These 3 Nittany Lions deserve praise after a strong victory over Clemson

On Saturday, Dec. 27, Penn State football squared off with Clemson in the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium. This was a season that can be looked at as a disappointment for both squads, as they found themselves on the outside looking in before the end of the regular season even rolled around.

The Nittany Lions (7-6, 3-6 Big Ten) walked away with a strong victory over the Tigers (7-6, 4-4 ACC), 22-10. This was far from a great game for either team. However, with many players opting out of the Pinstripe Bowl, it was a contest for unproven Penn State players to show their talents. Here are the three Nittany Lions who deserve praise from Saturday's matchup.

Freshman running back Quinton Martin Jr. entered the game having not played a snap all season long. In 2024, Martin had only 13 carries for 32 yards in the shadows of star rushers Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen. Fast forward to Saturday's game against Clemson with both Singleton and Allen out, Martin put on a performance that gives hope for a continuous sturdy run game beyond 2025. Martin finished with 20 carries for 101 yards and even hauled in a pass.

The game was tightly contested into the fourth quarter, with the Nittany Lions taking just a 6-3 lead into the fourth. At the end of the third, carrying over into the fourth, Martin helped put Penn State back into field goal range, adding 28 yards to the drive. This allowed placekicker Ryan Barker to extend the team's lead to 9-3.

"He showed a side where he can be a physical back and a slasher all in one game," Smith said of Martin after the game. Some fans already compared Martin and Tikey Hayes in 2026 to the Detroit Lions tandem of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery.

The young guns of Penn State's defense came to play in this one. With some big shoes needing to be filled, Saturday served as somewhat of an audition for next season. They all played their part keeping Clemson to a modest 10 points over four quarters. One of the most impactful of the crew was freshman safety Vaboue Toure.

Toure finished with a total of seven tackles. His biggest play of the game came at the very end when he got to the Tigers' signal caller and quarterback, Cade Klubnik, and took him down to the ground for a sack. This play occurred with 2:29 left in the fourth quarter and forced Clemson to turn the ball over on downs once more.

This was Toure's his first-ever collegiate sack and gave the ball back to Penn State for the final time. It came at a critical moment as Clemson had a late-game offensive spark that the Nittany Lions wanted to contain. The Tigers had zero timeouts remaining, so all the offense needed to do was get a first down and take a few knees, running out the clock. Penn State did just that.

In a low-scoring game, Smith wanted points on the board no matter how many. Barker got the job done. He went a perfect three-for-three on field goal attempts and tacked on an extra point on the second Nittany Lions touchdown.

Barker's longest was also a collegiate career high. From 48 yards out in the second quarter, Penn State wanted to reclaim the lead and break the 3-3 tie that Clemson just caught up to. The Nittany Lions took the 6-3 lead at halftime, and Barker continued proving essential in a period of offensive struggles into the end zone. He hit a 43-yarder in the fourth quarter as well, which was his third of the game.

Until roughly 12 minutes left of the game, it was a contest driven by successful field goals. Barker kept Penn State in it with momentum and points.