Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers won the Gator Bowl 38-35 over the Kentucky Wildcats in a wild game where the Tigers needed to come from behind.
Trailing 14-10 heading into the half, Clemson needed to come out strong in the second half, and they didn’t do that. On the first play of the second half, Kentucky wide receiver Barion Brown took a kick return 100 yards for a touchdown, extending Kentucky’s lead to 21-10.
When asked about his message for the team after that play, Swinney was clearly not happy with what had happened.
“I’m not sure I can repeat that right here,” Swinney said in response to the aforementioned question.
“I was pissed. It was bad. We thought there was a hold, but it doesn’t matter. You’ve got 11 guys on the field, and I was really disappointed. We knew going in – I think they were third in the country in kick return – and ironically, we ended up having a big one ourselves that set up a difference in the game. But that was very disappointing.”
Regardless, Clemson rallied and figured things out. It’s not every game a team can overcome something such as that, but Swinney’s squad did. It was an excellent win for the Tigers, who proved when they’re down, they aren’t out.
“It’s amazing to win the game,” Swinney said. “You give up a kick return, you usually get beat, and just a tough way to start the third quarter. Really disappointed in that, but we overcame it.”
A Gator Bowl win to end Clemson’s season is something no one will complain about.