Teams that have never beaten Clemson Football
By John Chancey
Penn State Nittany Lions
That’s right, Clemson Nation. The Tigers have never lost to the mighty Nittany Lions. They have only played once, but one should never let details get in the way of a humblebrag.
The Penn State football program was established in 1887, nine years before the start of Clemson’s program. In that time, they are 920-406-22, with a .688 winning percentage. That is one of the better records in college football. Penn State is considered a blue blood program. They have two claimed national titles in 1982 and 1986.
Clemson’s lone meeting with the Lions came on January 1, 1988, in the Florida Citrus Bowl. Head coach Danny Ford led the No. 14 ranked Tigers to an ACC championship in 1987 and earned the automatic bid to the bowl. Penn State was ranked 20th and had an 8-3 record as an independent. They had wrapped up their regular season with a win over then-No. 7 Notre Dame in Happy Valley.
The game was competitive in the first half, with Clemson leading by a touchdown at halftime. The Nittany Lions cut the lead to four in the third quarter, but then the Tigers unleashed 21 unanswered points. Clemson won the game 35-10. Quarterback Rodney Williams was the MVP, and Clemson ended up ranked at No. 10 in the final Coaches Poll.