Clemson is set to make its 22nd bowl appearance under head coach Dabo Swinney, who is 12-9 in bowl games, including six victories in College Football Playoff play.

Swinney’s Tigers will play Penn State in the Pinstripe Bowl, which will kick off on Dec. 27 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx (noon, ABC).

A Pinstripe Bowl press conference took place on Tuesday morning with representatives from both Clemson and Penn State, including Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney and Clemson athletic director Graham Neff.

During the press conference, Neff was asked what his confidence level is in Swinney to turn the Clemson program around, with the Tigers (7-5) not having the type of season they envisioned when the 2025 campaign began.

Of course, Clemson failed to meet expectations after coming into 2025 as the preseason favorite to win the ACC title, as well as a team that many thought would be a national championship contender.

Although it has been a disappointing season — with Clemson losing its most games under Swinney since 2010 — the Tigers finished strong to end the regular season on a four-game winning streak after starting 3-5, capped off by a victory over rival South Carolina in the regular season finale.

Neff says he has “full confidence” in Swinney’s leadership of the program moving forward.

“Without question, [I] have continued full confidence in his ability to lead us throughout the rest of this season, which we’ve shown, winning the state championship [against South Carolina] and the winning streak here to the end, leading to New York, let alone the excitement and eagerness for the path ahead,” Neff said. “So, couldn’t be more excited to watch the ‘25 Tigers, while certainly pointing ahead to the ‘26 Tigers and beyond.”

Swinney is now finishing up his 18th season, and 17th full season, as Clemson’s head coach. He is both the program’s all-time winningest coach and the first in history to lead Clemson to multiple national championships (2016 and 2018), as well as the winningest coach in ACC history. In 2024, he led the Tigers to their 13th 10-win season in 14 years, their eighth ACC title in a 10-year span, and their seventh all-time College Football Playoff berth.

Neff added that he looks forward to Swinney coaching at Clemson for “many years ahead.”

“Coach’s ability … to connect with our players and to continue to lead and be an incredible leader and developer of men in college football going forward is unmatched, and without question, and just an incredible fit here at Clemson,” Neff said. “And that’s been shown for two decades that Coach has been at Clemson, and I expect that to continue for many, many years ahead.”

The Pinstripe Bowl berth extends Clemson’s school-record bowl streak to 21 years, the longest streak in the ACC and the fourth-longest streak in the country.

Swinney enters the game tied with Joe Paterno for the fourth-most wins by an FBS head coach through the first 20 seasons of head coaching career.