An ESPN staffer recently gave his score prediction for every bowl game (subscription required).

ESPN senior writer Adam Rittenberg weighed in on the Gator Bowl matchup between No. 22 Clemson (8-4) and Kentucky (7-5), and Rittenberg picked the Tigers to beat the Wildcats by a score of 27-19.

“Neither team had the season it hoped for but both finished on good notes, as Clemson won its final four games and Kentucky beat rival Louisville in the Governor’s Cup,” Rittenberg wrote. “Kentucky quarterback Devin Leary faced Clemson in the ACC while at NC State and gets another shot at the Tigers, who will be without star linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and several others moving on. Still, Clemson will be motivated to continue its streak of top-20 finishes, and gets enough from running back Phil Mafah to complement a solid defensive effort.”

The Gator Bowl at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. on Friday, Dec. 29 is scheduled for a noon kickoff on ESPN.

This will be Clemson’s 10th all-time Gator Bowl appearance, its most of any bowl in school history. A win would even the Tigers’ all-time Gator Bowl record at 5-5.

The contest will be the 14th all-time game between Clemson and Kentucky dating to the programs’ first meeting as Southern Conference foes in 1925. Each of the last three meetings in the series have come in postseason play, with Clemson earning a 14-13 Peach Bowl win in 1993 and the teams splitting a pair of Music City Bowls in 2006 (a 28-20 Kentucky win) and 2009 (a 21-13 Clemson win).

To honor Clemson’s special senior class Dear Old Clemson is sellingfootballs signed by 7 of Clemson’s Avengers for only $100.  These limited edition footballs are signed by Thomas, Orhorhoro, Davis, Mascoll, Henry, Murphy and Williams.  Get one while supplies last.