Clemson vs. Penn State in Pinstripe Bowl: Kick time, TV channel, weather, score
The Pinstripe Bowl is here.
Clemson football and Dabo Swinney will try to end the 2025 season on a high note with a win against Penn State at Yankee Stadium in New York City.
Here’s your gameday guide for Saturday’s contest.
Clemson football score
2025 Pinstripe Bowl game, TV info
- Who: Clemson (7-5) vs. Penn State (6-6)
- When: noon Saturday
- Where: Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, New York
- TV: ABC
- Broadcast crew: Dave Pasch, Dusty Dvoracek, Taylor McGregor
- Stream: Via ESPN or the ESPN app
- Radio: 105.5 FM in the Clemson area (see all Clemson radio affiliates here)
- Satellite radio: Sirius XM Channel 84
- Series history: Clemson won only previous meeting in 1988
Clemson vs. Penn State Vegas odds
Clemson is favored by three points against Penn State, according to the VegasInsider.com consensus betting line. The Tigers will end the season having been favored in 11 of their 13 games (they were underdogs in road games vs. Louisville and South Carolina). Clemson is 5-5 as a betting favorite this year.
While betting lines favor Clemson, ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI) does not. That metric gives Penn State a 65.3% chance of winning Saturday’s ACC vs. Big Ten clash.
Weather forecast for New York City
If you’re coming to the game, bundle up. According to forecasts, The Bronx and Yankee Stadium area has a low of 20 degrees and a high of 30 degrees on Saturday. It’ll be partly cloudy, but without additional rain or slow.
The Pinstripe Bowl will easily be Clemson’s coldest game this season. The previous low was 46 degrees on Nov. 29 at South Carolina in Columbia.
Top storylines for the game
- On offense, Clemson is down two starters from its last game against South Carolina: Starting left guard Collin Sadler (injury) and starting slot receiver Antonio Williams (injury). The NFL-bound Williams is a big loss for the Tigers. He’s a security blanket for quarterback Cade Klubnik, and he was lights out against the Gamecocks. Depth will be tested in Klubnik’s 40th and final start. Short on bodies, Clemson elevated two former walk-on receivers to the two-deep depth chart this week. Rotational receiver Cole Turner is also dealing with a pre-bowl injury. Establishing a run game could be a big help.
- The Tigers’ offense is short-handed. The Tigers’ defense is decimated. Of the 11 players who started on defense vs. USC, six are no longer with Clemson. Per TigerIllustrated.com, DT Stephiylan Green is also dealing with an injury. The end result is a skeleton crew that’ll need big contributions from true freshmen and redshirt freshmen — especially at defensive line — if it wants to slow down a Penn State offense that’s been inconsistent but has playmakers. And Clemson’s returning stars (DE Will Heldt, LB Sammy Brown and FS Ricardo Jones) must be on point.
- Looking for some positive news? Penn State is short-handed, too. Five quality starters for the Nittany Lions have opted out of the bowl game. PSU has also lost contributors to the transfer portal and, like Clemson, has lost key players to mid-season injuries. Two notable stars who are still in for the bowl as of Friday: senior DE Dani Dennis-Sutton and senior RB Kaytron Allen, the school’s all-time rushing leader. Penn State interim coach Terry Smith has publicly said he might limit experienced players’ snap counts in the Pinstripe Bowl.
- A lot of Clemson football streaks have fallen in recent years. On Saturday, the Tigers can keep one notable one alive. Clemson has won at least one postseason game 14 seasons in a row, which is an FBS record, and can extend its streak to 15 by beating Penn State. That streak encompasses ACC championship games, standard bowl games and College Football Playoff games. Clemson can also become the first team in program history to win eight games after starting the season at 1-3 or worse. Those would be minor consolation prizes, but they won’t change the fact the AP preseason No. 4 team fell well short of the season’s expectations.
Clemson vs. Penn State players to watch
Clemson WR T.J. Moore: With Antonio Williams and Bryant Wesco Jr. injured, Moore is Clemson’s undisputed WR1 against Penn State and can end his sophomore season with a bang. He leads the team with 754 receiving yards
Clemson DE Will Heldt: The Purdue transfer leads Clemson in tackles for loss and sacks and recently announced he’ll return for 2026. He’ll need to be extra productive for a defensive line that’s lost three starters to NFL Draft opt-outs.
Penn State QB Ethan Grunkemeyer: After Drew Allar suffered a season-ending injury, Grunkmeyer, a redshirt freshman, stepped in as the team’s starter and has been serviceable with a 3-3 record. He doesn’t throw much (14.4 attempts per game).
Penn State S King Mack: Junior has emerged as a key leader on the defense after transferring back to PSU after one season at Alabama and has 56 total tackles.
Clemson football 2025 schedule
- Aug. 30: vs. No. 9 LSU, L 17-10
- Sept. 6: vs. Troy, W 27-16
- Sept. 13: at Georgia Tech, L 24-21
- Sept. 20: vs. Syracuse, L 34-21
- Sept. 28: OFF WEEK
- Oct. 4: at UNC, W 38-10
- Oct. 11: at Boston College, W 41-10
- Oct. 18: vs. SMU, L 35-24
- Oct. 25: OFF WEEK
- Nov. 1: vs. Duke, L 46-45
- Nov. 8: vs. Florida State, W 24-10
- Nov. 14: at No. 20 Louisville, W 20-19
- Nov. 22: vs. Furman, W 45-10
- Nov. 29: at South Carolina, W 28-14
- Dec. 27: vs. Penn State in Pinstripe Bowl, noon (ABC)
Clemson football 2025 depth chart
As of Dec. 19
Offense
QB: Cade Klubnik (Christopher Vizzina)
RB: Adam Randall (Gideon Davidson)
Outside WR: T.J. Moore (Parker Fulghum)
Outside WR: Tristan Smith OR Cole Turner
Slot WR: Tyler Brown (Clark Sanderson OR Juju Preston)
TE: Josh Sapp OR Christian Bentancur
LT: Tristan Leigh (Ian Reed)
LG: Dietrick Pennington OR Ronan O’Connell
C: Ryan Linthicum (Chapman Pendergrass)
RG: Harris Sewell (Gavin Blanchard)
RT: Blake Miller (Mason Wade)
Defense
DE: Will Heldt (Darien Mayo)
DT: Stephiylan Green (Hevin Brown-Shuler)
DT: Vic Burley OR Champ Thompson
DE: Cade Denhoff (Caden Story)
MLB: Sammy Brown (Jeremiah Alexander)
WLB: Kobe McCloud (Fletcher Cothran)
CB: Branden Strozier (Jeadyn Lukus)
Tiger (nickel): Corian Gipson (Misun Kelley OR Noah Dixon)
Rover (SS): Ronan Hanafin (Tyler Venables)
FS: Ricardo Jones (Kylon Griffin)
CB: Ashton Hampton (Corian Gipson)
Special teams
PK: Nolan Hauser (Robert Gunn III)
P: Jack Smith (Robert Gunn III OR Will McCune)
KO: Robert Gunn III
LS (PK): Holden Caspersen
LS (P): Philip Florenzo
H: Clay Swinney
PR: T.J. Moore OR Cole Turner
KOR: Adam Randall
This story was originally published December 26, 2025 at 8:00 AM.
