There is a strong possibility Clemson could be playing in the snow when it plays Penn State Saturday in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium in New York City.

Forecasters are calling for the potential of a foot of snow or more to fall in the area between Friday afternoon and into Saturday morning. There is also a chance of snow after the two teams kick off at noon.

The snow, however, is not going to hold back Dabo Swinney’s enthusiasm for playing in the white stuff.

“Why not?! It will be an amazing experience. It is something I have never done,” he said during Friday’s Pinstripe Bowl Coaches Press Conference. “There are a lot of things I have never done that I am getting a chance to experience this week.”

Clemson (7-5) has not played a game in the snow since the 2001 Humanitarian Bowl, a 49-24 victory over Louisiana Tech. That game was played on Boise State’s unusual blue turf and prior to the game, the Clemson managers made a snow-packed version of Howard’s Rock, which the team rubbed for good luck like they do to the real Howard’s Rock at Memorial Stadium.

Swinney says the chance to play in the snow and to play in Yankee Stadium are just a small part of what has made the Pinstripe Bowl a unique and fun experience for a team that had high expectations when the season began.   

“Like going into the 911 Museum, I have not had a chance to do that,” Swinney said. “The New York Stock Exchange. Just experiencing New York like that, I have never done that. Yankee Stadium, obviously, now, I get a chance to experience a football game in the snow. I have never done that. It will be a real cool experience for our guys.”

As for the snow, Swinney says it’s just a part of the trip of playing in the Pinstripe Bowl.

“(The players) have embraced everything that has come at us,” he said. “Whether it is next-man-up-mentality, with all the guys that are injured that are out, to the elements. It is all a part of it, and we are all excited about it all.”