In a recent episode of the Gramlich & Mac Lain show with fellow Clemson alum Kelly Gramlich, former Tiger and All-ACC offensive lineman Eric Mac Lain previewed and gave his prediction for the Pinstripe Bowl on Saturday.

While the Pinstripe Bowl will feature two of the bigger brands across college football in Penn State and Clemson, the matchup will pit two of the season’s biggest disappointments against one another.

Both teams made the College Football Playoff last season, with the Nittany Lions making a deep run, prompting both to enter this season ranked inside of the AP Top 5. Both the Tigers and Nittany Lions were expected to be national championship contenders, but obviously, things didn’t go as planned for either program.

“It’s going to be an interesting game,” Mac Lain said. “From a talent perspective, you look at two of the most talented teams in college football that just couldn’t do it this year, for whatever weird reason. You look at LSU, you look at Penn State, you look at Clemson – three teams that fell flat on their face, two of them playing each other. And the fact that Clemson played both of those teams – three teams that we thought were going to be [national championship contenders]. It’s so bizarre.”

Penn State made a midseason coaching change, firing James Franklin on Oct. 12 following a 3-3 start including three straight losses. Under interim coach Terry Smith, the Nittany Lions won their final three regular season games to finish 6-6.

The Tigers limped out to a 1-3 start, then found themselves sitting at 3-5 after back-to-back home losses to SMU and Duke. Dabo Swinney’s team did win its final four games of the regular season to finish at 7-5.

“So, a nice opportunity for Clemson to finish 8-5,” Mac Lain said. “I mean, you’re talking about the worst season, we thought at one point, that Dabo’s ever had, and he [could] finish 8-5. It’s crazy to think about. But, one thing I do not want to get lost in that is there’s a lot of work to be done. Like, there’s a lot of change, there’s a lot of adjustments, and who knows what we see.”

Of course, opt-outs will change the complexion of the Pinstripe Bowl. On Clemson’s end, the Tigers will be missing close to 30 total players, mostly due to injuries, but also because of players either declaring for the NFL Draft or planning to enter the NCAA transfer portal when it opens on Jan. 2.

Clemson is currently a 3.5-point favorite over Penn State, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. The Pinstripe Bowl is set to kick off at noon Saturday from Yankee Stadium in the Bronx and will be televised on ABC.

So, is Mac Lain taking Clemson to win?

“Yeah, of course,” he said. “Listen, I’m never not picking them. But I think they’re the better team. I think that’s obvious. It’s just going to be about execution, who has more guys ready to play and wants to kind of get going. But it’s going to be interesting. … Yeah, give me the Tigers.”

You can check out more of Gramlich and Mac Lain’s conversation about the Pinstripe Bowl beginning at the 35-minute mark of the following video:

–The Clemson Insider’s Jason Priester contributed to this story