CLEMSON — Cade Klubnik may be from Texas, but the Clemson quarterback is not scared of the cold, or at least that is how he seems.
With temperatures in Clemson in the 30s and 40s last week as the Tigers prepped for Saturday’s Pinstripe Bowl against Penn State, Klubnik spent his afternoons wearing a sleeveless jersey.
He said he will not be wearing sleeves on game day, either.
“I want to make everything feel like game day,” the senior said. “I remember doing that for the ACC Championship last year when it was in the mid-30s or whatever it was. I am definitely trying to do that again this week.”
The Tigers flew into New York on Monday to finish their bowl preparations. The temperature in New York on Monday was 33 degrees for a high, while temps for the rest of the week will range from 12-28 degrees for a low and 21 to 37 for a high.
On game day, the low will be 20 degrees and the high 31, with an 85 percent chance of snow in the early morning hours. The forecast is calling for 1-3 inches of snow on Friday and 1-3 inches on game day.
“I am trying to get a feel for it obviously,” Klubnik said. “It will be a little bit colder than it is here right now, but having that feel and getting used to that and fighting through it is definitely a good thing to do.”
In case you might be wondering, Saturday’s game will not be the coldest on record for a Clemson game. The Tigers’ visit to Auburn on October 28, 1961, is the coldest game on record for a Clemson game. The temperature was 24 degrees when they kicked off that day on the Plains.
The coldest game at kickoff in recent Clemson history happened at Virginia in 2008. That game kicked off with the temperature in Charlottesville, Va., sitting at 35 degrees.
Saturday’s game at Yankee Stadium will be close to the 1961 mark, as the high is supposed to be just above or right at 25 degrees at kick off.
The Pinstripe Bowl will mark Clemson’s first trip to play a football game in New York City since it played Fordham at Triborough Stadium on Randall’s Island in front of 6,000 fans in 1952. Don King ran for a freshman-record 234 yards, including touchdowns runs of 74 and 66 yards in the first quarter.
He had 200 yards at halftime before an injury slowed him down in the second half of a 12-12 tie.