Historically atrocious at stopping any third and longs.

Imagine that

What a complete joke. Let’s keep running the same defense that has killed us all game.

….. this game would be fun to watch

BY THE NUMBERS: Previewing The Gator Bowl

Some of the intriguing numbers behind the Kentucky-Clemson matchup.

kentucky.rivals.com

BY THE NUMBERS: Previewing The Gator Bowl​

Kentucky's Micah Johnson dove into the end zone for a touchdown in the Wildcats' 28-20 win over Clemson in the 2006 Music City Bowl. (Jeff Drummond/Cats Illustrated)

Jeff Drummond • CatsIllustrated
Managing Editor Edit
@JDrumUK

In our weekly pregame feature, Cats Illustrated takes a look at some of the intriguing numbers going into Friday's matchup between Kentucky and Clemson in the Gator Bowl...​

1 - Player on the Clemson roster from the Bluegrass State, former Lexington Frederick Douglass offensive lineman Walker Parks. He played and started in two games for Clemson in 2023 (limited to injury), while he has played in 39 career games with 28 career starts.

2 - Of the seven longest-tenured head coaches in the FBS, Dabo Swinney (16th) and Mark Stoops (11th), will be squaring off for the first time in the Gator Bowl.

3rd - Gator Bowl appearance for Kentucky, who defeated NC State 23-21 in the 2021 game and lost to Georgia Tech 33-18 in the 2016 edition.

4th - Time that Kentucky and Clemson have played in a bowl game. The Tigers defeated the Wildcats in the 1993 Peach Bowl, while the teams split decisions in the 2006 and 2009 Music City Bowls.

5 - Non-offensive touchdowns scored by Clemson this season. Four of those have come via interception returns. The Tigers are 5-0 in games in which the defense or special teams score.

8 - Straight bowl games for Kentucky, a program record. The Cats are 4-3 in bowl games under Mark Stoops.

8-5 - The Wildcats lead the all-time series with Clemson.

11 - Tackles for loss by Clemson defensive end TJ Parker are the most by any freshman in the nation.

13-6 - Clemson record against SEC opponents since 2015.

20 - Touchdowns scored by UK running back Ray Davis leads the SEC and ranks third nationally this season. He set a new single-season record for the Cats this year.

23 - Touchdown passes by UK quarterback Devin Leary ranked second in the SEC and 23rd nationally this season.

24 of 25 - Kentucky wins in recent non-conference games, the only loss coming to Iowa in last year's Music City Bowl.

31.7 - Yards per kickoff return by UK specialist Barion Brown, who led the SEC and ranked second nationally in that category. He returned two kickoffs for scores this season, giving him four during his two seasons in Lexington.

50th - Appearance in a bowl game for Clemson, which has a 26-23 record in those games. Ten of those have come in the Gator Bowl, giving the Tigers the most appearances in the Jacksonville event.

60th - Game pending for Clemson center Will Putnam, a grad senior who will also be making his 49th career start. It's the most by any O-Lineman in school history.

113.9 - Rushing yards per game allowed by the UK defense, which ranked third in the SEC and 23rd nationally this season. Eight of the Cats' last 13 opponents have been held under 100 yards.

750+ - Clemson running backs Phil Mafah (894) and Will Shipley (798) enter the game as the only P5 duo with 750 or more rushing yards this season.

Former big time UK target

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Does anybody know if hes been coaching ? I hadn't heard when he was going to start coaching?

Barrett Carter, Coached him in H.S. Great player, better person. Thought he was going pro this year, got a 3rd round grade on draft status and was told he could upgrade to 1st round with another solid year. Keep an eye on him in the 2nd half, he is making an impact on this game.
Before BBN starts to jump me for being a Clemson fan, I'm not, I'm a Cat fan, pulling for the Cats today as always. Been a lifelong fan. I have two former players playing for the Cats also.

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Little blast from the past. Glad we didn't land him now

Thought I heard something on the pregame show that Ray Davis was at less than full strength and might not be able to play today. Did anyone else hear that?

247 is reporting that Jacksonville St OT Xavier Bausley is taking a visit to UK the first week of January. He’s also visiting WVU and Pitt. He’s 6”5 315lb. He’s got other offers from A&M, South Carolina, Miss St, UCF, ASU and Cal along with UK, Pitt & WVU. He’s originally from Charleston WV so WVU could be tough to beat. He clearly a wanted portal transfer.

Sitting in a parking lot listening to it and feeling so many things.

I think they all handled it well and probably reflect how we all feel.

God bless Freddie.

Before you post lets take a look see:

1-Dillingham
2-Sheppard
3-Wagner
4-Edwards
5-Bradshaw
6-Reeves
7-Mitchell
8-Thiero
9-Big Z
10-Ugo

Would Cal be forced to platoon again?
Would 6-10 be a top 15 team?

All Time Wins: 2405 (NCAA rank #1)
All Time Winning Percentage: .760 (NCAA rank #1)
NCAA Championships: 8 (NCAA rank #2)
NCAA Championship Game Appearances: 12 (NCAA rank #1)
NCAA Final Four Appearances: 17 (NCAA rank #2)
NCAA Final Four Games Played: 29 (NCAA rank #3)
NCAA Final Four Wins: 20 (NCAA rank #2)
NCAA Final Four Winning Percentage: .715 (NCAA rank #8)
NCAA Elite-8 Appearances: 38 (NCAA rank #1)
NCAA Sweet-16 Appearances: 45 (NCAA rank #1)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 60 (NCAA rank #1)
NCAA Tournament Games Played: 186 (NCAA rank #1)
NCAA Tournament Wins: 133 (NCAA rank #1)
NCAA Tournament Winning Percentage: .715 (NCAA rank #4)
Total Postseason Tournament Appearances (NCAA and NIT): 67 (NCAA rank #1)
NBA Draft Picks: 134 (NCAA rank #1)
All-Americans: 64 (NCAA rank #1)
All-American Total Selections: 91 (NCAA rank #1)
First Team Consensus All-Americans: 25 (NCAA rank #2)
First Team Consensus All-American Total Selections: 30 (NCAA rank #2)
AP Poll Top-20/25 Weeks Ranked All Time: 975
(NCAA rank #1)
AP Poll Top-10 Weeks Ranked All Time: 737 (NCAA rank #1)
AP Poll Top-5 Weeks Ranked All Time: 470 (NCAA rank #1)
AP Poll #1 Weeks Ranked All Time: 125 (NCAA rank #3)
Final AP Poll Top-25 Finishes: 54 (NCAA rank #1)
Final AP Poll Top-20 Finishes: 51 (NCAA rank #1)
Final AP Poll Top-15 Finishes: 46 (NCAA rank #1)
Final AP Poll Top-10 Finishes: 46 (NCAA rank #1)
Final AP Poll Top-5 Finishes: 30 (NCAA rank #1)
Final AP Poll #1 Finishes: 10 (NCAA rank #1)
All Time Winning Percentage Against AP-Ranked Opponents: .620 (NCAA Rank #1)
Final UPI/Coaches' Poll Top-25 Finishes: 47 (NCAA rank #1)
Final UPI/Coaches' Poll Top-20 Finishes: 46 (NCAA rank #1)
Final UPI/Coaches' Poll Top-15 Finishes: 43 (NCAA rank #1)
Final UPI/Coaches' Poll Top-10 Finishes: 45 (NCAA rank #1)
Final UPI/Coaches' Poll Top-5 Finishes: 30 (NCAA rank #1)
Final UPI/Coaches' Poll #1 Finishes: 8 (NCAA rank #1)
Total 20-Win Seasons: 64 (NCAA rank #1)
Total 25-Win Seasons: 36 (NCAA rank #2)
Total 30-Win Seasons: 16 (NCAA rank #1)
Total 35-Win Seasons: 6 (NCAA rank #1)
Average Victories Per Season Played:19.4464285714 (NCAA rank #3)
Average Losses Per Season Played: 6.0 (NCAA rank #1)
Total Winning Seasons: 102 (NCAA rank #2)
Total Non-Losing Seasons (.500 or better): 104 (NCAA rank #2)
Total Undefeated Seasons: 2 (NCAA rank #2)
Total Head Coaches With a NCAA Championship: 5 (NCAA rank #1)
Total Head Coaches With Multiple NCAA Championships: 1 (NCAA rank #2)
Total Head Coaches With Multiple NCAA Championships in the Same Decade: 1 (NCAA rank #1)
Total Head Coaches With a NCAA Championship Game Appearance: 5 (NCAA rank #1)
Total Head Coaches With Multiple NCAA Championship Game Appearances: 4 (NCAA rank #1)
Total Head Coaches With Multiple NCAA Championship Game Appearances in the Same Decade: 4 (NCAA rank #1)
Total Head Coaches With a NCAA Final Four Appearance: 5 (NCAA rank #2)
Total Head Coaches With Multiple NCAA Final Four Appearances: 4 (NCAA rank #2)
Total Head Coaches With Multiple NCAA Final Four Appearances in the Same Decade: 4 (NCAA rank #1)
Total Head Coaches With Both NCAA and NIT Championships: 2 (NCAA rank #1)
Total Decades With a NCAA Championship: 5 (NCAA rank #1)
Total Decades With Multiple NCAA Championships: 3 (NCAA rank #1)
Total Decades With a NCAA Championship Game Appearance: 6 (NCAA rank #2)
Total Decades With Multiple NCAA Championship Game Appearances: 5 (NCAA rank #1)
Total Decades With a NCAA Final Four Appearance: 7 (NCAA rank #1)
Total Decades With Multiple NCAA Final Four Appearances: 5 (NCAA rank #1)
Total Decades #1 in Total Wins (since 1930): 1 (NCAA rank #2)
Total Decades Top-5 in Total Wins (since 1930): 4 (NCAA rank #1)
Total Decades Top-10 in Total Wins (since 1930): 7 (NCAA rank #1)
Total Decades #1 in Winning Percentage (since 1930): 2 (NCAA rank #1)
Total Decades Top-5 in Winning Percentage (since 1930): 6 (NCAA rank #1)
Total Decades Top-10 in Winning Percentage (since 1930): 7 (NCAA rank #1)
Conference Regular Season Championships: 48 (NCAA rank #2)
Conference Tournament Championships: 31 (NCAA rank #1)
National Attendance Titles: 28 (NCAA rank #1)

(Of the 71 major categories listed above, Kentucky is #1 in 50 of them, #2 in 16 of them, #3 in 3 of them, #4 in 1 of them, and #8 in 1 of them.)

Kentucky can also lay claim to several individual achievements for both players and coaches:

13 players winning NBA Championships a total of 20 times
12 players named NBA All-Star a total of 23 times
12 Olympic Gold Medal winners
10 Naismith Hall-of-Fame members
5 players named National Player-of-the-Year
2 players named National Freshman-of-the-Year
6 head coaches named National Coach-of-the Year a total of 14 times
7 head coaches named SEC Coach-of-the-Year a total of 22 times
139 players named All-Conference a total of 230 times
83 players named All-Conference Tournament a total of 120 times
12 players named Conference Player-of-the-Year a total of 14 times
7 players named Conference Freshman-of-the-Year
32 players named to the All-Conference Freshman Team
17 players named Conference Tournament MVP a total of 18 times
18 players named All-NCAA Final Four a total of 21 times
51 players named All-NCAA Regional a total of 65 times
5 players named NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player a total of 6 times
12 players named NCAA Regional Most Outstanding Player a total of 13 times
74 players who played in the NBA at least one season
60 1000-point scorers
57 players named McDonald's All-American
6 times being ranked #1 in the season opening AP Poll
6 times being ranked #1 in the season opening UPI/Coaches' Poll
12 times a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament
4 times being the NCAA official #1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament

Kentucky also holds several other NCAA records and various additional accomplishments:


Kentucky has 2 NIT Championships (1946, 1976), 7 Helms Titles (1933, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1954, 1958, 1978), 2 undefeated seasons (1912, 1954), 5 Sugar Bowl Tournament Championships (1937, 1939, 1949, 1956, 1963), a league best all time SEC regular season record of 1006-281 (.782), a league best 49 SEC Regular Season Championships, a league best all time SEC Tournament record of 134-26 (.838), and a league best 31 SEC Tournament Championships. Kentucky also holds the SEC's all time consecutive win streak among all past or present SEC schools at 38 straight victories, and is one of only 2 SEC schools to ever finish at 21-0 for the entire SEC season (18-0 record in the SEC Regular Season, plus a 3-0 record in the SEC Tournament).

Kentucky holds the NCAA records for Consecutive Non-Losing Seasons (60), Consecutive Home Court Victories (129), and for Total Victories in a Season (38), and for the best start for any season in NCAA Men's Basketball history at 38-0.

Kentucky plays in the nation's largest basketball arena (Rupp Arena, capacity: 23,500), and has both the nation's largest radio and television affiliate networks.

Kentucky has made a 3-point basket in 1013 consecutive games (1st-most all time), and has won 17 of the last 20 National Attendance Titles, including 8 of the last 10 and 25 overall.

Kentucky is the only school to have multiple NCAA (8) and NIT (2) Championships, the only school to have 5 different NCAA Championship head coaches, the only school to have 4 coaches with multiple NCAA Championship Game appearances, the only school to have 4 coaches with multiple NCAA Championship Game appearances in the same decade, the only school to have 4 coaches with 3 NCAA Final Four appearances, the only school to win NCAA Championships in 5 different decades, the only school to win multiple NCAA Championships in 3 different decades, the only school to have NCAA Championship Game appearances in 5 different decades, the only school to have multiple NCAA Championship Game appearances in 5 different decades, the only school to have multiple NCAA Final Four appearances in 5 different decades, the only school to have 2 different head coaches win both NCAA and NIT Championships, and the one of only 2 schools to have 2 different head coaches win a NCAA Championship in the same decade.

Kentucky has played before the largest regulation basketball game crowd in history (79,444), the largest Final Four game crowd in history (79,444), the largest NCAA Championship Game crowd in history (79,238), and the largest total Final Four game crowd (both games) in history (158,682).

Kentucky is the only school to have 5 players selected in the 1st-Round of the NBA Draft in the same year (2010), the only school to have both the #1 and #2 picks of the NBA Draft in the same year (2012), the only school to have 6 players drafted in the first 2 rounds of the NBA draft in the same year (2012, 2015), and the only school to sign 6 McDonald's All-Americans in the same year (2013).

Kentucky was the first college program to reach both the 1000-win and 2000-win victory plateaus.

Kentucky is the first team to be live-broadcast on the SEC Network.

Kentucky is one of only three schools to have 9 McDonald's All-Americans on a single roster.

Kentucky is the first school to hold an on-campus NBA Combine.

I thought I just came in on a comment on pregame show saying that Ray Davis is not 100% and his playing time could be limited. Did anyone else hear this comment? Sure hope I was hearing things.

This doesn’t sound good.

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To me, it’s all about Leary and the receivers. Would be a big win and help in the transfer race for players that can play next year.

Go Cats

Have corresponded with Paul Strelow, who covers Clemson, for a long time. Couple of notes on the Tigers from this week.

Biggest issue for the Clemson offense this year: "Penchant for catastrophic mistakes plagued them first half of the year. Klubnik is good for 1-2 WTH decisions each game. But then it became that the passing game just still didn't have much punch, and the OL not physical enough to generate much in run game. Latter improved the last month. Passing game has gotten worse."

On opt outs: "Not a ton. But CB Nate Wiggins going pro and injuries have Clemson down to two scholarship corners, both freshmen in Avieon Terrell and Shelton Lewis. They were Cb5 and CB6 to begin year, but Terrell started last few games. So competent, but thin. Have to go to safety Khalil Barnes as next corner if necessary. They don't have a ton at WR either, so Beaux Collins transferring to ND leaves them with one less option this game. Though no one would characterize him as a main difference maker."

Let’s get it!

Cheers!
KB

Sure, we have a 5 Star QB who will start.

And a collegiate AA at LB from UGA.

But with NIL and transfer portal rules, how many teams sport a second team QB who is old enough to shave, and has thrown for several thousand yards?

The last game I saw BA play in was at Louisville in 2021, and he looked very competent. He moved down a notch or two and was very successful in Texas.

Should our starter go down for a few plays or a game or two, Beau Allen can come into the game, without looking like a deer blinded by the headlights.

And I think our coaches will trust him to run the whole playbook.

The 4* CB from Cincinnati, think it was down to UK/Mich before he signed with them. Might be one to keep an eye on.

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Another huge QB contract that backfired on the team. At best, Broncos will have to eat $85M of dead cap room over 2 years. While RW's stats are decent this year, many of their games look like the Tebow years: flounder for 2-3 quarters, put together just enough offense in 2 drives to win a close game. Much of the passing game has been throws w/in 5 yards of the LOS. To be fair, Wilson doesn't have a ton of playmakers around him (of course, one could point to his contract as a leading cause of that, too) but their offense is horrific to watch most series.

Anybody know or heard about the status of this player? As a reminder, Hall, an OT, sustained a back injury that caused him to miss last Spring then apparently had back surgery that caused him to miss all of '23. One would think he's well into recovery by now so what's the likelihood of his return to the field? Back injuries, of course, are iffy and problematic but if Hall, the son of ex-UK OT AA Antonio Hall, can somehow recover it would be a huge plus moving forward. Appreciate any info anyone may have.

Living in San Antonio, it's hard for me to attend live games. But here we have Big Blue rolling in to College Station on Jan 13!!! Me and my 4 boys will be rolling in hot and wondering who else might be attending? We will be staying the night at Wyndham Garden Suites after the game. Probably head to a good watering hole after a good dinner for Sat night live action in College Station. I'm also planning on bringing my firestick for live sports and UFC action that evening (Just in Case). Any other locals planning on attending?

Still cant believe we only have a 28% chance of winning that game. Side note: That arena is loud...very loud!!!

It’s been discussed on here but a reminder that 3 of Clemson’s best defensive players will not play in Gator Bowl tommorrow

LB Trotter - leads in tackles & sacks
DL Orhorhoro - tied for #2 sacks
CB Wiggins - 2 ints., 2 forced fumbles


All 3 are going to NFL draft. Wiggins projected 1st round pick and Trotter & Orhorhoro are projected 2nd round picks!!

Also their #2 WR Collins out to transfer - 38 catches, 510 yards, 3 TD

Should help us especially against their defense!!