Gator Bowl Odds: Clemson vs Kentucky Betting Pick

Clemson didn’t start the season playing well but towards end of the regular season, the Tigers stepped it up big time. On Friday, Clemson takes on one of the better teams from the vaunted SEC, the Kentucky Wildcats.

Can the Tigers end their season with a win and cover? Or will Kentucky show why college football fans consider the SEC the best conference in the nation?

The Clemson Tigers are the favorites in the college football lines in this game. The Bobcats are listed at -5. The total for this affair is set at 46 points.

2023 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl Odds: Clemson vs Kentucky | MyBookie Bowl Game Preview

Clemson Tigers vs Kentucky Wildcats
ATS Odds: Clemson -5
Money line Odds: Clemson Line -190 / Kentucky Line +160
Over/Under Odds: 46

Friday, December 29th, 2023 at 12:00 pm ET | ESPN / ESPN+
EverBank Stadium, Jacksonville, FL

Clemson Tigers Analysis

It was a tale of two seasons for the Clemson Tigers. Clemson started their season losing 2-of-4, 28-7 against Duke, and 31-24 to Florida State.

But although Clemson was 2-2 after four games, the lose to the Seminoles proved that Dabo Swinney’s squad had talent. The loss to Florida State came in overtime after Florida State rallied.

It wasn’t smoothing sailing after losing to Florida State. The Tigers dropped back-to-back games to Miami and NC State. Swinney, though, rallied his players and Clemson won their final 4 games against then 15 Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, then 20 North Carolina, and South Carolina.

Clemson Offensive Averages

Total Yards: 405.7
Passing Yards: 225.4
Rushing Yards: 180.3
Points Scored: 29.2
Turnovers: 13

Clemson Defensive Averages

Total Yards: 278.7
Passing Yards: 162.2
Rushing Yards: 116.5
Points Scored: 19.9
Takeaways: 14

Kentucky Wildcats Analysis

Kentucky started the season going 5-0. However, in their sixth game, the Wildcats battled 1 Georgia and from then on it got ugly.

The Wildcats dropped 3 straight to Georgia, Missouri, and Tennessee before beating Mississippi State. A couple of losses followed, 49-21 versus College Football Playoff semifinalist Alabama, and 17-14 to South Carolina.

Kentucky turned it around in their final game. Facing 10 Louisville, the Wildcats played great, beating the Cardinals 38-31 and knocking Louisville out of CFP contention. Kentucky heads to this game with momentum.

Kentucky Offensive Averages

Total Yards: 334.7
Passing Yards: 203.8
Rushing Yards: 130.9
Points Scored: 28.6
Turnovers: 6

Kentucky Defensive Averages

Total Yards: 351.8
Passing Yards: 237.9
Rushing Yards: 13.8
Points Scored: 24.8
Takeaways: 10

22 Clemson Tigers vs Kentucky Wildcats Final Betting Prediction

The Wildcats are a solid team and can play well in this, but Clemson has a couple of massive advantages. First, the Tigers front seven should handle Ray Davis, Kentucky’s brilliant running back.

Even if the line doesn’t handle Davis, Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik has a big edge over Kentucky starter Devin Leary. Leary, the former NC State quarterback, completed just 56.3% of his passes. Leary completed 55.9% of his passes against Top 25 ranked teams.

Finally, Dabo Swinney wants to win this game. Swinney doesn’t believe in using the transfer portal the way so many teams are using it. Dabo will only use the transfer portal if he requires a player to fill a position.

Swinney and his team are motivated to prove that the traditional way of building a college football power is to recruit and keep the players you recruit. The Clemson Tigers win and cover.

NCAAF TaxSlayer Gator Bowl: ATS Clemson Tigers -5 | Bet Clemson vs Kentucky Today
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Clemson Tigers Last 5

Date	OPP	Result
11/25/23	@ SC	W167
11/18/23	vs UNC	W31-20
11/11/23	vs GT	W42-21
11/4/23	vs ND	W31-23
10/28/23	@ NCSU	L24-17

Kentucky WildcatsLast 5

Date	OPP	Result
11/25/23	@ LOU	W38-31
11/18/23	@ SC	L17-14
11/11/23	vs ALA	L49-21
11/4/23	@ MSST	W24-3
10/28/23	vs TENN	L33-27

Kentucky Wildcats vs 22 Clemson Tigers Trends

Tigers are 4-0 ATS in their last 4
Clemson is 6-6 ATS this season
Under is 6-3 in Clemson’s last 9
Under is 7-5 in Clemson games this season
Wildcats are 2-5 ATS in their last 7
Kentucky is 6-6 ATS in their last 12
Over is 7-2 in Kentucky’s last 9
Over is 8-4 in Wildcats games this season

MyBookie offers College Football futures to win the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season.

Who Will Reign Supreme? 2024 College Football National Championship Odds Revealed!

Team	Odds
Georgia Bulldogs	+265
Ohio State Buckeyes	+390
Ohio State Buckeyes	+390
Texas Longhorns	+500
Oregon Ducks	+1100
Alabama Crimson Tide	+1175
Ole Miss Rebels	+1425
Penn State Nittany Lions	+1900
Miami (FL) Hurricanes	+2100
Tennessee Volunteers	+2300
LSU Tigers	+3900
Missouri Tigers	+4000
USC Trojans	+4400
Utah Utes	+4900
Clemson Tigers	+6000
Oklahoma Sooners	+6800
Kansas State Wildcats	+8000
Notre Dame Fighting Irish	+8500
Texas A&M Aggies	+9000

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Notre Dame Comes In as the Betting Favorite, Can They Win the Gator Bowl?

Wagering on college football is tough enough at the best of times, but it becomes even more challenging once we roll into bowl season. There are so many factors that come into play that make winning regularly on bowl games a definite challenge. Who will play and who will sit out? Which teams will come in looking for the win, and which will show up not ready to play at all? These are just a couple of things that can create a challenge, but we feel that it’s one worth taking, especially when you get to the tail end of bowl season and the bigger teams come out to play. For this piece, we are taking a look at the Gator Bowl, which pits the Notre Dame Fighting Irish against the South Carolina Gamecocks. The Irish are in as a 2 ½ point favorite for this one, but can they come away with the win? Let’s take a look at the Pros and Cons for Notre Dame so you can bet on their NCAA Football Bowl Odds.

The Pros for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Anyone who suggests that the Notre Dame Fighting Irish don’t have much fight in them needs to go all the way back to the start of the season. An opening week loss to Ohio State was not unexpected, but a loss to Marshall in Week 2 definitely was. That they were able to bounce back from that and manage 8 wins on the season should prove that this team has some backbone. The Irish finished the season strong, winning 5 in a row, including a win over Clemson, who were ranked #4 at the time, before losing to USC in the final game of the year. That was another loss that was not totally unexpected.

The Irish were pretty solid on both sides of the football this season, averaging over 30 PPG on offense, while surrendering a touch over 21 PPG on the defensive side. They are also 18-2 SU in their last 20 games as a favorite.

The Cons for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish

One of the major concerns with the Irish heading into this game is that their starting QB for the season, Drew Pyne, is in the transfer portal and will not play. You have to wonder what sort of impact that is going to have on their offensive output. There is also some concern about going against a team that is expected to be at full strength and who ended the season playing some really fantastic football. The Gamecocks are going to come out on fire, looking to put an exclamation point on what has been a very solid season. Will the Irish offense be able to keep pace with Rattler and company on Friday afternoon.

Will the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Win?

I think that losing Pyne as the starter for this one is going to prove to be problematic for Notre Dame here. You also have to consider that South Carolina ended the season with wins over Clemson and Tennessee, so they are sure to still be on a bit of a high heading into this one. I don’t think the Irish will be able to keep pace with the Gamecocks offense and will lose this game in the latter stages.

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