Mark Stoops describes what it would mean for Kentucky to win Gator Bowl

The ACC championship result threw a wrench into the bowl picture for many mid-tier power conference teams, and when all the dust settled on Sunday, a 7-5 Kentucky team ended up in the Gator Bowl playing 8-4 Clemson.

The Tigers are a bit down this season and there has been turmoil off the field, especially involving fans named Tyler, but Dabo Swinney’s program is still a recent two-time national title winner and a victory over such a powerhouse would be a nice feather in the cap for what’s also been an up and down year for Kentucky.

Following the announcement of the Wildcats heading to the Gator Bowl, head coach Mark Stoops explained what a terrific opportunity the program has in front of them.

“It would be very important,” Stoops answered when asked what a win would mean. “Getting the invite to this bowl game and to play Clemson, means a lot, it certainly does. To play a team of the caliber of Clemson, and to try to go get a victory, we will invest a lot into it.”

Kentucky really has a chance to flip the tone of their season with the final two games if they are able to topple the Tigers. The ‘Cats began the year well, taking care of business against three lower-league foes and then Vanderbilt to kick-off conference play. Then, a blowout win over Florida had UK fans over the moon — but losses in five of the next six games spelled a very disappointing back half of the year before a win at Louisville really ended the regular season on an upswing.

“Proud of our team and the way that they finished. We needed that game. We needed to go play well against Louisville, a top-10 team,” Mark Stoops said of that performance as the team now prepares for a bowl.

“There’s been some ups and downs through this season. I’ve mentioned to you and I mentioned it postgame after the Louisville game that I like this football team. I like the way they finish. They’ve stayed with it all year. Things haven’t always been pretty, like most teams there’s some ups and some downs. But, I really love the way they fought and hung tough and found a way to win a big game at the end and bring the Governor’s Cup back to Lexington.”

That win helped set Kentucky up for a better bowl in more ways than one. Obviously, the win kept the ‘Cats to dropping to a lower bowl, while their win over Louisville knocked the Cards out of the Orange Bowl and Gator Bowl slots, since Florida State took that spot and Clemson was then selected to face Kentucky, who wouldn’t have even been able to play UL in a bowl anyway since they had just squared off.