Penn State and Clemson went almost 40 years without playing each other, and if ESPN’s bowl projections prove accurate, they’ll end up facing each other twice in consecutive years.
Penn State beat Clemson in last year’s Pinstripe Bowl, and ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura has the two teams meeting in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 26, in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Both teams have had up-and-down seasons. Penn State started the Matt Campbell era 3-0, but lost its first four Big Ten games before beating Purdue 31-17 at Beaver Stadium this past Saturday.
RECAP: Penn State Bullies Boilermakers En Route To First Big Ten Conference Win Under Matt Campbell
Clemson started its season with a 51-10 loss at LSU, but regrouped to win its next three games. Clemson then faced a Miami team that is now No. 1 and took a 41-13 drubbing at home. After an easy non-conference win over Charleston Southern Oct. 17, Clemson fell to former Penn State boss James Franklin and Virginia Tech at home in a 20-16 thriller. Clemson then ended October by beating Florida State 36-24 on the road, which ended up being Mike Norvell’s last game as FSU head coach.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES
Even though the Pinstripe Bowl was less than a year ago, a lot has changed with both Penn State and Clemson’s rosters. 24 former Iowa State players joined Campbell at PSU, along with 39 transfers in total.
Tracking Who’s Joining Penn State Through The Transfer Portal
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Clemson added 15 transfers (the most it ever had) and also hired a new/former offensive coordinator, Chad Morris, who had previously worked on Dabo Swinney’s staff from 2011-2014.
Both Penn State and Clemson were in the College Football Playoff in 2024 and are working to get back to that level.
CAMPBELL IN MAYO?
Photo by Matt Lynch, Nittany Sports Now
A Duke’s Mayo Bowl tradition is for the winning head coach to have mayo dumped on him. One can only wonder how Campbell or Swinney would react to that.
For now, Penn State must worry about Washington, whom it plays in Seattle at 3:30 EST Saturday on FS1.
