when, like Willie Mays, he tipped it in the air and twirled around to collect it over his own shoulder.

With three pass deflections overall, Carter stated, “No knock on Devin Leary, but he is not a huge quarterback, and that’s something we do week-by-week whenever we play somebody that’s not as tall, just focus on mirroring the hand and trying to bat those balls down.”

“I still have anger issues. Carter went on, “I dropped like two picks early in the game, but I’m really happy that I got one.

Jonathan Weitz converted the turnover into three points with a 28-yard field goal, and eight seconds later, Barnes forced a fumble, and Mafah scored a touchdown run of 29 yards and added a two-point conversion to give the Tigers a 27-21 lead.

Weitz, the walk-on kicker who returned to the Tigers in the middle of the season, made three of three attempts against South Carolina and three more against Kentucky, including a 52-yarder that sailed over the crossbar and off the upright to give Clemson a 30-28 lead.

Kentucky fought back to take a 35-30 lead, so Clemson needed all the assistance they could get. However, Klubnik then led the Tigers down the field, setting up fourth-and-short with a 16-yard pass to Troy Stellato on third-and-18 and a 12-yard pass to Adam Randall on third-and-10.

“Mafah took advantage of the opportunity that the O-line presented to him,” Klubnik remarked. “In my perspective, that was one of the game’s most important plays. That drive alone indicates that it is fourth down. That or nothing, that is.

Klubnik completed the day 30-of-41 for 264 yards and an interception, without throwing a touchdown pass. But it was sufficient to prevail.

What went awry
Evidently, Swinney was not pleased when Barion Brown of Kentucky opened the

a score on a kickoff return in the third quarter to increase Clemson’s deficit to 21-10.

“I was furious. That was awful, Swinney remarked. “It doesn’t matter; we assumed there was a hold. There are eleven players on the field.

Leary amassed 306 passing yards, which included passes of 58, 60, and 72 yards, so there were plenty of reasons to be happy.

Without corners Nate Wiggins (opt-out), Sheridan Jones (injury), and safety Andrew Mukuba (transfer), Clemson’s secondary was weak. Shortly after the 58-yard touchdown, in which receiver Dane Key ran into Barnes and tumbled, setting himself up for a wide-open catch-and-run, Kentucky scored one of its touchdowns.

However, the number of errors was too great to attribute it to incompetence or overlooked calls.

Essentially, we had Cover 2.

and we allowed one of our top guys to sprint right by us,” Swinney remarked. “We made some foolish mistakes that we will learn from.”

The offensive line will also need to examine themselves in the mirror, considering the amount of pressure that Kentucky was able to generate.

Yet after the game, Klubnik made an effort to deflect some of the criticism.

“I think that’s partly on me for holding the ball too long a couple of times, which is why we had a few more sacks than we wanted,” Klubnik remarked. “They did a great job today, though, aside from that.”

pivotal moment
Weitz’s 52-yard field goal could have been set up by Will Shipley’s 60-yard kick return.

Sadly, Shipley injured his knee on the return and was sidelined for the remainder of the match, which allowed Kentucky to score one more goal. Shipley’s injury is hopefully not significant, but the junior rusher will get an MRI, according to Swinney’s postgame remarks.

Still, in a game — and a season — of starts and stops, Klubnik and the offense needed to find some momentum down five points.

And they carried it out.

“So, growth comes after belief?” According to Swinney, about that last drive. These guys made the decision to have faith in one another and in themselves.