Cade Klubnik, Phil Mafah lead Clemson over Kentucky in a thrilling TaxSlayer Gator Bowl

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Cade Klubnik, Phil Mafah lead Clemson over Kentucky in a thrilling TaxSlayer Gator Bowl

Garry Smits, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union · The Florida Times-Union

Sat, Dec 30, 2023 ·

8 min read

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JACKSONVILLE — Eight lead changes.

Five touchdowns, two field goals and five turnovers in the fourth quarter.

A TaxSlayer Gator Bowl for the ages.

Phil Mafah scored his fourth touchdown of the game with 17 seconds left on a 3-yard run to set a Gator Bowl record and after a two-point conversion pass from Cade Klubnik to Josh Sapp the Clemson Tigers won the 79th Gator Bowl 38-35 over Kentucky on Friday in front of 40,132 on a chilly but sun-splashed day at EverBank Stadium.

"You saw who we are today," said Clemson coach Dabo Swinney, whose team won their last five games and beat SEC members South Carolina and the Wildcats on the back end. "That's back-to-back SEC wins for us. Special to be able to finish the way we did."

Clemson running back Phil Mafah (7) scores a touchdown during the fourth quarter of Friday's TaxSlayer Gator Bowl at EverBank Stadium. The Clemson Tigers edged the Kentucky Wildcats 38-35.

Fittingly for a game that resembled a 15-round heavyweight fight with both teams getting off the canvas numerous times, Jaguars chief football strategy officer and AWE president Tony Khan presented Swinney with a championship belt during his post-game news conference.

Mafah delivered the last punch.

"Just had to keep fighting and didn't know what the outcome would be at that point, but you just had to keep fighting and believing and trusting your teammates to get the job done and get the win," Mafah said. "So extremely proud of my teammates for being able to accomplish this feat."

Clemson rallied from 11-points down

Clemson (9-4) trailed 21-10 after a 102-yard kickoff return by Barion Brown of the Wildcats (7-6) -- who scored on a run, pass reception and return in the game -- and entered the fourth quarter down by the same score.

But Mafah, the game's MVP, scored on a 1-yard run on the first play of the fourth period to cap a 70-yard drive and cut Kentucky's lead to 21-16. The game officially went nuts after that, with a Gator Bowl record 42 points scored in the final period.

In order, after Mafah's second TD of the game:

∎ Jonathan Weitz of Clemson, who missed a 29-yard field-goal attempt earlier in the season that would have beaten Florida State, cut the lead to 21-19 with a 28-yard field goal with 7:00 minutes left. The score was set up by linebacker Barrett Carter 's interception of Devin Leary .

∎ After the ensuing kickoff, Brown fumbled, with Carter recovering at the Wildcats' 29. Mafah burst into the end zone on the next play and Klubnik hit Tyler Brown with a two-point pass to give the Tigers a 27-21 lead with 6:45 left.

∎ The Wildcats punched back with Leary's 60-yard TD pass to Brown. Alex Raynor made the conversion for a 28-27 UK lead.

∎ Clemson's Will Shipley broke off a 60-yard kickoff return and Weitz then delivered a career-long and Gator Bowl record 52-yard field goal for a 30-28 lead with 4:20 remaining. The ball hit the crossbar and bounced over for his third field goal of the game.

Kentucky Wildcats defensive back Andru Phillips (23) breaks up a pass intended for Clemson Tigers wide receiver Troy Stellato (10) during the second quarter of the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 at EverBank Stadium.

∎ Back came UK -- again. Leary (16 of 28, 306 yards) hit tight end Jordan Dingle down the right sideline and Dingle took the ball to the 1, setting up a Ray Davis touchdown with 2:39 left, returning the lead to the Wildcats, 35-30.

∎ But Klubnik (30 of 41, 264 yards) guided the Tigers on a 10-play, 68-yard drive in which they converted a third-and-10, a fourth-and-two and absorbed an intentional grounding penalty by Klubnik to get in position for Mafah's winning TD. Klubnik completed a 15-yard pass to Jake Briningstool to the 3 before Mafah (11 carries, 71 yards) did the rest.

Klubnik said he had a message for the offense during the frantic fourth quarter.

"I said, 'guys, we've been through so much this year," he said. "We've had to sit in that locker room 4-4. Why quit now? We just won four straight. We're right here in this ball game. Let's go win it. There's no way that we were going to leave this game with any regrets."

Kentucky was burned in a prevent defense

Kentucky was in a prevent defense most of the time as Clemson worked its way down the field on the final drive but in-game injuries in the secondary left them depleted. Coach Mark Stoops said the key play was Klubnik hitting Troy Stellato for a 16-yard gain on third-and-18 following the grounding penalty to set up a fourth-and-two that Mafah converted.

"We always second-guess ourselves," Stoops said. "We got the grounding call and on the next play we're down two top corners at that point and we try to player coverages to protect them [the replacements] ... we can play better. We can call a defense better. We will certainly second-guess ourselves on that one."

Kentucky's final gasp ended when Shelton Lewis intercepted Leary, Clemson's fourth takeaway of the game.

The two teams combined for 765 yards of total offense.

Clemson defensive end Justin Mascoll (7) stretches to recover a fumble by Kentucky quarterback Devin Leary (13) in the fourth quarter of the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl on Friday. The Wildcats led 14 to 10 at the half but the Tigers fought back and came away with a 38-35 victory. — Clemson defensive end Justin Mascoll (7) stretches to recover a fumble by Kentucky quarterback Devin Leary (13) early in the fourth quarter of the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl. Clemson won 38-35.

Davis, who returned for the bowl game despite declaring his intention to enter the NFL draft, said he had no regrets, considering the fight his teammates showed.

"Helluva game," said Davis, whose 43-yard run in the first quarter set up Brown's 22-yard rushing TD on a jet sweep. "It's a game that we love to be a part of. It's a game as a fan you love to watch. We had some good opportunities to get in the end zone, and they played their butt off. Offensively we stepped up to the plate when needed to be."

Davis said despite the loss, it will be a game to be remembered on both sides.

"I'm proud to be a part of this team. I'm proud to have played that game," he said. "The rest of my life I'm going to be able to remember that and be able to know that I was part of a very historical game in a sense of just back and forth and ups and downs, highs and lows and knowing whenever adversity struck, we stepped up to the plate."

Clemson won in Jacksonville for the first time in 35 years

Clemson, which was appearing in a record 10th Gator Bowl, snapped a three-game losing streak in Jacksonville. The Tigers had last won in 1989 against West Virginia .

Since then, the Tigers fell 41-0 to Syracuse in 1996, 41-20 to Virginia Tech in 2001 and 26-21 to Nebraska in 2009.

The latter game was the first as Clemson head coach for Dabo Swinney. Friday's victory, in his 20th bowl game, gave him a 12-8 bowl record with the Tigers. He also broke a tie with Florida State coach Bobby Bowden with the most bowl victories among ACC coaches.

Bowden won his 11th bowl game and Swinney won the game that put him ahead of the FSU legend in the Gator Bowl.

Kentucky lost in the Gator Bowl for the second time in three trips.

Clemson offense came to the rescue

Swinney said it was a good sign that Klubnik, Mafah and the nine receivers who made receptions (led by Briningstool with nine catches for 91 yards) had to come to the defense's rescue, especially with the closing drive.

"The defense has been there all year," he said. "We wouldn't have had a shot without them. That'll be huge for our [offense's] development. A drive like that puts a lot of wind in your sails."

Of the four players who caught passes from Klubnik on the final drive, three are sophomores ( Adam Randall , Antonio Williams and Stellato) and one junior (Briningstool). Klubnik is also a sophomore.

Swinney also didn't discount the contribution made by Weitz, the walkon senior who was 8 of 14 before the South Carolina game and made six attempts in a row against the Gamecocks and Kentucky.

"I don't know what to say about Weitzy," Swinney said. "The guy went 6-6 to finish this thing up including a 52-yarder that he kicked 52 yards and 1 inch. It was amazing. What a way for that guy to finish up his career."

Gator Bowl records set

Here are the Gator Bowl records that were set in Clemson-Kentucky game:

Rushing touchdowns in one game: Phil Mafah, Clemson, four (old record, three, by six players; last by Lee Suggs, Virginia Tech in 2001.
Fourth-quarter points: 42 (old record, 29 by Virginia Tech and Louisville in 2006).
Longest scoring play: 100-yard kickoff return, Barion Brown, Kentucky (ties record set by O'Donnell Fortune of Notre Dame, 2022).
Longest kick return for TD: Brown (old record, 99-yard kickoff return by Andre Debose, Florida, 2012).
Longest field goal: 52 yards by Jonathan Weitz, Clemson (old record, 51 yards by Brian Lee of Ole Miss in 1991).
Most offensive plays (both teams): 131 (old record, 121 by Georgia Tech and West Virginia in 2007).
Most Gator Bowl appearances: Clemson 10 (breaks tie with Florida).

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Phil Mafah scores with 17 seconds left to lift Clemson over Kentucky

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