Dropped passes, 3rd down inefficiency, and dormant offense plagues Clemson in Pinstripe Bowl as they fall in their season finale
I’m sure at some point I’ll be deep in the offseason, with nothing but baseball on TV, and be feening for a slow paced, low scoring Clemson Penn State game in the freezing cold. But today was a rough watch, as the Nittany Lions defeated Clemson 22-10.
The game started out slow, and never truly picked up. Clemson gained their first first down with three minutes remaining in the first quarter, and didn’t score until the final minute of the first half. Three punts, a missed field goal (wide right from the right hash) and a failed fake punt made up the first 29 minutes of play for the Tigers.
Penn State wasn’t much stronger at the start, with six points in their first 40 minutes of play. With Kaytron Allen sidelined with an undisclosed injury, the Nittany Lions had trouble moving the ball, stalling in both the rush and passing game.
The second half was more of the same, until the final twelve minutes. Penn State scored off a long catch-and-run from Trebor Pena, and Clemson responded with a methodical ten play, 65 yard touchdown drive of their own to make it 15-10 in the final eight minutes of play.
Penn State responded with a touchdown of their own, with an 8 play, 75 yard touchdown drive to put the game away.
While the outcome was far from what he hoped for, Cade Klubnik wrapped up his career with an array of milestones, breaking the school record for pass attempts and completions, and becoming the 4th Tiger in history to pass for over 10,000 yards. He finished the day 22/39 for 193 yards, earning an additional 27 yards on the ground.
TJ Moore shined as well, with 6 receptions for 83 yards. Fletcher Cothran and Caden Story replaced Peter Woods and DeMonte Capehart well on the interior, combining for two tackles for loss and a sack. While their impact didn’t show up on the stat sheet, Jeremiah Alexander and Ronan Hanafin made a strong impact, flying around the middle of the field, and making it difficult for the Nittany Lions to move the ball downfield for a vast majority of the game.
With the loss, Clemson snaps their FBS record 14 straight seasons with a postseason win. They bring their record with Penn State to 1-1, with their victory coming in the Citrus Bowl in 1987. With 27 scholarship players opting out, including eight starters, the Tigers struggled to make an impact with many of their depth pieces.
The Tigers end the season 7-6, snapping a 14 season streak of eight plus wins. A win would have allowed the Tigers to join Alabama and Georgia as the only programs to earn at least eight wins in 15 consecutive seasons.
The season didn’t go as hoped for Clemson, and this game reflected many issues we’ve seen all year. Uninspired playcalling, red zone inefficiency, and a lack of cohesion on both sides of the ball harmed the Tigers throughout the entire game. Let’s hope the Tigers can figure out their playcalling issues, provide us with a strong portal/recruiting class, and enter next year much improved, and ready to make an impact akin to the Tigers of the past.
