The No. 22 Clemson Tigers will be returning to a very familiar site when they face the Kentucky Wildcats in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl on Dec. 29.

Although it is familiar, it is not quite where Dabo Swinney and his Tigers (8-4) thought they would be at season's end. Clemson football is suffering its first non-10 win season since 2009 and the second worst since Swinney took over the program. It's also the first year since 2011 that the Tigers haven't played for the ACC Championship.

This time of year was usually a time when Clemson was in, at the very least, a New Year's Six bowl game, if not in the College Football Playoff. Being back in the Gator Bowl, a bowl the program has been to 10 times, more than any other bowl, feels eerily similar to the old Clemson football days. Their last appearance was back in 2008.

Kentucky (7-5) was just in the Gator Bowl two years ago, and was one of their now eighth consecutive bowl games, which is the longest streak in Wildcats history. That's a testament to the job the Mark Stoops has done while in Lexington, which is not the easiest place to win while in the middle of other monster elite SEC programs.

The Wildcats are coming off a huge upset win over in-state rival Louisville, who was ranked No. 10 at the time. The Tigers got back on track a bit towards the end of the season, winning their last four games, getting to eight wins and back in the CFP rankings. But who will walk out with a bowl game victory? Let's get into some TaxSlayer Gator Bowl bold predictions.

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Ray Davis rushes over 100 yards and two touchdowns

Ray Davis, Kentucky

Ray Davis, a Vanderbilt transfer, was one of the better running backs in the country. His standout game this season is when he posted 280 yards rushing against Florida. However, he only had one more game in which he ran for over a 100 yards. Davis is more than just a threat running the ball, he also catches out of the backfield where he had seven touchdowns.

Stoops will likely be leaning heavily on Davis against the Tigers, who have the 26th ranked rushing defense, allowing 116.5 yards per game. With Davis opting to play one more time before he enters the NFL Draft, he'll likely want to put on a good showing.

Kentucky football's Devin Leary has the best game of the season against a former foe

Former NC State quarterback Devin Leary, now with Kentucky, will be going against Clemson for a fourth time in his career where he is 1-2. He's completed 61.7% of his passes for 649 yards, five touchdowns and only one interception. He actually had one of the best games of his career in 2021 when he helped the Wolfpack upset the Tigers 27-21 in double overtime, throwing four touchdowns to no interceptions in that game. Leary will be wanting to go out with a bang.

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Leary could have some competition in Clemson football quarterback Cade Klubnik, who has had a mediocre year at best. Klubnik and the Clemson offense never could seem to find their rhythm, although the sophomore was able to complete 63% of his passes for 19 touchdowns to eight interceptions. Good news for he and the Tigers is that sophomore wide receiver Antonio Williams will be back in this game that should add much-needed help.

Clemson wins by a field goal over Kentucky

The kicking game hasn't been the strongest for the Tigers this season, where they've made less than 50% of their field goals. A lot of that had to do with their freshman kicker Robert Gunn III, who was benched after the first three games where he went 1-4, missing two field goals under 30 yards.

That forced Swinney to bring in Jonathan Weitz out of retirement, who was working on his master's degree and two weeks away from taking a job in New York City at the time, according to Grace Raynor at The Athletic. Weitz did much better than Gunn, going 6-of-9. He will have to be relied upon one more time in the Gator Bowl. Clemson's season ends with a game-winning field goal off Weitz.