Dabo Swinney sort of smirked when a reporter asked him if playing in below 30 degree weather hurt his Clemson team in Saturday’s 22-10 loss to Penn State in the Pinstripe Bowl.

In particular, the Nittany Lions dominated the Tigers as the temperature dropped into the low 20s. Official temperature at kickoff time was 28 degrees, trailing only a 24-degree game at Auburn in 1961 as the second-coldest game in Clemson history.

“I didn’t think it had anything to do with it,” Swinney said about the weather. “In fact, we’re 7-0 in school history when it’s in the 30s. The coldest game in school history was my first game. It was 20 degrees in Nashville and we won that game.”

Penn State (7-6) outgained the Tigers 236 to 101 in the second half. In the third quarter, the Nittany Lions had the ball for 10:28 and outgained Clemson 111 to 18. They were 6 of 8 on third down in the second half and 11 for 19 overall.

The Nittany Lions also ran for 135 yards and averaged nearly four yards per carry, while Clemson, which finished the season 7-6, ran for 43 yards and averaged 1.7 yards per carry.

“It was cold on both sides. (The weather) had nothing to do with it,” Swinney said. “We ain’t got no excuses. The plays were there. We didn’t make them. We didn’t make the plays that were there to be
made.”

The wind chill at kickoff on Saturday was 19 degrees. Though Swinney said the Tigers were 7-0 in weather under 40 degrees, Clemson is actually 8-3 all-time in games that are 41 degrees or colder at kickoff, including Saturday’s loss at Yankee Stadium in New York, N.Y.  

There were slight snow flurries at kickoff following an overnight snowstorm. The game was Clemson’s first with accumulated snow since the 2001 Humanitarian Bowl against Louisiana Tech in Boise, Idaho. The Tigers won that game.