CLEMSON — If you remember, or were alive, Clemson played Penn State before in a bowl game.

Danny Ford’s Tigers took down Joe Paterno’s Nittany Lions 35-10 in the 1988 Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla. It is still Penn State’s worst defeat in a bowl game. At the time, it was the worst loss of Paterno’s career.

Coincidentally, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney will have an opportunity to pass Paterno for the most wins in the first 20 years of a career. Paterno had 187 wins in his first 20 years as a head coach, Swinney is sitting on 187 as the Tigers head into the Pinstripe Bowl to play Penn State on Dec. 27 in New York.

What do you know about this year’s Penn State team?

Like Clemson, the Nittany Lions were ranked in the top 4 in the Associated Press Preseason Poll. Ranked No. 2 in the preseason, Penn State suffered through some tough moments and tough defeats in what was a 6-6 regular season.

Penn State opened the year with three straight wins against Nevada, FIU and Villanova. However, in Week 4, it suffered a 30-24 overtime loss to Oregon that started a stretch of six straight losses.

After losing to Oregon, the Nittany Lions fell to UCLA and Northwestern, which resulted in head coach James Franklin being dismissed as head coach. In the process, Penn State lost quarterback Drew Allar for the season due to a leg injury in the loss to Northwestern.

What could go wrong, did go wrong for Penn State, including a last second loss to Indiana.

But, similar to Clemson, Penn State rallied in its last three games to become bowl eligible, as it beat Michigan State, Nebraska and Rutgers to close the regular season.

The Nittany Lions are once again a strong running team, averaging 177.5 yards per game and 4.9 yards per rush. Running back Kaytron Allen leads the team with 1,303 yards and 15 TDs. He is averaging 6.2 yards per carry.

Quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer is completing 69.4 percent of his passes for 1,079 yards with 6 TDs and 4 INTs. Trebor Pena leads the team with 44 receptions for 452 yards and one score, while Devonte Ross has grabbed 28 passes for 417 yards and 5 TDs.

Penn State is averaging 31.8 points per game.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Nittany Lions are giving up 21.4 points and 150.8 yards on the ground and 183.5 through the air. They are giving up 334.3 yards overall and 5.3 per play.

They have 28 sacks and 73 tackles for loss.

Last year, Clemson defensive coordinator Tom Allen was in charge of the Penn State defense that helped them advance to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff. Linebacker Amare Campbell (96 tackles) and defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton (6.5 sacks) lead a defense that is allowing 334.3 yards per game.