Gator Bowl Odds, Predictions & Bowl History

Kentucky +3.5 (-110) +142

Clemson -3.5 (-110) -170

Kentucky +3.5 (-110) over Clemson

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Kentucky +3.5 (-110) +142

Clemson -3.5 (-110) -170

• Clemson is missing some key offensive players for this game, including star WR Beaux Collins.
• This game will mean a lot more to Kentucky than it will to Clemson, who typically aspires to bigger bowl games than this one.

The Gator Bowl is a college football bowl tradition that goes all the way back to 1945. This is a game that is at the tail end of the college football bowl schedule each year, which usually means it is one of the marquee matchups on the schedule. Here, we break down this year’s edition of the Gator Bowl and look back at the history of this contest that has seen some of the biggest programs and best players in college football history participate.

2023 Gator Bowl Analysis

In this year’s Gator Bowl, the Clemson Tigers will take on the Kentucky Wildcats. Both teams had solid but not spectacular seasons in their respective conferences, putting them in a late bowl game without it being one of the New Year’s Six. How exciting that is for these teams could determine how this game ends up going on the field in Jacksonville.

For Kentucky, ending up in a bowl game like this has to be seen as a win, as they are in the incredibly tough SEC and can never rely on putting together a dominant campaign. Meanwhile, Clemson is usually the class of the much weaker ACC, and will be disappointed to be here and not in the College Football Playoff. It will be interesting to see whether Kentucky comes out with more of an edge with that in mind.

Gator Bowl History

The first edition of the Gator Bowl was played in the 1945 college football season and this game has featured some of the biggest programs in college football on a consistent basis. It currently has tie-ins to the SEC, Big Ten, and ACC, with previous tie-ins with the Big East, Notre Dame, and the Big 12 as well. With this game having tie-ins to the top-two conferences in the sport, a quality matchup is almost a guarantee at this point. Below is the full list of matchups for the Gator Bowl, dating back all the way to the 1945 season, including the winners and losers of each edition of the contest.

Bowl Game MVPs

In the Gator Bowl, MVPs have been awarded for both the winning and losing teams for all but a few years of its history. But the MVPs on both the winning and losing sides have been some of the best players to pick up a football. Below is the full history of the MVP award for this staple of the college football bowl season since the 1940s.

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