After several weeks of preparation and excitement over a trip to New York City for the holidays, the Clemson Tigers didn’t achieve the result they would’ve liked in the Pinstripe Bowl. Despite the game being just 6-3 at halftime, the Tigers ultimately fell 22-10 to the Penn State Nittany Lions.
Penn State’s Ethan Grunkemeyer threw for 262 yards and two touchdowns on 22-of-34 completions. Wide receiver Trebor Pena tallied 100 yards and a touchdown on five receptions, while running back Quinton Martin Jr. rushed for 101 yards on the ground.
On the Clemson side, Cade Klubnik played quarterback, but many key players from the Tigers’ supporting cast were absent. Head coach Dabo Swinney mentioned in pre-game interviews that over 21 roster members who had been part of the team during the season were unavailable for the bowl game.
Following the game, Swinney addressed his team’s critical mistakes and even took some blame for Saturday’s performance. “We just did not execute and get off to the start that we needed to have, so incredibly disappointing with the result,” he said during his postgame press conference.
Swiney elaborated, “Big picture of the game again, offensively is drops. Took a couple of sacks we shouldn’t have taken. Just for whatever reason, we couldn’t hang onto the ball. Critical, critical drops.”
Klubnik threw for 193 yards with no interceptions or touchdowns but was sacked four times. T. J. Moore was the team’s star receiver, recording 83 yards on six receptions, though he never found the end zone. Running back Adam Randall managed to score Clemson’s only touchdown but was held to 35 yards rushing for the game.
Swinney described the game as “ugly,” noting it was still 6-3 in the fourth quarter and that the team “had every opportunity to go win the game.” However, he criticized their defensive effort, calling it “really poor” in the second half.
“Poor critical awareness from some situational stuff. One minute to go, and they’ve got no timeouts, and we’re just giving up the outside throw,” he said. “Just poor awareness of what we need to do.”
He also pointed out that they have had “really poor pass defense” all season long, and it showed again in the Pinstripe Bowl loss. The Clemson coach admitted his team “didn’t deserve to win the game” based on their performance, which included allowing 269 yards in the second half.
However, Swinney also took responsibility for a critical special teams issue on the team’s opening punt. “Regardless of the result, I’m really proud of this football team,” he stated before adding, “We did a poor job of winning close games this year.”
Before the season, Swinney and Clemson were widely considered favorites to win the ACC and potentially contend for the College Football Playoff championship. However, the Tigers stumbled through some difficult losses and went 3-5 in their first eight games.
At times, some even questioned Swinney’s continued role as head coach, including Swinney himself. Despite the challenges, he remained at the helm, guiding the Tigers to a 7-5 record and a bowl game—though it ended disappointingly.
“The season is over. Now it’s about resetting,” Swinney said. “I’m really proud of this group for their effort. They could’ve laid down. They didn’t do that. They never quit. They kept battling. All the way to the end today.”
https://www.newsweek.com/sports/ncaa/clemson-hc-dabo-swinney-gets-blunt-after-disappointing-penn-state-loss-11275871
