Friday’s 38-35 Gator Bowl victory over Kentucky was hard-fought, particularly after being down by 11 following the Wildcats’ kickoff return for a touchdown to start the second half. But as sixth-year defensive end Xavier Thomas said, the team never lost faith they would win the game.
“We always had a belief in regards to no matter how much we were down, Coach (Dabo) Swinney preaches throughout the year and year in and year out in regards to having a belief no matter what the obstacles you face and obviously, we were down 11 coming out the half with the kick return and we just knew we had to keep playing,” Thomas said.