Dabo Swinney makes statement on Clemson bowl game vs Penn State
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Clemson football learned its 2025 bowl game matchup Sunday. The Tigers will be heading to a postseason game for the 21st consecutive season dating back to 2005.
Clemson (7-5) will face the Penn State Nittany Lions (6-6) in the 2025 Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium in New York on Saturday, Dec. 27. Kickoff for Clemson-Penn State is at noon ET. The game will be televised on ABC.
On Sunday, Dabo Swinney released a statement ahead of the Tigers' 18th bowl appearance in as many seasons with Swinney serving as Clemson's coach.
Per Clemson Athletic Communications:
"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. 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."
After starting 3-5, Clemson closed the season on a four-game winning streak. The Tigers finished the regular season with a 28-14 win over South Carolina at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, their ninth win in the last 11 meetings against the Gamecocks.
Clemson football bowl record under Dabo Swinney
Clemson's record in the postseason, including bowl games and the College Football Playoff, is 12-9 under Dabo Swinney.
The Tigers will be facing Penn State in a bowl game under Swinney for the first time. Clemson and Penn State have met only once before in the history of both programs, a 35-10 Tigers victory over Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions on Jan. 1, 1988 at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando.
Penn State is the second team from the Big Ten the Tigers will face in the postseason under Swinney. Clemson defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes, 40-35, in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 3, 2014 in Miami, the first of four matchups against Ohio State with Swinney as coach.
The Tigers shut out the Buckeyes, 31-0, at the 2016 Fiesta Bowl in the College Football Playoff semifinals and defeated Ohio State, 29-23, in the 2019 Fiesta Bowl, also in the CFP semifinals. A year later, Clemson fell to Ohio State, 49-28, in the CFP semifinals at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.
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This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney on playing in Pinstripe Bowl
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