It's a bowl lover’s dream on Saturday, with eight games on the docket.
At Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, two teams with high hopes coming into the season look to settle for a Pinstripe Bowl victory.
The Penn State Nittany Lions (6-6) fired their longtime head coach James Franklin halfway through this disastrous campaign, but they closed with three straight wins to reach a bowl.
The Clemson Tigers (7-5) were expected to win the ACC championship for the ninth time since 2015. However, head coach Dabo Swinney’s club lost their first two conference games and couldn’t recover to make a run in the league.
Let’s look at the Penn State vs. Clemson prediction and picks for Saturday’s Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, kicking off at 12:00 p.m. ET on ABC.
Penn State vs. Clemson Prediction, Spread, Over/Under
The Nittany Lions posted a 4-8 record against the spread, while the Tigers covered five times in 12 games.
Penn State vs. Clemson Over/Under, Spread
The Tigers enter this matchup as 3.5-point favorites, returning a 1.58x payout on PrizePicks Team Picks if they win outright.
The Nittany Lions are underdogs with a 2.27x payout if they win, via PrizePicks Team Picks.
- Spread: Clemson -3.5
- Over/Under: 48.5
- Game Winner Payout: Penn State 2.27x | Clemson 1.58x
(Team Picks data is live at the time of writing and is subject to change)
Penn State vs. Clemson Prediction on Spread
Here are some stats to know to get you set for Penn State vs. Clemson today, including insights on our Penn State vs. Clemson prediction.
- Penn State cleaned up in non-conference play with three blowouts of Nevada (46-11), FIU (34-0), and Villanova (52-6).
- Things slowly fell apart once Big Ten play opened, as the Nittany Lions rallied but eventually lost to Oregon in double-overtime, 30-24 as 3.5-point favorites.
- PSU failed to bounce back the next two games, with the major turning point being consecutive losses as 21+ point favorites against UCLA (42-37) and Northwestern (22-21).
- Since QB Drew Allar suffered a season-ending leg injury in the loss to Northwestern, the Nittany Lions went 3-3, including underdog covers in defeats to Iowa and Indiana.
- Clemson stumbled to a 1-3 start, including ACC losses to Georgia Tech and Syracuse.
- The Tigers finished with four consecutive victories, capped off by a 28-14 triumph over rival South Carolina.
- The Clemson offense ranks 120th in EPA/Rush, but sat 36th in EPA/Pass. QB Cade Klubnik took a major step back from his 36 TD performance of 2024, throwing for 16 TDs and 2,750 yards in 2025.
- Penn State is listed as an underdog in a bowl game for the first time since the 2022 Rose Bowl. The Nittany Lions knocked off Utah, 35-21 as three-point dogs.
- Clemson has failed to cover the spread in three of its last four bowls as a favorite.
Make Pinstripe Bowl Picks on CFB on PrizePicks
Both Penn State and Clemson look to finish disappointing seasons on a high note in New York on Saturday afternoon.
There’s never been a better time to add to the excitement of every CFB moment than with PrizePicks.
There is a wide variety of player stat projections on the CFB board, so you can build your Lineup however you’d like — with no salary or positional restrictions. Just pick at least two player stat projections to build your Lineup on PrizePicks.
Check out the Playbook throughout the season for more CFB picks, predictions, and news every day.
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