Yankee Stadium is the place to be on Saturday afternoon.
Ahead of the Pinstripe Bowl at noon ET, Penn State is a 2.5-point underdog against the Clemson Tigers.
As with all bowls these days, this game does have plenty of opt-outs. Four offensive linemen, Nick Dawkins, Nolan Rucci, Drew Shelton and Vega Ioane, are all out of this game for the Nittany Lions.
The same can be said for star running back Nicholas Singleton, who will be out for this game as well as leading tackler Zakee Wheatley.
Clemson has fewer opt-outs, but Peter Woods, a First Team All-ACC for the Tigers, has opted out, as has cornerback Aveion Terrell.
Of course, Penn State quarterback Drew Allar has been gone for most of the season, and as of Friday night, Ethan Grunkemeyer will continue to start on Saturday.
Penn State vs. Clemson prediction
The Nittany Lions (6-6) struggled early but played a bit better as the season went along, playing a tight game against No. 1 Indiana while blowing the doors off Nebraska and Michigan State.
The Tigers (7-5) went 4-0 down the stretch in their own right, but statistically played worse.
In the last three games, Clemson allowed 5.8 yards per play, slightly worse than Penn State’s 5.6 YPP.
On offense, Penn State put up 7.6 YPP in their last three games, the third best figure in the nation.
Clemson lagged behind with just five YPP, in the bottom half of the country in their last three games.
Betting on the NFL?
- Read our expert guide on how to bet on the NFL
- Check out the best NFL betting sites
- Get the BetMGM Bonus Code
The loss of Singleton is significant and certainly a problem, but my model favors Penn State here.
Without the opt-outs baked in, my model has Penn State as one-point favorites, and that’s what I’m trusting here.
I don’t see Singleton and the other absences listed as worth 3.5 points to spread.
THE PLAY: Penn State +2.5 (-105, DraftKings)
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Erich Richter is a brazilian jiu-jitsu blue belt but he has a black belt in MMA betting. During the football season he’s showcased massive profits at The Post in the player prop market the last two seasons. While constantly betting long shots, his return on investment is 30.15 percent since 2022.
