The Penn State Nittany Lions and the Clemson Tigers meet Saturday in Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl college football action from Yankee Stadium in New York. Here’s a Clemson vs Penn State prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Clemson vs Penn State pick.
Penn State Nittany Lions Betting Preview
The Nittany Lions had an ugly losing streak in the middle of the season, sandwiched between stretches of three straight wins on either side. After a 3-0 start, Penn State lost to Oregon, UCLA, Northwestern, Iowa, Ohio State and Indiana in succession. The Lions finished off the season on a 3-0 run with wins versus Michigan State, Nebraska and Rutgers, thus preserving a bowl game appearance with a 6-6 overall record across 12 games this season.
In the Rutgers matchup back on November 29, the Lions entered the second half with a 24-21 edge. Penn State scored in every quarter (and gave up points in every quarter) during a wild 40-36 win in the end. Ethan Grunkmeyer was 17-of-21 for 209 yards and a score while lead rusher Kaytron Allen had 226 yards with a TD on 22 totes. Nick Singleton added two more rush touchdowns, and lead receiver Andrew Rappleyea had four catches for 75 yards and a touchdown.
Clemson Tigers Betting Preview
Over on the Clemson side, they were looking rough at 3-5 overall through the first eight games this year. The losses in that time were versus LSU, Georgia Tech, Syracuse, SMU and Duke. Since then however, the Tigers have taken out Florida State, Louisville, Furman and South Carolina in succession for a 7-5 overall run across 12 games this year.
Matched up against South Carolina in their last appearance on November 29, the Tigers came out of the locker room with a 17-14 edge. Clemson added 11 unanswered points from there and took the win 28-14 in the end. Cade Klubnik had 268 yards with a pick on 24-of-39 passing and also scored on the ground. Adam Randall led the run on 102 yards and a score from 24 carries while TJ Moore had six catches for 101 yards in the winning effort.
Why the Clemson Tigers will win
- Penn State has lost each of its last 13 games as an underdog.
- Clemson has won each of its last four games.
- Penn State has failed to cover the spread in each of its last four games against non-conference opponents.
- Clemson has covered the spread in nine of its last 11 December games as a favorite.
- Clemson has won the first half in three of its last four games against non-conference opponents.
Why the Penn State Nittany Lions will win
- Penn State has won 37 of its last 40 games against non-AP-ranked teams.
- Clemson has failed to cover the spread in six of its last seven games against non-conference opponents.
- The underdog has covered the spread in five of Clemson’s last six games.
- Penn State has won the first quarter in each of its last four games against opponents from the Atlantic Coast Conference.
- Penn State has won the first half in each of its last seven games against non-conference opponents.
Total Points Facts
- Each of Clemson’s last four games in New York have gone UNDER the total points line.
- Seven of Penn State’s last nine games against non-conference opponents at neutral venues have gone OVER the total points line.
Clemson Tigers Player Prop Facts
- Heading into the bowl games, Ricardo Jones ranks T2nd amongst FBS players for interceptions (6) this season.
Penn State Nittany Lions Player Prop Facts
- Ethan Grunkemeyer has recorded a 120.0+ passer rating in three consecutive games (including postseason) – longest streak in the FBS.
Matchup/League Facts
- Clemson ranks T15th among FBS teams for H2 opponent points per game this season (8.3).
- Clemson ranks 15th among FBS teams for rushing yards allowed per game this season (102.8).
- Penn State ranks T6th among FBS teams for Q4 points per game this season (10.3).
- Penn State ranks 11th among FBS teams for average point differential in fourth quarters this season (+4.6).
Clemson vs Penn State Prediction
I’ll stick with Clemson. The Tigers did a nice job on defense against a struggling South Carolina team in their last outing, giving up just 1-of-11 on third downs alongside four takeaways. Clemson did give up 422 yards total with 381 passing yards, though. On offense the Tigers had 415 total yards with 25 first downs and 7-of-17 on third-down tries. Clemson averages 28.7 points per game this season with 274 pass yards per game, 22 pass scores and seven picks. On the ground the Tigers have 131.3 yards per game with 19 scores.
As for Penn State, they get credit for a late-season rally that got the team to a bowl appearance. The Lions average 31.3 points per game this year with 181.6 pass yards per game, 14 pass scores and seven interceptions. The rush is much better with 177.5 yards per game and 30 scores this year, so that’s where Clemson will need to focus if they want to stay on top of this one. Should be a good matchup regardless of what happens.