On Saturday Afternoon, Penn State and Clemson will face off in the Pinstripe Bowl in arguably the most interesting Non-College Football Playoff bowl game. When the season began, everyone would've predicted that these teams meeting in a bowl game would've meant they were facing off with National Championship implications.
Coming into the season, everyone had the Clemson Tigers and the Penn State Nittany Lions pegged as National Championship front-runners, and for good reason. Both teams were hoping to make return trips to the College Football Playoff, and with rosters led by returning quarterbacks, the reason to believe was there.
The Pinstripe Bowl is a fascinating way to end two abysmal seasons
Neither fanbase expected to be watching their teams play in the Pinstripe Bowl this season, and winning the game won't fill either fanbase with pride. Clemson is already worried about how Dabo Swinney reloads the roster and gets this team back into contention. Penn State has already hired Matt Campbell, and after this game, the team and the program will look very different.
The Pinstripe Bowl for Clemson is an audition for next season
When Clemson takes the field for The Pinstripe Bowl, the Tigers will be without 27 players who have opted out either for the NFL Draft or to enter the Transfer Portal. Dabo Swinney has been hesitant to engage in the Transfer Portal, but after another shaky season, he's going to need to change his ways and start to add high end pieces to the roster.
Dabo Swinney finally leaning into the transfer portal 👀 pic.twitter.com/lef7uEhFrC
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) December 3, 2025
Given that Clemson has to replace starting QB Cade Klubnik, along with potential first-round picks in Peter Woods, Avieon Terrell, and TJ Parker, the Tigers can't count on returning pieces taking a massive leap.
With so many players opting out of the Bowl Game, anyone interested in having a role on the team next season is going to have a golden opportunity to show the staff that they're a piece they can count on. Clemson has recruited at a high enough level that there's plenty of pieces that could realistically play a big role on the roster next season.
The Pinstripe Bowl is one last distraction from the future for Penn State
After going through a miserable season, Penn State has just one more game to play before they can focus on all of the excitement for the future. Matt Campbell has arrived, and after taking some blows at the end of the recruiting cycle, Penn State is ready to fight back once the Transfer Portal opens on January 2nd.
Saturday Blitz transfer portal rankings 2026: QB, WR, RB
Winning this game would be a nice end to a miserable season, but losing the game will quickly be forgotten. There are pieces on the roster who will get to audition for their new coach or for other programs in this game, but at the end of the day, the fanbase is expecting a ton of roster which makes it hard to get excited about any performance.