During ACC Network’s ACC Huddle: CFP & Bowl Selection Special on Sunday, former Clemson standout offensive lineman and current ACC Network analyst Eric Mac Lain weighed in on what’s next for Clemson, which is set to face Penn State in the 2025 Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium in New York City on Dec. 27 (noon, ABC).

When they take on the Nittany Lions (6-6), the Tigers (7-5) will try to earn their eighth win of the 2025 season and finish the year on a five-game winning streak after starting 3-5.

“You have to win this one, and I think that’s a significantly different feeling because it’s eight [wins],” Mac Lain said. “Eight is a much better number there and you feel better about the way you finish, winning five straight there.”

Mac Lain added, “But, I do not want it to get lost in the shuffle that significant changes have to be made” in the wake of this disappointing season for Dabo Swinney’s team.

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.

“I think change at offensive coordinator needs to happen,” Mac Lain said. “And maybe that’s not fair, though. Because there was plenty of times where I see [quarterback] Cade Klubnik come to the sideline, and Dabo [Swinney]’s first thing is saying, ‘What are you doing?’ So, there’s a bunch of different things to evaluate. I think that’s why we haven’t seen something right now happen, why it hasn’t already occurred, if it is going to occur.

“I think there’s going to be changes on the defensive side. I think you have to allow [defensive coordinator] Tom Allen to bring in or appoint his people. That’s why you brought him in, to be a defensive coordinator there. And then even just from a staffing, support staff and different things – stuff that I’ve heard, stuff that I’ve seen – there’s some changes that need to be made.”

As for the transfer portal, Swinney said recently that he isn’t sure exactly how many players Clemson will add via the portal in the 2026 cycle, but Clemson’s head coach knows it will be a bigger transfer portal class this offseason than last.

Swinney says “nothing has changed” as far as Clemson’s transfer portal strategy going into this offseason, though the Tigers will have to take more portal players this year due to various circumstances.

“Dabo already said, in the portal, Coach Swinney already said, we’re taking more guys. Like, this is going to be the biggest portal [class] we’ve ever had,” Mac Lain noted. “Now, some of that’s by necessity, because of all the guys who are leaving. The other necessity is the roster’s going from 85 to 105, so you have to fill it there. How they hit, how they approach that is going to be very interesting to me.”

The Pinstripe Bowl will be the second all-time meeting between Clemson and Penn State, with Clemson beating Penn State 35-10 in the 1988 Citrus Bowl.

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.

The Nittany Lions opened as a 3.5-point favorite over the Tigers, according to Action Sports.