Clemson vs. Penn State: Time, Date, TV Channel, 2025 Pinstripe Bowl Preview

It’s bowl season, which means we have a lot of football to watch between Dec. 13 and Jan. 19! Ohio State, Utah, Georgia Southern, Army, Texas A&M — and just about everyone in between — will take part in a total of 47 games that will ultimately conclude with the 2026 CFP National Championship.

NESN has you covered with previews for each and every game — with our next contest bringing us to New York City:

2025 Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl

Matchup: Clemson Tigers vs. Penn State Nittany Lions
Date: Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025
Kickoff: 12 p.m. ET
Stadium: Yankee Stadium — Bronx, N.Y.
TV: ABC

Game Overview

The Pinstripe Bowl is one of just three bowl game’s to be played in a baseball stadium, joining the Rate Bowl (Chase Field) and the Fenway Bowl (Fenway Park).

Clemson and Penn State will take place in this iteration, with both programs looking to salvage what has been a disappointing season.

It’s one of very few bowl games to be played in an outdoor cold-weather venue, which has led to some tremendous moments like when Notre Dame offensive lineman Zach Martin was named MVP in 2013 and when we got back-to-back overtime contests in the snow in 2014 and 2015.

Could we see another memorable moment play out in 2025?

Team Overviews

Clemson Tigers
Conference: ACC
Head Coach: Dabo Swinney
Record: 7–5

Clemson is coming off its worst regular season finish since 2010 (6-6).

Dabo Swinney, who has to College Football Playoff National Championships (2017, 2019) under his belt, has an impressive 11-8 record in postseason games since taking over in 2009.

The Tigers have been nothing if not disappointing offensively (59th of 136) and annoyingly inconsistent defensively (29th of 136) this season, which prompts questions about whether or not they’re to be taken seriously.

Penn State Nittany Lions
Conference: Big Ten
Head Coach: Terry Smith (Interim)
Record: 6-6

Penn State was the laughing stock of the college football world earlier this season, but they’ve slowly found their footing after back-to-back losses to No. 1 Indiana and No. 2 Ohio State — closing out the regular season with wins over Michigan State, Nebraska and Rutgers.

Terry Smith didn’t do enough to earn the full-time head coaching gig — Iowa State’s Matt Campbell will take over in 2026 — but he’ll stay on the staff at his alma mater moving forward.

The Nittany Lions will be without several starters, however — running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, offensive lineman Olaivavega Ioane and defensive lineman Dani Dennis-Sutton all announced their intent to opt-out.

Players to Watch

Clemson
QB Cade Klubnik
RB Adam Randall
WR T.J. Moore
OT Blake Miller
DL Will Heldt
LB Sammy Brown

Penn State
QB Ethan Grunkenmeyer
RB Cam Wallace
WR Trebor Pena
LB Amare Campbell

Key Notes

Clemson had five players already declare for the 2026 NFL Draft: defensive linemen DeMonte Capehart, Peter Woods and T.J. Parker, cornerback Avieon Terrell and wide receiver Antonio Williams.

Betting Lines

DraftKings Sportsbook: Clemson -3 | O/U 48.5
FanDuel Sportsbook: Clemson -3.5 | O/U 48.5
BetMGM Sportsbook: Clemson -3 | O/U 48.5

The Pick: Clemson -3