The Tigers will face Penn State in the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium on Dec. 27.

CLEMSON, S.C. — For just the second time in program history, Clemson football will face Penn State.

The Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl  at Yankee Stadium in New York City on Saturday, Dec. 27 will feature the Tigers and Nittany Lions squaring off with a noon kickoff.

“We are super excited to accept our invitation to the Pinstripe Bowl to be able to play in historic Yankee Stadium, to have Christmas in New York and to play a historic opponent like Penn State,” Head Coach Dabo Swinney said in a statement. 

“I’ve been to a lot of bowls in my life as a player and coach at Alabama and as a coach at Clemson, but this is the first time in my life that I’ve had the opportunity to play in a bowl in New York City.

“I’m really excited about heading to the Big Apple. We have a lot of Clemson alumni in the area that will be pumped to see the Tigers. For our football team, it’s a great opportunity to have a great finish. Obviously we had a tough start, but we have the opportunity to win five in a row and take great momentum into the new year. We can add to our FBS record by winning a postseason game for the 15th straight year and reach eight wins for the 15th year in a row, so there’s a lot of opportunity in this game. I’m appreciative of our players for fighting their tails off to get us to the postseason, and I’m thankful to be part of this great bowl experience in New York City.”

This will mark Clemson’s first appearance in the Pinstripe Bowl and the second in New York City. In 1952, Clemson’s Don King ran for a freshman-record 234 rushing yards as the Tigers tied Fordham, 12-12, at Triborough Stadium on Randall’s Island.

The Pinstripe Bowl berth is Clemson’s 21st consecutive bowl appearance, a school record and the longest streak in the ACC. It is also the fourth longest streak in the country.

Clemson’s 21-year streak began with a Champs Sports Bowl win against Colorado to close the 2005 season. Clemson has now been bowl eligible in 27 consecutive seasons, dating to a 1999 appearance in the Peach Bowl. They did not appear in a bowl game in 2004 due to the post-game brawl with South Carolina.

The Tigers and Nittany Lions first squared off on New Year’s Day in 1988 with the Tigers handing Joe Paterno and Penn State its largest margin of defeat in a bowl game in school history in a 35-10 Clemson victory in the Citrus Bowl. Irmo’s Rodney Williams threw for 214 yards and was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. Terry Allen rushed for 105 yards, while Tracy Johnson ran for three Tiger touchdowns as Clemson ended the season 10-2 after amassing 499 yards of total offense.

Swinney enters the game tied with Paterno for the fourth-most wins by an FBS head coach through the first 20 seasons of head coaching career. Paterno was  187-44-2  in his first 20 seasons; Swinney has a 187-52 record through 17-plus seasons at Clemson, including his stint as interim head coach in 2008.

Clemson is 12-9 in bowl games under Swinney, including six victories in the College Football Playoff. His 12 bowl wins are an ACC record.