FROM CLEMSON UNIVERSITY:
CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson Football and the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl today announced that the Tigers will face Penn State in the 2025 edition of the game at Yankee Stadium in New York City on Saturday, Dec. 27. Kickoff is slated for noon ET on ABC.
Clemson fans are encouraged to stay tuned to ClemsonTigers.com for more information on the 2025 Pinstripe Bowl. The deadline for IPTAY donors to request tickets is 11:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Dec. 10; donors will receive an e-mail with more information later today. Limited availability in the Clemson seating section may be available after the IPTAY deadline. Fans wishing to learn more about official Clemson travel packages for the postseason are encouraged to visit ClemsonSportsTravel.com.
"We are super excited to accept our invitation to the Pinstripe Bowl to be able to play in historic Yankee Stadium, to have Christmas in New York and to play a historic opponent like Penn State,” Head Coach Dabo Swinney said. “I’ve been to a lot of bowls in my life as a player and coach at Alabama and as a coach at Clemson, but this is the first time in my life that I've had the opportunity to play in a bowl in New York City.
"I'm really excited about heading to the Big Apple. We have a lot of Clemson alumni in the area that will be pumped to see the Tigers. 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. We can add to our FBS record by winning a postseason game for the 15th straight year and reach eight wins for the 15th year in a row, so 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.”
Though the game will be Clemson’s first Pinstripe Bowl appearance, it will not represent the Tigers’ New York City debut. In 1952, Clemson’s Don King ran for a freshman-record 234 rushing yards as the Tigers tied Fordham, 12-12, at Triborough Stadium on Randall’s Island.
The Pinstripe Bowl berth extends Clemson’s school-record bowl streak to 21 years, the longest streak in the ACC and the fourth-longest streak in the country. Clemson's 21-year streak dates to its Champs Sports Bowl win against Colorado to close the 2005 season. Though Clemson opted against a bowl appearance in 2004, Clemson has now been bowl eligible in 27 consecutive seasons, dating to a 1999 appearance in the Peach Bowl.
The contest will represent the second all-time meeting between two of the nation’s premier programs in Clemson and Penn State. The Tigers and Nittany Lions first squared off on New Year’s Day in 1988 when Danny Ford’s squad concluded a 10-2 campaign in 1987 by handing Joe Paterno and Penn State its largest margin of defeat in a bowl game in school history in a 35-10 Clemson victory in the 1988 Citrus Bowl.
Swinney enters the game tied with Paterno for the fourth-most wins by an FBS head coach through the first 20 seasons of head coaching career. Paterno amassed a 187-44-2 record in his first 20 seasons; Swinney has a 187-52 record through 17-plus seasons at Clemson, including his stint as interim head coach in 2008.
Clemson is 12-9 in bowl games under Swinney, including six victories in College Football Playoff play. Swinney’s 12 bowl wins are an ACC record.