4-Down Territory: Dashing Through the Snow--The Pinstripe Bowl Preview: Imagine Meeting You Here....

This year's Pinstripe Bowl Playlist: Baby, It's Cold Outside, White Christmas, Let It Snow and Jingle Bells (Dashing through the snow)......

1st Down: Imagine Meeting You Here: The Pinstripe Bowl Penn State (6-6) vs Clemson (7-5) 12:00 ABC: There were a lot of people who thought Penn State and Clemson would meet in the postseason ---just not in New York City and not in the Pinstripe Bowl. Penn State was the preseason #2 team in the AP Poll and Clemson was #4. Penn State received 23 1st-place votes in that poll, right behind Texas and their 25 first place votes. Of the preseason Top 5, only Georgia and Ohio State remain in the playoff. Clemson limped to a 3-5 start and won their last 4 games --including a 31-point rout of Florida State and a 14-point win at South Carolina. Penn State started 3-6 and has won their last three games to finish 6-6.

2nd Down: What Gives?: One of the most pivotal moves of the offseason was Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Allen leaving for Clemson after just one year at PSU. Penn State hired Ohio State's Jim Knowles to replace him. In 7 critical defensive categories Penn State saw a big fall-off in defensive performance this year. Clemson's defense has played well most of the year. The biggest fall off for Clemson from their peak playoff/title years to the past three years has been on offense. Most notable has been the falloff in the running game.

3rd Down: Opting Out: Clemson's defense will be hard hit with at least three starters on their defense's front 4 opting out and at least two starters in the secondary choosing to sit this one out. Be sure to watch Clemson linebacker Sammy Brown #47. He is a productive football player in a Tom Allen system that likes to use LBs in run blitzes on run downs and multiple looks on 3rd downs. Brown has racked up 92 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 1 interception and has broken up 7 passes. Moving the chains will not be easy for Penn State as Clemson ranks 8th nationally allowing a Scrooge-like 29% on 3rd down. Penn State RB Nick Singleton has opted out, and he was a very effective 3rd-down back. Other PSU opt-outs include at least 4 key defensive players in Zane Durant, Chaz Coleman upfront and Zakee Wheatley and Elliot Washington in the secondary.

4th Down: What Should We Expect? Dashing Through The Snow: Penn State has the nation's top meteorology school and Happy Valley is home to the world's leading weather forecasting company AccuWeather. It would appear they've conspired with Mother Nature to call in some significant winter weather (between 4 and 8 inches of snow) for the game on Saturday. That puts a premium on the run game and protecting the football. Clemson QB Cade Klubnik can pass and run. They have an effective WR corps that bad weather may help negate. Look for their big back Adam Randall (230-pounder) to be featured and for the Tigers to try and get WR Antonio Williams involved as a running back and as a wildcat QB as they've done all season. With Clemson's defensive front having some big losses, Penn State will probably continue the physical run game approach that carried them to three straight wins to close the season.

History: Northeast Bowl Games: In 1959 Penn State played in the 1st Liberty Bowl in Philadelphia against Alabama. In a fun bit of gamesmanship (long before AccuWeather Forecasts were available on smartphones) Penn State players posed with snowballs a few days before the game. Penn State won that game 7-0 over the visitors from the South on a day when the weather was not a factor at all.