Penn State will head into the Pinstripe Bowl as a slight underdog against Clemson, according to FanDuel. The Tigers are a 2.5-point favorite over the Nittany Lions when the teams meet in New York on December 27.
It took Penn State until the last week to get their sixth win and gain bowl eligibility. Following a disastrous 3-6 start to the season, the Nittany Lions were able to right the ship by winning its final three games over Michigan State, Nebraska and Rutgers.
Clemson’s season transpired in an eerily
similar manner. Clemson began the year as the #4 team in the preseason AP Poll. However, the season began with a loss to LSU as the Tigers quickly fell out of the rankings with a 1-3 start. Things were looking bleak after a 46-45 loss to Duke dropped them to 3-5. They then reeled off four consecutive victories to close out the regular season, defeating Florida State, Louisville, Furman and South Carolina to reach 7-5.
Penn State has only faced Clemson once before in program history. The Nittany Lions suffered a 35-10 loss to the Tigers in 1987, just one year after winning a national title.
The Pinstripe Bowl is set to kickoff at noon, Saturday, December 27, with coverage provided by ABC.
