USA TODAY Sports projects Clemson football bowl game after rivalry win

The Clemson Tigers closed the 2025 college football regular season with a four-game winning streak, including victories over rivals Florida State and South Carolina.

Clemson (7-5) won't be playing in the kind of postseason game coach Dabo Swinney and players envisioned when the season began with such high hopes on Aug. 30 when the Tigers were ranked No. 4 in the preseason AP Top 25 poll.

But Clemson's resiliency after a 3-5 start that included an ugly 34-21 loss to Syracuse is a testament to Swinney and veteran players for keeping the team together.

Clemson beat South Carolina for the ninth time in the series' last 11 games, and it beat Florida State for the ninth time in 10 meetings since 2015. The Tigers earned bowl eligibility with its Week 13 win over Furman, a week after Clemson took down No. 20 Louisville, 20-19, on the road.

As for what bowl game the Tigers could be headed to, USA TODAY Sports weighed in with a projection after the Clemson's 28-14 victory over South Carolina at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia on Saturday.

USA TODAY Sports college football analyst Erick Smith sees Clemson facing the Minnesota Golden Gophers from the Big Ten in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium on Dec. 27. The Pinstripe Bowl is scheduled for a noon ET kickoff and will be televised on ABC.

Clemson has never played in the Pinstripe Bowl. They've faced Minnesota football only one other time: in the 1985 Independence Bowl in Shreveport. The Gophers beat the Tigers, 20-13.

Clemson football possible bowl game possibilities after beating South Carolina

Other bowl games in play for Clemson are the Sun Bowl in El Paso, which ESPN's Mark Schlabach forecasts. The veteran reporter sees the Tigers facing off against the Arizona State Sun Devils (8-4) on New Year's Eve at 2 p.m. ET on CBS.

The Athletic (subscription required) also has Clemson in the Sun Bowl against the Arizona Wildcats (9-3). The Tigers have never played in the Sun Bowl.

The Gasparilla Bowl at Tampa's Raymond James Stadium is CBS Sports' projection for Clemson, along with a matchup against the South Florida Bulls (9-3). The Gasparilla Bowl is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET on Dec. 19 and will be seen on ESPN.

Veteran analyst Jerry Palm sees Clemson playing in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis on Jan. 2 at 4:30 p.m. ET against the Cincinnati Bearcats (7-5).

Clemson football schedule 2025

All start times Eastern.

• Aug. 30: vs. LSU (L, 17-10)

• Sept. 6: vs. Troy (W, 27-16)

• Sept. 13: at Georgia Tech (L, 24-21)

• Sept. 20: vs. Syracuse (L, 34-21)

• Oct. 4: at North Carolina (W, 38-10)

• Oct. 11: at Boston College (W, 41-10)

• Oct. 18: vs. SMU, (L, 35-24)

• Nov. 1: vs. Duke (L, 46-45)

• Nov. 8: vs. Florida State (W, 24-10)

• Nov. 14: at Louisville (W, 20-19)

• Nov. 22: vs. Furman (W, 45-10)

• Nov. 29: at South Carolina (W, 28-14)

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This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: Clemson football bowl projections after rivalry win vs South Carolina