JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The very first bowl game for Dabo Swinney as Clemson's head coach was on New Year's Day of 2009 and it was in Jacksonville as the Tigers lost a hard-fought contest to Nebraska. His first trip to this game was in 1993 when he was a graduate assistant at Alabama.
But Clemson's history in Jacksonville started in the 1949 Gator Bowl and since then, the Tigers have made eight appearances in that bowl game. When Clemson and Kentucky face on at EverBank Stadium on Friday, that will mark the Tigers' 10th appearance in the Gator Bowl, the most by any school in this contest. The Tigers are 4-5 in Jacksonville and Friday's game will be the 50th bowl game for the program.
Swinney says this will be his 29th bowl game and a win would give the Tigers a five-game winning streak to close out the 2023 campaign. It would also mark Clemson's first win in the Gator Bowl since 1989.
"It's a great opportunity, that hasn't changed, regardless of who is playing, not playing," Swinney said Thursday at the pre-game news conference at EverBank Stadium.
"To me, the story's about who's playing. And it's an opportunity to finish your season," he said. "One of our goals is to win the closer, and this is the closer for us. It's a huge goal."