The Nittany Lions now know who they will face to close out the season.
The Penn State Nittany Lions have had a rollercoaster of a college football season in 2025.
After beginning the year as a projected top-tier national championship contender, the season started off strong. Through the first three games of the season, things looked as expected. Penn State held a 3-0 record heading into a major showdown against Oregon.
Unfortunately, the Nittany Lions lost a heartbreaker in overtime against the Ducks.
Following that loss, everything spiraled out of control. Penn State lost to UCLA, Northwestern, Iowa, Ohio State, and Indiana in its next five games. Against Northwestern, star quarterback Drew Allar went down with a season-ending injury.
Not only did Allar go down for the season, the Nittany Lions made the decision to fire head coach James Franklin.
Despite those two major situations occurring in the middle of the season, Penn State was able to pull it together and defeat Michigan State, Nebraska, and Rutgers in the final three games of the year to finish with a 6-6 record. That gained bowl eligibility.
Now, the Nittany Lions officially know who they will play and which bowl game they'll appear in.
Penn State will face off against Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers in the Pinstripe Bowl. Of course, Clemson had a similarly depressing season. The Tigers were also considered a national championship contender at the start of the year, but finished the regular season at 7-5.
While the Nittany Lions will not have new head coach Matt Campbell coaching in their bowl game, the future is bright. Campbell is a great head coach who will bring a fresh voice of leadership to the program. Terry Smith, who took over as the interim coach when Franklin was fired, will coach the Pinstripe Bowl and will also remain on staff in 2026.
Nothing can fix how tough the 2025 season was. Penn State cannot turn back the clock and start over. But, the program can finish on a positive note.
Beating the Tigers heading into the offseason would give the Nittany Lions some positivity to work with. It would also be a big win for Penn State's pride.
All of that being said, the Nittany Lions and Clemson will play each other in the Pinstripe Bowl on December 27.