For Clemson football and Dabo Swinney, Gator Bowl is like reuniting with an old friend
Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney says going to the Gator Bowl is like coming full circle, and he’s right.
He has a history in Jacksonville, as does the Clemson football program, so the Tigers’ date with Kentucky at EverBank Stadium on Dec. 29 will be like renewing acquaintances with an old friend.
Swinney’s first bowl game as a coach was the 1993 Gator Bowl; he was a graduate assistant at Alabama at the time.
His first bowl game as the Tigers head coach came in the Gator Bowl at the end of the 2008 season.
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Clemson has played in nine Gator Bowls – the most of any bowl in school history.
Truth be told, the Gator Bowl wasn’t exactly what most folks in the Clemson camp envisioned when they kicked off the season at Duke on Labor Day, but given what unfolded over the course of this eight-win season, the Gator Bowl is probably the best they could’ve hoped for.
Actually, the Gator Bowl is a fine place to be, because when the team woke up on Oct. 29 to the stark realization that it was 4-4 overall and looking up at nine teams above them in the ACC standings, optimism was in short supply.
Many even wondered if the program’s 24-year streak of bowl eligibility might be about to come to an unceremonious end.
But the Tigers rebounded to win four consecutive games to close the regular season, including victories against three bowl teams in Notre Dame, North Carolina and Georgia Tech.
Still, that doesn’t change the fact that the Gator Bowl had become unfamiliar territory for a program and fan base accustomed to Sugar Bowls and Orange Bowls and Fiesta Bowls and the College Football Playoff.
A trip to Jacksonville certainly beats a cross-country trek to the Holiday Bowl, a San Diego-based game that had been widely reported to be the Tigers’ landing spot. The sexy early prediction was that Clemson would face off against Oregon State and former quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, adding an attractive layer of intrigue to the matchup.
But Uiagalelei’s entry into the transfer portal for the second time in a year made that potential confrontation moot. Then the rejection of Florida State by the College Football Playoff Selection Committee essentially blew up the ACC’s postseason projections, sending Louisville out west and Clemson considerably closer to home.
Given the options, Jacksonville is a favored destination in the eyes of the vast majority of Clemson fans, with ease of travel being first and foremost among the positives.
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Another attraction? Three former Tigers are on the roster of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars – quarterback Trevor Lawrence, running back Travis Etienne and offensive lineman Tyler Shatley.
On Sunday, two days after the Gator Bowl, the Jaguars play host to the Carolina Panthers at EverBank Stadium.
One might run into a few Clemson fans there as well.
Scott Keepfer covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at skeepfer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @ScottKeepfer
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson football, Dabo Swinney know all about playing in Gator Bowl
