#Clemson and Kentucky express mutual respect for one another on eve of Gator Bowl (AUDIO)

Jacksonville, FL: Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney and three of his players and Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops and a trio of Wildcats met with the media for a final time Thursday morning at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville prior to their showdown in the Gator Bowl Friday. There will be plenty of hostilities on the field, but Thursday in the Gallagher Club inside the stadium, plaudits were tossed from one side to the other.

Clemson is now a four-point favorite in what will be the fourth meeting between the teams in bowl games. Clemson has won two of the first three including the 2009 Music City Bowl to cap Dabo Swinney’s first full season as the Tigers’ head coach.

This will be the first time Kentucky coach Mark Stoops has faced Clemson, but he’s played against a lot of teams like them in the SEC. Stoops said the Tigers, especially on defense, look like an SEC program. Asked if he could envision the Tigers in the SEC one day, he offered a no comment.

Swinney sees a tough, physical Kentucky team waiting for his team Friday. He said the Wildcats are built to run the ball with Ray Davis, the SEC touchdown leader, and they are built to stop the run. The Wildcats are 25th nationally and 3rd in the ACC against the run at 114 yards per game.

However, the Cats are a bit leaky with their pass coverage. They rank 8th nationally and 11th in the SEC allowing 238 yards per game through the air. So, this could be an opportunity for Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik to show off his arm. In last year’s Orange Bowl loss to Tennessee, he did pass for 320 yards on 54 attempts in a 31-14 loss.

Still, it would seem unwise for offensive coordinator Garrett Riley not to put the ball in the hands of running backs Will Shipley and Phi Mafah. During the Tigers undefeated run through November, they averaged 225 rushing yards per game. Mafah goes into the game as the Tigers’ leading rusher with 894 yards and nine touchdowns Shipley has 798 yards and five rushing touchdowns.

Another key to the Tigers’ four game winning streak was the reduction in turnovers. They had 15 through the first eight games and just six over the final four games. The Tigers still rank 128th nationally with 13 lost fumbles and 98th in total turnovers. But they’ve also created 24 turnovers from opponents which ranks them 9th nationally and 2nd in the ACC. Kentucky has lost 16 turnovers. Protecting the football, in what likely will be a low scoring game, will be the key factor.

Some of Swinney’s key comments Wednesday:

Been a fast week for them, lot of respect for Kentucky, seen Leary several times and a lot of respect for him, he’s a good one.
Klubnik has grown a lot in the year since his first start in last year’s Orange Bowl, game has slowed down, good poise in the pocket, using his legs in a timely fashion, he has another level of physical development to reach by next year.
Excited about how Klubnik finished the regular season and has had good bowl prep, expects Klubnik to be a great winner for them and hopes he’ll have a great bowl game for them.
They’ve played tough, been in position to win every game, had some bad bounces in some games but they have a talented team that’s improved and gotten better and cut out mistakes that hurt them early in the year.
With the opt outs, it’s like injuries, next guy has got to go play, will miss Trotter but Woodaz has played a lot, those guys have got to step up.
Getting Phillips back will help fill the void created by Mukaba’s departure.
Kentucky tough and physical, they are built to stop the run and built to run the ball, they want to play action, they’ve got good players at every single position, Davis is a tough back, you don’t lead the SEC in touchdowns by luck, stout on defense all 3 levels.
Asked about if he has anything to add to what Terry Kinard said on video yesterday, he responded by saying no he didn’t, there’s nothing for him to add.
Didn’t really have a reaction to Florida State suing the ACC last week, just went and had practice.
Antonio Williams has attacked his rehab, he’s matured through the year, they don’t need him to play a lot of snaps but it’s good have him back. Got a bright future.
Just another week that his team is a target, you come to #Clemson you’re going to get everybody’s best every single week, Clemson is a place that when the schedule comes out, teams want to know when they are playing Clemson, that’s why they play to a standard.