The plays that flipped the Gator Bowl

Kentucky had No. 22 Clemson on the ropes in the Gator Bowl. After a Barion Brown kickoff return touchdown gave Kentucky a 21-10 lead to begin the third quarter, the Wildcats had a chance to land a knockout blow. Unfortunately, there was a swing at miss.

Next thing you know there were the Tigers and Wildcats trading haymakers in the fourth quarter. This is how the game transformed from a Kentucky win into a Kentucky loss in Jacksonville on Friday afternoon.

Unfortunate facemask

On a third-and-long on their first possession of the third quarter, Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik was sacked by Kentucky defensive tackle Deone Walker. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney was begging for a facemask call on the sidelines. The two-time national champion would get that call a few plays later.

On first-and-10 from their own 44, Kentucky offensive coordinator Liam Coen calls for a reverse. Barion Brown gets loose down the right sideline for a 32-yard gain to the Clemson 24 with just over eight minutes remaining in the second quarter. Kentucky was four yards away from a red zone possession and ready to deliver a knockout blow but the play was negated by an offensive facemask penalty.

Off the stretch zone action, tight end Jordan Dingle comes back the other way and serves as the lead blocker for Brown. The redshirt sophomore tight end gets locked on off-ball linebacker Wade Woodaz but grabs the facemask as the defender tries to disengage from the block. The flag comes out, and a 15-yard penalty negates the huge gain.

Kentucky punts the ball shortly after. The Wildcats blew a chance to knockout Clemson in the third quarter.

Kentucky gives up too many on third and a mile

The third-and-forever eventually turning into a first down on Clemson’s game-winning touchdown drive is taking up most of the oxygen. We all know why, but a longer third down in the third quarter turning into a first down was just as big.

After a first down sack knocked Clemson out of field goal range, a third down false start created a third-and-23 for the Tigers at midfield with just over three minutes remaining in the third quarter. After the unfortunate facemask penalty on Jordan Dingle, Kentucky had a chance to give the offense the ball back with an 11-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.

That changed when Clemson created an explosive play on third down with a Cade Klubnik completion to Troy Stellato.

Kentucky goes to a drop eight look, and Stellato finds a soft spot in the zone. Klubnik delivers what might have been his best throw of the day to the outside away from safety Jordan Lovett. The chunk gain creates a fourth-and-five and obvious go-for-it situation for Dabo Swinney. Clemson moves the chains and eventually cuts the Kentucky lead to 21-16 early in the fourth quarter.

The outcome of the Gator Bowl likely looks much different if Kentucky doesn’t give up this big gain on third down.

A bad fumble

Kentucky’s offense could not get out of its way to begin the fourth quarter. After consecutive Devin Leary turnovers gave Clemson two golden scoring opportunities inside the Kentucky 40, the Tigers could only put three points on the scoreboard. The Wildcats got the ball back holding onto a 21-19 lead with seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Liam Coen‘s unit needed to get some first downs and give the defense some time to reset.

The opposite happened. Barion Brown put the ball on the turn on the first play of the series.

The sophomore wide receiver played likely the best game of his career in the Gator Bowl but made a costly mistake at an unfortunate time. Clemson would take a 27-21 lead one play later. Kentucky’s offense would respond, but that turnover is officially what broke the dam for a Kentucky defense that had been holding strong for 53 minutes.

From that point forward, the Wildcats gave up 19 points over the last three possessions and 6.2 yards per play. Kentucky’s offense would add two more touchdowns in quick strike fashion, but the defense was totally out of gas.

Kentucky needed some complementary football to stop Clemson’s momentum and did not get it.