Clemson Football has been playing too close to the edge for years. On a frigid Saturday in the Bronx against Penn State, the Tigers finally tilted over the cliff.
Yes, Clemson football was missing 29 scholarship players due to opt-outs and injuries, but the Tigers had enough to win. The offense was paltry, and the defense, while it played hard, eventually gave out and even drew the ire of head coach Dabo Swinney in the aftermath of Clemson’s 22-10 defeat to the Nittany Lions.
Penn State vs. Clemson Game Highlights | 2025 Football
It was just not a good day and, truthfully, it was an amalgamation of everything wrong with Clemson football right now. Clemson scored just three points in the first half and struggled to even cross midfield for much of the afternoon.
Cade Klubnik, in his last game as a Tiger, constantly over and under threw receivers, and multiple times when the ball was placed on the money, wideouts were dropping the ball. Once again, the running game was all but abandoned as Clemson rushed for less than 50 total yards. Meanwhile, Penn State, with a running back who had not logged a single carry all season, churned out chunk rushing yardage in the second half.
Adam Randall, in his final game at Clemson, was a bright spot and accounted for the only Tiger touchdown of the day on a short run in the fourth quarter. The score briefly gave Clemson life and cut the Penn State lead to 15-10 with ample time remaining, but it would be as close as the Tigers would get.
An ugly performance and one that highlights the need for wholesale change within the program.
Now, in no way am I saying Dabo Swinney should be fired. It will not happen, nor should it. Let’s get that out of the way. There should, however, be changes among the coaching staff and Swinney has already alluded to changes being made at the conclusion of the season.
One source of rampant speculation has been the future of offensive coordinator Garrett Riley whose name has been linked to several head coaching vacancies including Coastal Carolina. Those rumors have seemed to cool, though, and the talk of Riley’s departure has calmed, too. That said, in my opinion, it is time to take the offensive in a different direction if Clemson football wishes to return to national prominence.
Whether or not Riley, whose contract is expiring, is back on the sidelines for Clemson next season is yet to be seen but I would expect an answer to that question sooner rather than later.
There is also the big question of how Clemson football will replenish its roster. The Tigers returned more production by percentage than any team in the country in 2025 only to see the season fall flat on its face with a disastrous 3-5 start. Now, portal departures and graduation are hitting Clemson hard and with multiple decommits in its recruiting class, the transfer portal should factor heavily into next season’s team.
The operative word is should.
Swinney is famous for his reluctance to dive into the deep end of the transfer portal, despite the additions of Will Heldt, Jeremiah Alexander, and Tristan Smith this year, but now he may have no choice.
Defensive coordinator Tom Allen’s move to the sideline did pay dividends for the Tigers’ defense late in the season, and despite the forthcoming attrition, I believe with the right portal additions that side of the ball is in better shape than the offense. Right now, Clemson has big questions at quarterback with Christopher Vizzina or perhaps even Chris Denson ready to take over.
Right now, there is so much to figure out in the coming months leading up to spring practice.
At the end of the day I, along with everyone who is a fan of Clemson football, could pontificate for days about what changes are needed to bring the Tigers back to their formal glory. The easy answer is, there are no easy answers, and it will be up to Swinney to figure it out.
What the Pinstripe bowl did was irrevocably demonstrate that something has to be done or Clemson football will continue its painful fade into mediocrity.
