NEW YORK — Ethan Grunkemeyer threw for a career-high 262 yards and two touchdowns, including a 73-yard strike to Trebor Pena early in the fourth quarter, and Penn State beat Clemson 22-10 on Saturday afternoon in the Pinstripe Bowl.
Both teams struggled at times with the frigid conditions at Yankee Stadium following a snowstorm. The temperature at kickoff was 28 degrees and the wind chill made it feel like 19 while the snow from Friday’s storm was piled in the right- and left-field corners.
In his seventh start since Penn State lost Drew Allar to an injury, Grunkemeyer completed 23 of 34 passes, setting career bests for completions and attempts.
“Every game he got better,” Penn State interim coach Terry Smith said about Grunkemeyer. “This was his best game.”
His best throw was to Pena, who caught the ball at the Penn State 44, ran by Clemson safety Ricardo Jones and rumbled untouched down the left side for a 15-3 lead with 12:51 left in the fourth.
“It was man (coverage) and I know he had a seam and we hit it previously in the Rutgers game, the same play,” Grunkemeyer said. “When I saw him kind of break in front of that defender, I knew I had to put it right on him. He ran a great route.”
Grunkemeyer also made a 35-yard throw to Devonte Ross to get the Nittany Lions deep into Clemson territory that set up an 11-yard TD toss to Andrew Rappleyea with 4:56 left for a 22-10 lead.
Pena finished with five catches and 100 yards. He had the third 100-yard game of his career and was named the game’s MVP.
Before connecting with Pena, Grunkemeyer moved the Nittany Lions into field goal territory three times for Ryan Barker. Barker made a 22-yard field goal on Penn State’s first possession, along with a pair of 48-yard kicks.
Penn State (7-6) won its final four games under Smith, who took over for the fired James Franklin following a 22-21 loss to Northwestern on Oct. 11 and will be succeeded by Matt Campbell.
Clemson’s Cade Klubnik completed 22 of 39 passes for 110 yards in his final collegiate game while getting sacked four times. He also had eight passes broken up by Penn State defenders.
“Just too many missed opportunities and it’s hard to win those games,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said.
The Tigers scored their lone touchdown on Adam Randall’s 2-yard plunge with 8:47 left to slice Penn State’s lead to 15-10.
Clemson (7-6) saw a four-game winning streak end and was held to its fewest points in a bowl game since a 10-7 loss to LSU in the 1999 Peach Bowl.
Takeaways
- Penn State: Top running back Kaytron Allen did not play because of injury after being questionable, and Quentin Martin was the best of the remaining rushers. Martin entered the game with 32 career rushing yards and finished with 101 yards on 20 carries.
- Clemson: The Tigers struggled to get any traction with their ground game and were held to 43 yards. It was their second-lowest total of the season behind a 31-yard showing in their season-opening loss to LSU.
Up next
- Penn State: Opens the Matt Campbell era next season at home against Marshall.
- Clemson: Opens the 2026 season at LSU with a new quarterback after the departure of Klubnik.
