Clemson bowl game locked in: Tigers headed to New York to play Big Ten team
Clemson football’s bowl destination is set.
The Tigers will play Penn State in the Pinstripe Bowl, the bowl announced Sunday afternoon. The Pinstripe Bowl is on Saturday, Dec. 27 in New York (noon, ABC) and is played in Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, home of the MLB’s New York Yankees.
The game will pit the Tigers (7-5) against the Nittany Lions (6-6) in a season-ending matchup between two big names who fell drastically short of 2025 expectations after starting this year ranked among the preseason Top 5.
It will be Clemson’s first Pinstripe Bowl appearance and second-ever game in New York City. The Tigers played Fordham to a 12-12 tie in a 1952 game played at Triborough Stadium on Randall’s Island outside Manhattan.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said in a statement his team was “super excited” to play in the Pinstripe Bowl, describing Penn State as a “historic opponent.” Swinney added that he has never played a bowl game in New York City in his career.
“We have a lot of Clemson alumni in the area that will be pumped to see the Tigers,” Swinney said. “For our football team, it’s a great opportunity to have a great finish. Obviously we had a tough start, but we have the opportunity to win five in a row and take great momentum into the new year.”
Recapping 2025 seasons for Clemson, Penn State
Swinney’s program will be looking to finish a disappointing season on a high note. The Tigers were the preseason No. 4 team in the country and widely expected to cruise through the ACC and compete for a national title.
But Clemson lost two of its first three games and was sitting at 3-5 and 2-4 in the ACC after eight games. The Tigers rallied and finished the season with four straight wins, including over rival South Carolina in their finale, to finish at 7-5.
That is Swinney’s worst regular-season record since his 2010 team went 6-6.
Penn State was in a similar position, ranking as the preseason No. 2 team after making a run to the 2024 national semifinals. But the school fired longtime coach James Franklin after a disastrous 3-3 start that featured back-to-back conference losses against unranked teams as a betting favorite of 20-plus points.
Interim coach Terry Smith helped Penn State reach bowl eligibility. The Nittany Lions hired Iowa State coach Matt Campbell as their next coach earlier this week.
With a win in its bowl game, Clemson can become only the third program nationally with eight or more wins each of the past 15 seasons (Alabama, Georgia).
Per On3 Sports’ Brett McMurphy, all three of the ACC’s Tier II bowl games (the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte, the Sun Bowl in El Paso and the Pinstripe Bowl) coveted Clemson for their bowl games, causing a hold-up in the selection.
The Duke’s Mayo Bowl ended up taking Wake Forest (vs. the SEC’s Mississippi State), and the Sun Bowl took ACC champion Duke (vs. the Big 12’s Arizona State).
“There’s a lot of opportunity in this game. ... I’m appreciative of our players for fighting their tails off to get us to the postseason, and I’m thankful to be part of this great bowl experience in New York City,” Swinney said.
Pinstripe Bowl gives Clemson a unique experience
Football in a baseball stadium? That’s what Clemson and Penn State will get at the Pinstripe Bowl, which offers one of the sport’s coolest setups. The bowl fits an entire football field inside Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, New York.
The Pinstripe Bowl also gets its name from the New York Yankees’ classic white uniforms with blue pinstripes. It has been played since 2010 and is one of three college football bowl games played in a baseball ballpark (Rate Bowl, Fenway Bowl).
Here’s a quick look at the setup for previous Pinstripe Bowls:
2025 Pinstripe Bowl: Clemson vs. Penn State
- What: 2025 Pinstripe Bowl
- Who: Clemson (7-5) vs. Penn State (6-6)
- Where: Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, New York
- When: noon Saturday, Dec. 27
- TV: ABC
- Betting line: Penn State by 1.5 points
- Tickets: Visit pinstripebowl.com
This story was originally published December 7, 2025 at 4:36 PM.
