Another Close One
The ESPN family of networks must be happy whenever Kentucky appears in one of their bowl games. With the exception of last year’s Music City Bowl games involving the Wildcats generally go down to the wire. Friday’s match up in Jacksonville was no exception. Unfortunately for Cat fans, they were on the wrong end of the scoreboard. Let’s break it down as Kentucky falls 38-35 in a TaxSlayer thriller.
Back And Forth Affair
Kentucky’s been notorious for slow starts in this year. Unfortunately, for the BBN it looked like it was happening again. Will Shipley returned the opening kick 35 yards giving Clemson great field position. Aided by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty Cade Klubnik led the Tigers to the UK 22. However, the Wildcat defense held and a 39-yard field goal by Jonathan Weitz put them up 3-0.
Following a battle of punts Kentucky finally got on the board. A 43-yard run by Ray Davis put the Cats deep in Clemson territory. On the next play, Barion Brown took a sweep 22 yards to the house to put Kentucky up 7-3.
Phil Mafah put Clemson in front 10-7 early in the second quarter. On Kentucky’s next drive, the combination of Devin Leary to Dane Key accounted for 63 of the Cats’ 75 yards and a five-yard score putting the Cats up 14-10 at the half.
What Can Brown Do For You?
The second half couldn’t have started any better for Kentucky. Brown took the opening kick and went 100 yards for the score setting a Gator Bowl record. Just like that the Cats were up 11 and things were looking pretty good.
.@BarionBrown has set a new @UKFootball record for most kickoff return touchdowns in a career (4)
— Corey Price (@coreyp08) December 29, 2023
Brown became the second player in school history to have three touchdowns in a bowl game. The other was Rod Stewart in the 1976 Peach Bowl. All totaled the sophomore had 98 yards receiving, and 26 yards on the ground to go along with the kickoff return.
That put Kentucky up by 11 heading into the fourth quarter and set the stage for a memorable fourth quarter.
A Wild 15 Minutes
When it was all said and done the two teams combined for 42 points in the fourth quarter. Mafah’s second touchdown run cut it to 21-16, however, the two-point conversion failed. Following that it was a battle of turnovers as Clemson forced a Leary fumble. However, on the next play, Jordan Lovett intercepted Klubnik in the end zone.
On the Cats next possession Leary was intercepted leading to a 28-yard field goal by Weitz and the lead was two. Yet another Wildcat turnover, this time a fumble by Brown set up the Tigers at the UK 29. It took them all of one play to score and Mafah notched his third score. This time the two-point conversion was good and just like Clemson was up by six.
Kentucky took less than a minute to answer on the aforementioned 60-yard pass from Leary to Brown and led 28-27. A 52-yard field goal by Weitz put the Tigers back in front. Once again the Cats answered but left too much time on the clock. This time it took less than two minutes as Davis gave Kentucky a 35-30 lead with 2:39 to play.
All year Kentucky’s been one of the worst in college football at stopping their opponents on third down. On a day when they sacked Klubnik eight times Brad White chose to play prevent defense in the fourth quarter and got burned. With :50 seconds left facing a third and eighteen Klubnik hit Antonio Williams for 16 yards. Mufah got four on fourth down keeping the drive alive. Three plays later the game MVP scored touchdown number four and after another two-point conversion the lead was three. On Kentucky’s last chance, Leary was intercepted again as Kentucky falls 38-35 in TaxSlayer thriller.
More Of The Same
If you read our Gator Bowl preview we said Kentucky had to limit turnovers, keep Clemson off the field, and do a good job on third down. They did none of those committing four turnovers and letting the Tigers control the ball for nearly 35 minutes. While Clemson was only 5-16 on third down they were 2-2 on fourth. In addition, many of the times they did convert it was long yardage with a third and 23 to go along with the third and 16.
Stoops on the final defensive drive: "We will always second guess ourselves."
The play on 3rd and 18 "will haunt us for a while." Kentucky was down their top two corners and they tried to protect them, but it didn't work.
— Nick Roush (@RoushKSR) December 29, 2023
The Cats gave up 28 points in the fourth quarter after playing strong for the first three. This one’s going to sting for a while.
Final Thoughts
Kentucky finishes 2023 with a 7-6 record and a second straight bowl loss after winning the previous four. In addition, it snaps a seven-game winning streak against the ACC. Mark Stoops’ squad had a great chance to change the narrative that this season was a disappointment. Instead, it’s another tough loss in a game they should have won. Finally getting to play in a bowl Leary threw for 306 yards and two touchdowns. Unfortunately, he was picked off twice and had a fumble. In his final game for Kentucky Davis ran for 63 yards and a touchdown.
On the other side of the ball, Clemson wraps up the year at 9-4 and on a five-game winning streak. Maybe the win will make Tyler From Spartanburg happy with Dabo Swinney. The Tigers move to 3-1 all-time against Kentucky in bowl winning the 1993 Peach Bowl and 2009 Music City Bowl. The Wildcats’ lone win came in the 2006 Music City Bowl.
Thanks for checking out our recap as Kentucky falls in a TaxSlayer thriller 38-35 to Clemson in a game they should have won.
