Clemson: 2023 Gator Bowl Champions


 

You’ll likely hear a lot about Clemson running back Phil Mafah tonight, and for a good reason: Mafah is a stud and was the key to a Clemson 38-35 Gator Bowl win over Kentucky.


In the Gator Bowl win, Mafah was dominant on the ground, even with his limited workload. Taking just 11 carries on the game, Mafah gained 71 yards and scored four touchdowns, including the game-winner on a 3-yard touchdown with seconds left in the fourth quarter.


It was not only an excellent performance for Mafah but also historic. Mafah’s four touchdowns in this win broke two records: the Gator Bowl touchdown record and Clemson’s bowl game record. Mafah’s performance in this Gator Bowl will go down as an all-time great bowl game performance in the program’s history.


Clemson star running back Will Shipley was injured in Clemson’s 38-35 Gator Bowl win over Kentucky, with head coach Dabo Swinney sharing an update on Shipley’s health during his press conference following the game.


Late in the fourth quarter, Shipley was injured on a big kick return as he landed awkwardly out of bounds. Shipley was down for a while before being helped up and over to the bench. Here is what Swinney had to say about the injury.


“We’ll do an MRI. It’ll either be tomorrow or the next day,” Swinney said. “We’ll wait and see. But initial reports seem to be encouraging, but you never know until you do the MRI.”


Hopefully, it looked worse than it is for Shipley, who still has a decision to make on his future with the program.

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