Penn State football to face Clemson in the Pinstripe Bowl. What to know
Penn State’s bowl destination has been determined.
The Nittany Lions will head to New York City to play in the Pinstripe Bowl in Yankee Stadium against Clemson. The game will take place on Saturday, Dec. 27 at noon and will air on ABC.
On3’s Brett McMurphy first reported Saturday that Penn State would play in the Pinstripe Bowl.
This is the program’s second appearance in the Pinstripe Bowl, with the first coming in James Franklin’s first season with the program in 2014. This appearance will come in the final game of Franklin’s last season with the Nittany Lions, as interim head coach Terry Smith leads Penn State for one final time.
The Nittany Lions enter the matchup with a 6-6 record after rattling off three straight wins to end the season following a six-game losing streak. They went 3-3 with Smith steering the ship and this will be their final game before new head coach Matt Campbell takes over for the 2026 season.
Campbell agreed to an eight-year deal with the Nittany Lions, according to a source, that is pending approval Monday from the board of trustees.
The matchup between the Nittany Lions and Tigers will be the second ever, with Clemson winning the only other 35-10 in the 1988 Citrus Bowl at the end of the 1987 season.
Had fans known they would be playing Clemson in December back when the season started, nobody would have been surprised — except they would’ve expected it to be in the College Football Playoff. Instead the Tigers, like the Nittany Lions, had a letdown season, finishing with a 7-5 record and falling well short of the goals they had entering 2025.
It remains to be seen how many Penn State players will play in the game with the transfer portal window opening a week later and many top players having the option to opt out and begin preparation for the 2026 NFL Draft.
This story was originally published December 7, 2025 at 5:08 PM.
