Bowl Streaks

As of the 2025 season.

First, I want to note that this not a judgement call on the way teams handled the pandemic. It was probably not a great idea to play in 2020, but we did it anyway. That said, I still find it interesting to track these streaks.

Completely uninterrupted streaks (at least five seasons):

1. Georgia (29): 1997-98 Outback Bowl (beat Wisconsin 33-6)
2. Oklahoma (27): 1999 Independence Bowl (lost to Mississippi 27-25)
3. Alabama (25): 2001 Independence Bowl (beat Iowa State 14-13)
4. Clemson (21): 2005 Champs Sports Bowl (beat Colorado 19-10)
5. Ohio State (14): 2013-14 Orange Bowl (lost to Clemson 40-35)
6. Oregon (9): 2017 Las Vegas Bowl (lost 38-28 to Boise State)
7. Louisiana (8): 2018 Cure Bowl (lost 41-24 to Tulane)
8. Western Kentucky (7): 2019 First Responder Bowl (beat Western Michigan 23-20)
9. Texas-San Antonio (6): 2020 First Responder Bowl (lost to Louisiana 31-24)
10. Missisippi (6): 2020-21 Outback Bowl (beat Indiana 26-20)
11. Coastal Carolina (6): 2020 Cure Bowl (lost 37-34 to Liberty)
12. Louisville (5): 2021 First Responder Bowl (lost 31-28 to Air Force)
13. Toledo (5): 2021 Bahamas Bowl (lost 31-24 to Middle Tennessee State)
14. Minnesota (5): 2021 Guaranteed Rate Bowl (beat West Virginia 18-6)
15. Fresno State (5): 2021 New Mexico Bowl (beat Texas-El Paso 31-24)
16. Missouri (5): 2021 Armed Forces Bowl (lost to Army 24-22)
17. Tennnessee (5): 2021 Music City Bowl (lost 48-45 to Purdue)
18. Texas Tech (5): 2021 Liberty Bowl (beat Mississippi State 34-7)

Missed 2020 or 2021 but otherwise at least five seasons:

• Boise State would have a 27 game streak dating to the 1999 Humanitarian Bowl, but skipped 2020 and the 2021 Arizona Bowl was canceled.
• Louisiana State would have a 26 game streak dating to a 28-14 win over Georgia Tech in the 2000 Peach Bowl, but skipped 2020.
• Iowa would have a 13 game streak dating to the 2013-14 Outback Bowl, but they did not play in a bowl game in 2020.
• Memphis would have a 12 game streak dating to the 2014 Miami Beach Bowl, but the 2021 Hawaii Bowl was canceled.
• Pennsylvania State would have a 12 game streak dating to the 2014 Pinstripe Bowl, but they did not play in a bowl game in 2020.
• Utah would have a 12 game streak dating to the 2014 Royal Purple Bowl, but they did not play in a bowl game in 2020.
• Miami (the Ohio one) have a seven game streak dating to the 2019 Mobile Alabama Bowl, but they did not play in a bowl game in 2020.
• Michigan would have an 11 game streak dating to the 2015-16 Citrus Bowl, but they did not play in a bowl game in 2020.
• Southern Methodist would have a 7 game streak dating to the 2019 Boca Raton Bowl, did not play in a bowl game in 2020 and the 2021 Fenway Bowl was canceled.
• North Carolina State would have a six game streak dating to the 2020 Gator Bowl, but the 2021 Holiday Bowl was canceled.

Other oddities and notes:

• Marshall was set to play in the 2024 Independence Bowl against Army, which would give them eight bowl games in a row. However, they withdrew due to a lack of available players after letting their coach go and a significant portion of the roster planning to transfer.
• Toledo would have a 15 game streak dating to 2010, but they were left out in 2013 and 2019 and skipped 2020.
• Entering 2024, Wisconsin had a 28 game streak, but went 5-7 and missed a bowl.
• Clemson went 6-5 in 2004 and didn't go a bowl. If they had, their streak would date back to the 1999 Peach Bowl, a 17-7 loss to Mississippi State.
• Entering 2024, Oklahoma State had an 18 game streak, but they went 3-9 and missed a bowl.
• Ohio State had a bowl ban in 2012, otherwise they'd have a streak dating back to 1999.
• Missouri went 6-6 in 2019 and didn't go to a bowl game due to a postseason ban. They also did not play in a bowl in 2020.
• Notre Dame went 10-2 in 2025 but missed the playoff and subsequently declined a bowl invitation. They had an eight game streak dating to the 2017-18 Citrus Bowl.

I used this now-archived page as the basis for this page.