Clemson-Kentucky tempers flare in pregame moment at Gator Bowl

The Clemson and Kentucky football teams had a heated exchange at midfield ahead of Friday’s Gator Bowl at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville.

According to observations from the press box, Tigers defensive line coach Nick Eason appeared upset with Kentucky and had to be held back by Clemson staffers and referees near midfield. A few Clemson coaches were also spotted holding back players from further confrontation.

Jon Hale of the Lexington Herald Leader also reported on X (formerly Twitter) that Barion Brown and Maxwell Hairston were the among UK players exchanging words with Clemson players at midfield, with assistant coach Vince Marrow “trying to diffuse the situation.”

Although the reasoning for the pregame altercation was unclear, one team may have felt that the other encroached on their side of the field during warmups.

The midfield altercation lasted roughly two to three minutes before the situation was diffused. From there, both teams went back to their respective sides and continued warming up.

Kickoff is set for noon on ESPN. Clemson is a 3.5-point favorite.