Penn State Standout Confirmed to Play Against Clemson Tigers in Pinstripe Bowl

The Clemson Tigers have seen their hands full with plenty of quality players at skill positions, but their final game of the 2025 season may have one of the best they will see.

During the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl press conferences, Penn State interim head coach Terry Smith revealed that star running back Kaytron Allen will be playing in Saturday’s game, which could be a possible advantage in terms of how the game script could be.

Over his Nittany Lion career, Allen has totaled 4,180 rushing yards, the most rushing yards in Penn State’s program history. He is also in the top 10 of rushing yards in the country this season, being tenth with 1,303 yards and 15 rushing touchdowns.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney even said that Penn State’s biggest strength is “they can run the ball.”

“If you follow Penn State football, that says a lot,” he said. “There have been a lot of people play there, like Franco Harris and Saquon Barkley. I mean, they’ve had a lot of great ones go through there.”

Fortunately for the Tigers, the Nittany Lions’ rushing attack usually is a duo, joined by fellow senior running back Nicholas Singleton. However, Singleton will opt out of the bowl game to prepare for the 2026 NFL Draft next spring. He has totaled over 500 rushing yards and 13 total touchdowns in his senior season.

Another thing to note, which Allen could torch this Clemson defense with, is the weather. New York City is expected to have snow, beginning Friday night. With a potential fresh sheet of snow on the ground, something that is almost unheard of for a school playing in the Upstate of South Carolina, it could mean a run-heavy game is on the way.

Swinney, again, is embracing the opportunity.

“It would be an amazing experience,” he said. “That’s something I’ve never done, and a lot of things that I’ve never done, I’ve gotten the chance to experience it this week.”

Regardless of Penn State’s other opt-outs, Swinney expects a similar style of team with the way that Smith coaches. He expects his Tigers to be playing a physical defense with an offense that likes to run the ball, despite the number of new players that will be present on both sides of the ball.

“You just prepare for what they do,” he said. “You are who you are. At this point, I don’t think they’re going to show up and run a different offense or a different defense. I think you just have to focus on what everybody knows and then, you know, try to get the best group of people that you can have to go execute and do what they can do well.”

Kickoff between Clemson and Penn State is set for noon, and the game will be broadcast on ABC.