Penn State and Clemson meet in the Pinstripe Bowl after disappointing regular seasons

By Canadian Press on December 26, 2025.

NEW YORK (AP) — Clemson and Penn State were projected in the preseason to be among the top four seeds in the 12-team College Football Playoff and in favorable position for a national championship.

Very little went as expected and instead of a prominent playoff matchup, Clemson and Penn State end their seasons in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, a day after a snowstorm is forecast for the New York area.

In the preseason AP Top 25 released on Aug. 11, Penn State was ranked second while Clemson was No. 4. By the end of October, both teams were unranked and faced the possibility of not even being bowl eligible.

Clemson (7-5) started 1-3 and dropped out of the rankings after a 24-21 loss to Georgia Tech on Sept. 13, when it was upset on a 55-yard field goal as time expired. The Tigers were 3-5 following their 46-45 loss to Duke on Nov. 1 before winning four straight, including a 20-19 victory at then-No. 19-Louisville on Nov. 14.

“It’s been fun to see them have some just have some fun and they’ve been able to finish the season with a four-game win streak and from where we were at the time at 3-5,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said Friday. “What a great turnaround for this group.”

Penn State (6-6) won its first three games over Nevada, Florida International and Villanova by a combined 132-17 margin to keep its No. 2 ranking. Once the Nittany Lions began Big Ten Conference play, they started stumbling and it cost coach James Franklin his job.

The Nittany Lions were still a top-ten team when they kicked off against Northwestern but their 22-21 loss on Oct. 11 dropped them from the rankings and led to Franklin’s firing less than 24 hours later.

Franklin’s final game was part of a five-game losing streak that culminated with defeats to Ohio State and Indiana. Penn State ended the regular season under interim coach Terry Smith by winning three straight and hired Matt Campbell away from Iowa State.

“Finish writing the script for the 2025 season,” Smith said Friday. “Six games ago we set a vision to write the chapter the way we want to write it and we still have that opportunity and we want to write this final script to it.”

Klubnik’s pro audition

Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik was considered a preseason Heisman Trophy favorite after finishing with 3,639 passing yards and 36 touchdowns in 2024.

Those numbers slipped to 2,750 yards and 16 TDs in 2025, but Klubnik produced a career-high 66.6% completion rate.

Klubnik had two 300-yard passing games this season after finishing with four last season. He also dealt with a sprained ankle that caused him to miss a game against SMU, and his mobility was limited because of a quad injury in the final weeks.

Klubnik also is dealing with a thumb injury but will play through it in hopes of getting a win in his final game.

“I do think it’s going to be huge and that’s what I’m continually fighting for and really want to strain to get that finish for those guys really coming back, but also just finish well in my career and the guys that are done after this one,” Klubnik said last week.

Grunkemeyer auditions for Campbell

Penn State quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer fared decently after Drew Allar was lost for the season with a leg injury in the Northwestern game, and Saturday is an chance to impress Campbell, who will attend the game.

Grunkemeyer did not throw an interception in his final three games and had a 69.1% completion rate after taking over for Allar.

“I think something that I’m proud of improvement wise is just slowing my feet down, slowing the reads down a little bit, just making sure I’m getting everything,” Grunkemeyer said last week.

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Larry Fleisher, The Associated Press

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