List of Penn State Nittany Lions bowl games

The Penn State Nittany Lions football have competed in 53 bowl games compiling a record of 31–20–2 (.608). The Nittany Lions hold a 17–8–1 record in the major bowls (Rose, Orange, Sugar, Fiesta, Peach, and Cotton).

Coach Joe Paterno was responsible for most of these bids and victories, compiling more wins, 24, and appearances, 37, than any other coach in college football history, with a bowl record of 24–12–1 (.662). Paterno also had a record of 13–4–0 in "major" bowls. Paterno is one of only two coaches in history to have competed in and won all five major bowls with the other being Bob Stoops at Oklahoma.

Key

Results
W Win
L Loss
T Tie

Bowl games

List of bowl games showing bowl played in, score, date, season, opponent, stadium, location, attendance and head coach[A 1]
# Bowl Score[A 2] Date Season[A 3] Opponent[A 4] Stadium Location Attendance Head coach
1 Rose Bowl L 14–3 January 1, 1923 1922 USC Trojans Rose Bowl Pasadena 43,000 Hugo Bezdek
2 Cotton Bowl Classic T 13–13 January 1, 1948 1947 SMU Mustangs Cotton Bowl Dallas 47,000 Bob Higgins
3 Liberty Bowl W 7–0 December 19, 1959 1959 Alabama Crimson Tide Philadelphia Municipal Stadium Philadelphia 36,211 Rip Engle
4 Liberty Bowl W 41–12 December 20, 1960 1960 Oregon Webfoots Philadelphia Municipal Stadium Philadelphia 16,624 Rip Engle
5 Gator Bowl W 30–15 December 30, 1961 1961 Georgia Tech Yellowjackets Gator Bowl Stadium Jacksonville 50,202 Rip Engle
6 Gator Bowl L 17–7 December 29, 1962 1962 Florida Gators Gator Bowl Stadium Jacksonville 50,026 Rip Engle
7 Gator Bowl T 17–17 December 30, 1967 1967 Florida State Seminoles Gator Bowl Stadium Jacksonville 68,019 Joe Paterno
8 Orange Bowl W 15–14 January 1, 1969 1968 Kansas Jayhawks Orange Bowl Miami 77,719 Joe Paterno
9 Orange Bowl W 10–3 January 1, 1970 1969 Missouri Tigers Orange Bowl Miami 77,282 Joe Paterno
10 Cotton Bowl Classic W 30–6 January 1, 1972 1971 Texas Longhorns Cotton Bowl Dallas 70,000 Joe Paterno
11 Sugar Bowl L 14–0 December 31, 1972 1972 Oklahoma Sooners Tulane Stadium New Orleans 80,123 Joe Paterno
12 Orange Bowl W 16–9 January 1, 1974 1973 LSU Tigers Orange Bowl Miami 60,477 Joe Paterno
13 Cotton Bowl Classic W 41–20 January 1, 1975 1974 Baylor Bears Cotton Bowl Dallas 68,500 Joe Paterno
14 Sugar Bowl L 13–6 December 31, 1975 1975 Alabama Crimson Tide Louisiana Superdome New Orleans 75,212 Joe Paterno
15 Gator Bowl L 20–9 December 27, 1976 1976 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Gator Bowl Stadium Jacksonville 67,827 Joe Paterno
16 Fiesta Bowl W 42–30 December 25, 1977 1977 Arizona State Sun Devils Sun Devil Stadium Tempe 57,727 Joe Paterno
17 Sugar Bowl L 14–7 January 1, 1979 1978 Alabama Crimson Tide Louisiana Superdome New Orleans 76,824 Joe Paterno
18 Liberty Bowl W 9–6 December 22, 1979 1979 Tulane Green Wave Liberty Bowl Memphis 50,021 Joe Paterno
19 Fiesta Bowl W 31–19 December 26, 1980 1980 Ohio State Buckeyes Sun Devil Stadium Tempe 66,738 Joe Paterno
20 Fiesta Bowl W 26–10 January 1, 1982 1981 USC Trojans Sun Devil Stadium Tempe 71,053 Joe Paterno
21 Sugar Bowl W 27–23 January 1, 1983 1982 Georgia Bulldogs Louisiana Superdome New Orleans 78,127 Joe Paterno
22 Aloha Bowl W 13–10 December 26, 1983 1983 Washington Huskies Aloha Stadium Honolulu 37,212 Joe Paterno
23 Orange Bowl L 25–10 January 1, 1986 1985 Oklahoma Sooners Orange Bowl Miami 74,178 Joe Paterno
24 Fiesta Bowl W 14–10 January 2, 1987 1986 Miami Hurricanes Sun Devil Stadium Tempe 73,098 Joe Paterno
25 Florida Citrus Bowl L 35–10 January 1, 1988 1987 Clemson Tigers Florida Citrus Bowl Orlando 53,152 Joe Paterno
26 Holiday Bowl W 50–39 December 30, 1989 1989 BYU Cougars Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego 61,113 Joe Paterno
27 Blockbuster Bowl L 24–17 December 28, 1990 1990 Florida State Seminoles Joe Robbie Stadium Miami Gardens 74,021 Joe Paterno
28 Fiesta Bowl W 42–17 January 1, 1992 1991 Tennessee Volunteers Sun Devil Stadium Tempe 71,133 Joe Paterno
29 Blockbuster Bowl L 24–3 January 1, 1993 1992 Stanford Cardinal Joe Robbie Stadium Miami Gardens 45,554 Joe Paterno
30 Florida Citrus Bowl W 31–13 January 1, 1994 1993 Tennessee Volunteers Florida Citrus Bowl Orlando 72,456 Joe Paterno
31 Rose Bowl W 38–20 January 2, 1995 1994 Oregon Ducks Rose Bowl Pasadena 102,247 Joe Paterno
32 Outback Bowl W 43–14 January 1, 1996 1995 Auburn Tigers Tampa Stadium Tampa 65,313 Joe Paterno
33 Fiesta Bowl W 38–15 January 1, 1997 1996 Texas Longhorns Sun Devil Stadium Tempe 65,106 Joe Paterno
34 Florida Citrus Bowl L 21–6 January 1, 1998 1997 Florida Gators Florida Citrus Bowl Orlando 72,940 Joe Paterno
35 Outback Bowl W 26–14 January 1, 1999 1998 Kentucky Wildcats Raymond James Stadium Tampa 66,005 Joe Paterno
36 Alamo Bowl W 24–0 December 28, 1999 1999 Texas A&M Aggies Alamodome San Antonio 65,380 Joe Paterno
37 Capital One Bowl L 13–9 January 1, 2003 2002 Auburn Tigers Florida Citrus Bowl Orlando 66,334 Joe Paterno
38 Orange Bowl W 26–23 3OT January 3, 2006 2005 Florida State Seminoles Dolphins Stadium Miami Gardens 77,912 Joe Paterno
39 Outback Bowl W 20–10 January 1, 2007 2006 Tennessee Volunteers Raymond James Stadium Tampa 65,601 Joe Paterno
40 Alamo Bowl W 24–17 December 28, 2007 2007 Texas A&M Aggies Alamodome San Antonio 66,166 Joe Paterno
41 Rose Bowl L 38–24 January 1, 2009 2008 USC Trojans Rose Bowl Pasadena 93,293 Joe Paterno
42 Capital One Bowl W 19–17 January 1, 2010 2009 LSU Tigers Florida Citrus Bowl Orlando 63,025 Joe Paterno
43 Outback Bowl L 37–24 January 1, 2011 2010 Florida Gators Raymond James Stadium Tampa 60,574 Joe Paterno
44 TicketCity Bowl L 30–14 January 2, 2012 2011 Houston Cougars Cotton Bowl Dallas 46,817 Tom Bradley
45 Pinstripe Bowl W 31–30 OT December 27, 2014 2014 Boston College Eagles Yankee Stadium Bronx 49,012 James Franklin
46 TaxSlayer Bowl L 24–17 January 2, 2016 2015 Georgia Bulldogs EverBank Field Jacksonville 58,212 James Franklin
47 Rose Bowl L 49–52 January 2, 2017 2016 USC Trojans Rose Bowl Pasadena 95,128 James Franklin
48 Fiesta Bowl W 35–28 December 30, 2017 2017 Washington Huskies University of Phoenix Stadium Glendale 61,842 James Franklin
49 Citrus Bowl L 24–27 January 1, 2019 2018 Kentucky Wildcats Camping World Stadium Orlando 59,167 James Franklin
50 Cotton Bowl Classic W 53–39 December 28, 2019 2019 Memphis Tigers AT&T Stadium Arlington 54,828 James Franklin
51 Outback Bowl L 10–24 January 1, 2022 2021 Arkansas Razorbacks Raymond James Stadium Tampa 46,577 James Franklin
52 Rose Bowl W 35–21 January 2, 2023 2022 Utah Utes Rose Bowl Pasadena 94,873 James Franklin
53 Peach Bowl L 25–38 December 30, 2023 2023 Ole Miss Rebels Mercedes-Benz Stadium Atlanta 71,230 James Franklin

Notes

  1. ^ Statistics correct as of 2022–23 NCAA football bowl games.
  2. ^ Results are sortable first by whether the result was a Penn State win, loss or tie and then second by the margin of victory.
  3. ^ Links to the season article for the Penn State team that competed in the bowl for that year.
  4. ^ Links to the season article for the opponent that Penn State competed against in the bowl for that year when available or to their general page when unavailable.

References