Clemson’s season has come down to a three-point problem in the snow.
Penn State led Clemson 9-3 late in the third quarter Saturday at Yankee Stadium in the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl, a cold, field-position fight where every yard has felt like a negotiation and every snap has carried a little extra weight for an offense still searching for answers.
The scoreboard looked more like a baseball line — and the setting matched it. Yankee Stadium sat under wintry conditions, and the game played the same way: slow, stubborn and mostly scoreless. Penn State’s Ryan Barker hit field goals of 22 and 48 yards, and Clemson’s Nolan Hauser answered with a 48-yarder, leaving both teams stuck on six total points since halftime.
Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik had been forced to live on tight-window throws and short completions, while Penn State’s offense leaned on a conservative approach that prioritized not giving the game away. Neither side had found the end zone through three quarters, and the margin remained thin enough that one busted coverage, one tipped pass or one special-teams swing could decide it.
That’s where the larger storyline hovered: what happens next for Clemson’s offense — and whether this fourth quarter becomes the last stand of offensive coordinator Garrett Riley’s tenure.
Riley has coached under a brighter spotlight all season, and the bowl stage has only amplified it. Clemson came to New York with momentum in the win column, but with questions still attached to consistency, red-zone punch and the week-to-week identity of the attack. In a game this tight, there’s no room left for “almost.” Not now. Not with a one-score deficit. Not with every possession feeling like it could double as a referendum.
If Clemson is going to flip the script, it likely starts with two simple upgrades: win first down and finish drives. A field goal keeps the Tigers close. A touchdown changes the entire day — and could change the conversation that follows the final whistle.
For now, it’s still a one-possession game. But the fourth quarter is waiting, and so are the questions.