Clemson takes the belt, 35–10, at a neutral site over Penn State.
AP poll, week 15: Penn State No. 20 at Clemson No. 14 · No. 1 that week: Penn State. The belt vs. the polls →
Where this game sits in the lineage
Clemson took the belt here, ending Penn State’s run of 41 days and 0 defenses (reign #202) and starting reign #203. It lasted 260 days and 2 defenses, until Florida State took it on September 17, 1988.
For Clemson this was its 7th shot at the belt; it had held the belt once before — and it took it back here.
This is the only time Clemson and Penn State have met with the belt on the line.
About this game
Penn State traveled to face Clemson on a neutral site on January 1, 1988, in a postseason matchup. Clemson won 35-10, taking the College Football Belt from Penn State by virtue of the victory.
Written by Claude, strictly from this site’s own record of the game — the score and what it meant for the belt. CFBD doesn’t have a box score for games this old, so nothing here is invented beyond what’s verifiably on file.
Sources Game record: College Football Data (id 55274) · This game in the downloadable dataset