Penn State vs. Clemson Pinstripe Bowl prediction, preview (12:00pm ET)
Four months ago in late August, if you told me that Penn State and Clemson were playing in late December, I’d have told you that we were in for a heck of a College Football Playoff game. Instead, both preseason Top-5 teams had a major letdown season, and will meet at Yankee Stadium in the Pinstripe Bowl.
As you’d imagine, after the disappointment that the regular season was, both rosters have plenty of opt outs. Clemson will be down eight total starters, with five of them sitting to prepare for the NFL Draft. That said, Cade Klubnik will be under center for the Tigers, with the majority of his offensive line in place. That’s a big plus in a game like this. Clemson will be down a couple of top pass-catchers, though, so Klubnik will have to make due with the weapons around him.
Most of the missing bodies for Clemson will be on the defensive side of the ball, but I question if Penn State will be able to take advantage. When Drew Allar went down, it took Ethan Grunkemeyer some time to find his game, but he eventually improved. Grunkemeyer played well against Indiana, and then led Penn State to wins in the final three games of the regular season.
But now the issue with Grunkemeyer becomes playing behind essentially a backup offensive line. The Nittany Lions will be down four of their five starters on the O-Line for the Pinstripe Bowl, as well as some significant skill position players. Even down some NFL-caliber pass rushers, the Tigers have a deep enough defense to make an impact here.
Betting these Bowl games can be tough, so I’ve really been picking my spots on these games. But I do feel Clemson has enough of an edge here to justify a play.
In games that a lot of people don’t seem to care about at this stage of the season, we do need to credit Dabo Swinney for motivating his team to give a full effort when these spots seem to pop up. Penn State’s coaching staff is in shambles, whereas Dabo will be looking to extend his current streak of FBS seasons with a postseason win out to 15 years.
