Clemson trails Penn State 6-3 at halftime on a frozen day full of flurries, foul balls and slow offenses in the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium. Below is the analysis of the matchup.

Offense:

— Cold start in the snow: After Tyler Brown dropped an opening drive third-down pass in the flat on a Cade Klubnick rollout, a disastrous fake punt on fourth down made a bad start worse for the Tigers. The second drive showed more of the same with another three-and-out from the offense.

— After a fourth-down conversion on a Klubnik screen pass to T.J. Moore, three consecutive balls skipped across the frozen tundra — two drops and a missed strike from Klubnik in the face of pressure.

— A no-hitter in the first quarter from the Penn State defense left something to be desired from the Tigers. Aside from a 44-yard catch and run by Moore midway through the second quarter, the offensive unit that has plagued Clemson’s success all season continued to look as lost in New York as Kevin McCallister.

— Clemson failed to get the sleigh off the ground aside from a late first-half field goal by Nolan Hauser. Miscommunications, dropped passes and errant throws highlighted an 11-for-22 first-half passing performance for Klubnik. The run game saw little success as well, amassing just 19 rush yards in a three-point, first-half effort.

— Moore of that, please! T.J. Moore led the way through the winter wonderland as the lone bright spot in Clemson’s offense. The sophomore receiver racked in four receptions for 74 yards, coming alive in the second quarter to set up two field goal tries for Hauser.

Defense:

— Clemson’s failed fake punt on the opening drive of the game immediately sprang the Tiger defense into action with a tall task: make a stand against a Penn State offense that is starting just 32 yards from the goal line. Like the piles of snow bordering the field, Clemson packed it in, holding the Nittany Lions to a field goal.

— Penn State’s electrifying running back Kaytron Allen was ruled out due to injury in a game-time decision — parlayed with the absence of secondary back Nick Singleton, Penn State gifted Clemson’s defense an easier assignment just days after Christmas. That assignment proved anything but easy. Penn State rushed for 58 yards on 3.4 yards per carry compared to Clemson’s measly 19 yards on 1.5 yards per carry.

— A low-scoring first half often leaves much to be desired, but not for Clemson defensive coordinator Tom Allen. His unit forced a punt on three-of-six Penn State possessions and earned one turnover on downs, keeping the game within reach.

— A game in the snow felt just right for Massachusetts-native Ronan Hanafin. On third down on Clemson’s 2-yard line, Penn State was pushed back for a loss by an inspired Hanafin tackle in the backfield. Hanafin ended the half leading the team with six tackles.

— The Clemson offense put its first points on the board with just 56 seconds left in the half. In a smooth one-minute drill, Ethan Grunkemeyer picked apart the Clemson defense to set PSU up for a go-ahead field goal as time expired.