Penn State's bowl game and matchup officially announced
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Penn State's postseason destination and matchup is now official. As expected, Penn State has been invited to play in this year's Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl. The Nittany Lions will face the Clemson Tigers in this year's Pinstripe Bowl in the Bronx, New York.
The Pinstripe Bowl is scheduled for Saturday, December 27. Kickoff is set for 12:00 p.m. ET, and the game will air on ESPN.
Penn State finished the regular season with a 6-6 record after ending the season on a three-game winning streak. The headlines of the year for the Nittany Lions centered on an in-season coaching change wiht the firing of James Franklin and a drawn-out process to hire Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell to lead the program in 2026. Penn State also lost some key players to season-ending injuries wiht quarterback Drew Allar and linebacker Tony Rojas. But star running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen rewrote the Penn State rushing record books with Singleton setting a new record for the most career rushing touchdowns and Allen becoming the school's all-time leading rusher.
Penn State's all-time postseason record is 33-21-2. The Nittany Lions won a first-round College Football Playoff game at home last season and picked up wins in the Fiesta Bowl against Boise State, and lost to Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl for the College Football Playoff semifinal.
Penn State is 1-0 all-time in the Pinstripe Bowl. The Nittany Lions won the 2014 Pinstripe Bowl against Boston College, 31-30. The Big Ten has won the Pinstripe Bowl eight straight times, dating back to the 2016 season (no Pinstripe Bowl was played in 2020). Nebraska topped Boston College last season, 20-15.
Penn State and Clemson have met just once before, and Clemson leads the all-time series 1-0. Clemson defeated Penn State in the 1987 Florida Citrus Bowl.
It is expected that Terry Smith, who has been leading the team as the interim head coach, will coach the bowl game. New head coach Matt Campbell will likely stay out of the game prep for the game but stand by in support of the team. Smith will reportedly remain a part of the Penn State football staff moving forward as Campbell takes over as head coach.
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This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Penn State's bowl game details officially announced
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