# List of Nebraska Cornhuskers bowl games

This list of Nebraska Cornhuskers bowl games shows the bowl games the Nebraska Cornhuskers football program has participated in since the inception of college football's bowl system in 1902. Nebraska has played in fifty-four bowl games, including a record thirty-five straight from 1969 to 2003, with a record of 27–27.

## History

In 1915, Nebraska was invited to face Northwest Conference champion Washington State in the second bowl game ever played, but university officials balked at the cost of sending the team to Pasadena and declined. NU played its first bowl game in the 1941 Rose Bowl, losing to eventual national champion Stanford. Nebraska was invited to the 1955 Orange Bowl despite its 6–4 record (conference rules prevented champion Oklahoma from appearing in consecutive seasons), falling to Duke 34–7 at Burdine Stadium (later the Miami Orange Bowl) in its first of seventeen Orange Bowl appearances.
Bob Devaney's inaugural season ended with the first bowl victory in program history, a 36–34 win over Miami in the 1962 Gotham Bowl. Three years later, he took Nebraska to its first national championship game (though it was not yet an official designation) against Alabama in the 1966 Orange Bowl; Bear Bryant's Crimson Tide won 39–28 in the first of three bowl meetings between the coaches. Nebraska did not appear in a bowl game in 1967 or 1968, but returned to postseason play in 1969 and began an NCAA-record streak of thirty-five consecutive seasons with a bowl appearance. NU won eight of its first nine games in this stretch under Devaney and Osborne, including two national championships. Nebraska regularly featured in the Orange Bowl due to the Big Eight's bowl affiliations; its 1983 defeat to Miami is considered one of college football's greatest games.
NU lost seven straight bowl games two decades into Osborne's tenure, many of them uncompetitive defeats to southeastern opposition. After a controversial championship game loss in 1993, he won his first major-poll national championship in 1994, avenging three previous Orange Bowl losses to Miami. Osborne retired after taking Nebraska to seven straight New Year's Six bowl games. NU's lengthy bowl streak continued through Frank Solich’s tenure but ended in 2004.
Nebraska missed a bowl game in 2017 for the first time in ten years, beginning a seven-year stretch without postseason play that covered Scott Frost's entire tenure as head coach. Nebraska returned to a bowl game in 2024.

## List of bowl games

| National championship game | Nebraska win | Nebraska loss |
| No. | Date | Bowl | Winning team | Winning team | Losing team | Losing team | City | Stadium | Attendance |
| 1 | Jan. 1, 1941 | Rose | No. 2 Stanford | 21 | No. 7 Nebraska | 13 | Pasadena, CA | Rose Bowl | 92,000 |
| 2 | Jan. 1, 1955 | Orange | No. 14 Duke | 34 | Nebraska | 7 | Miami, FL | Miami Orange Bowl | 68,750 |
| 3 | Dec. 15, 1962 | Gotham | Nebraska | 36 | Miami | 34 | New York City, NY | Yankee Stadium | 6,166 |
| 4 | Jan. 1, 1964 | Orange | No. 6 Nebraska | 13 | No. 5 Auburn | 7 | Miami, FL | Miami Orange Bowl | 72,647 |
| 5 | Jan. 1, 1965 | Cotton | No. 2 Arkansas | 10 | No. 6 Nebraska | 7 | Dallas, TX | Cotton Bowl | 75,504 |
| 6 | Jan. 1, 1966 | Orange | No. 4 Alabama | 39 | No. 3 Nebraska | 28 | Miami, FL | Miami Orange Bowl | 72,214 |
| 7 | Jan. 2, 1967 | Sugar | No. 3 Alabama | 34 | No. 6 Nebraska | 7 | New Orleans, LA | Tulane Stadium | 82,000 |
| 8 | Dec. 20, 1969 | Sun | No. 14 Nebraska | 45 | Georgia | 6 | El Paso, TX | Sun Bowl | 31,176 |
| 9 | Jan. 1, 1971 | Orange | No. 3 Nebraska | 17 | No. 5 LSU | 12 | Miami, FL | Miami Orange Bowl | 80,699 |
| 10 | Jan. 1, 1972 | Orange | No. 1 Nebraska | 38 | No. 2 Alabama | 6 | Miami, FL | Miami Orange Bowl | 78,151 |
| 11 | Jan. 1, 1973 | Orange | No. 9 Nebraska | 40 | No. 12 Notre Dame | 6 | Miami, FL | Miami Orange Bowl | 80,010 |
| 12 | Jan. 1, 1974 | Cotton | No. 12 Nebraska | 19 | No. 8 Texas | 3 | Dallas, TX | Cotton Bowl | 68,500 |
| 13 | Dec. 31, 1974 | Sugar | No. 8 Nebraska | 13 | No. 18 Florida | 10 | New Orleans, LA | Tulane Stadium | 67,890 |
| 14 | Dec. 26, 1975 | Fiesta | No. 7 Arizona State | 17 | No. 6 Nebraska | 14 | Tempe, AZ | Sun Devil Stadium | 51,396 |
| 15 | Dec. 31, 1976 | Bluebonnet | No. 13 Nebraska | 27 | No. 9 Texas Tech | 24 | Houston, TX | Astrodome | 48,618 |
| 16 | Dec. 19, 1977 | Liberty | No. 12 Nebraska | 21 | No. 14 North Carolina | 17 | Memphis, TN | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium | 49,456 |
| 17 | Jan. 1, 1979 | Orange | No. 4 Oklahoma | 31 | No. 6 Nebraska | 24 | Miami, FL | Miami Orange Bowl | 66,365 |
| 18 | Jan. 1, 1980 | Cotton | No. 8 Houston | 17 | No. 7 Nebraska | 14 | Dallas, TX | Cotton Bowl | 72,032 |
| 19 | Dec. 27, 1980 | Sun | No. 8 Nebraska | 31 | No. 17 Mississippi State | 17 | El Paso, TX | Sun Bowl | 34,723 |
| 20 | Jan. 1, 1982 | Orange | No. 1 Clemson | 22 | No. 4 Nebraska | 15 | Miami, FL | Miami Orange Bowl | 72,748 |
| 21 | Jan. 1, 1983 | Orange | No. 3 Nebraska | 21 | No. 13 LSU | 20 | Miami, FL | Miami Orange Bowl | 54,407 |
| 22 | Jan. 2, 1984 | Orange | No. 5 Miami (FL) | 31 | No. 1 Nebraska | 30 | Miami, FL | Miami Orange Bowl | 72,549 |
| 23 | Jan. 1, 1985 | Sugar | No. 5 Nebraska | 28 | No. 11 LSU | 10 | New Orleans, LA | Louisiana Superdome | 75,608 |
| 24 | Jan. 1, 1986 | Fiesta | No. 5 Michigan | 27 | No. 7 Nebraska | 23 | Tempe, AZ | Sun Devil Stadium | 72,454 |
| 25 | Jan. 1, 1987 | Sugar | No. 6 Nebraska | 30 | No. 5 LSU | 15 | New Orleans, LA | Louisiana Superdome | 76,234 |
| 26 | Jan. 1, 1988 | Fiesta | No. 3 Florida State | 31 | No. 5 Nebraska | 28 | Tempe, AZ | Sun Devil Stadium | 72,112 |
| 27 | Jan. 2, 1989 | Orange | No. 2 Miami (FL) | 23 | No. 6 Nebraska | 3 | Miami, FL | Miami Orange Bowl | 79,480 |
| 28 | Jan. 1, 1990 | Fiesta | No. 5 Florida State | 41 | No. 6 Nebraska | 17 | Tempe, AZ | Sun Devil Stadium | 73,953 |
| 29 | Jan. 1, 1991 | Citrus | No. 2 Georgia Tech | 45 | No. 19 Nebraska | 21 | Orlando, FL | Florida Citrus Bowl | 73,328 |
| 30 | Jan. 1, 1992 | Orange | No. 1 Miami (FL) | 22 | No. 11 Nebraska | 0 | Miami, FL | Miami Orange Bowl | 77,747 |
| 31 | Jan. 1, 1993 | Orange | No. 3 Florida State | 27 | No. 11 Nebraska | 14 | Miami, FL | Miami Orange Bowl | 57,324 |
| 32 | Jan. 1, 1994 | Orange | No. 1 Florida State | 18 | No. 2 Nebraska | 16 | Miami, FL | Miami Orange Bowl | 81,536 |
| 33 | Jan. 1, 1995 | Orange | No. 1 Nebraska | 24 | No. 3 Miami (FL) | 17 | Miami, FL | Miami Orange Bowl | 81,753 |
| 34 | Jan. 2, 1996 | Fiesta | No. 1 Nebraska | 62 | No. 2 Florida | 24 | Tempe, AZ | Sun Devil Stadium | 79,864 |
| 35 | Dec. 31, 1996 | Orange | No. 6 Nebraska | 41 | No. 10 Virginia Tech | 21 | Miami Gardens, FL | Joe Robbie Stadium | 51,212 |
| 36 | Jan. 2, 1998 | Orange | No. 2 Nebraska | 42 | No. 3 Tennessee | 17 | Miami Gardens, FL | Joe Robbie Stadium | 74,002 |
| 37 | Dec. 30, 1998 | Holiday | No. 5 Arizona | 23 | No. 14 Nebraska | 20 | San Diego, CA | Qualcomm Stadium | 65,354 |
| 38 | Jan. 2, 2000 | Fiesta | No. 3 Nebraska | 31 | No. 6 Tennessee | 21 | Tempe, AZ | Sun Devil Stadium | 71,526 |
| 39 | Dec. 30, 2000 | Alamo | No. 9 Nebraska | 66 | No. 18 Northwestern | 17 | San Antonio, TX | Alamodome | 60,028 |
| 40 | Jan. 3, 2002 | Rose | No. 1 Miami (FL) | 37 | No. 4 Nebraska | 14 | Pasadena, CA | Rose Bowl | 93,781 |
| 41 | Dec. 27, 2002 | Independence | Mississippi | 27 | Nebraska | 23 | Shreveport, LA | Independence Stadium | 46,096 |
| 42 | Dec. 29, 2003 | Alamo | No. 22 Nebraska | 17 | Michigan State | 3 | San Antonio, TX | Alamodome | 56,229 |
| 43 | Dec. 28, 2005 | Alamo | Nebraska | 32 | No. 20 Michigan | 28 | San Antonio, TX | Alamodome | 63,016 |
| 44 | Jan. 1, 2007 | Cotton | No. 10 Auburn | 17 | No. 22 Nebraska | 14 | Dallas, TX | Cotton Bowl | 66,777 |
| 45 | Jan. 1, 2009 | Gator | Nebraska | 26 | Clemson | 21 | Jacksonville, FL | EverBank Stadium | 67,282 |
| 46 | Dec. 30, 2009 | Holiday | No. 20 Nebraska | 33 | No. 22 Arizona | 0 | San Diego, CA | Qualcomm Stadium | 64,607 |
| 47 | Dec. 30, 2010 | Holiday | Washington | 19 | No. 17 Nebraska | 7 | San Diego, CA | Qualcomm Stadium | 57,921 |
| 48 | Jan. 2, 2012 | Citrus | No. 10 South Carolina | 30 | No. 21 Nebraska | 13 | Orlando, FL | Florida Citrus Bowl | 61,351 |
| 49 | Jan. 1, 2013 | Citrus | No. 6 Georgia | 45 | No. 23 Nebraska | 31 | Orlando, FL | Florida Citrus Bowl | 59,712 |
| 50 | Jan. 1, 2014 | Gator | Nebraska | 24 | No. 23 Georgia | 19 | Jacksonville, FL | EverBank Stadium | 60,712 |
| 51 | Dec. 27, 2014 | Holiday | No. 24 USC | 45 | No. 25 Nebraska | 42 | San Diego, CA | Qualcomm Stadium | 55,789 |
| 52 | Dec. 26, 2015 | San Francisco | Nebraska | 37 | UCLA | 29 | Santa Clara, CA | Levi's Stadium | 33,527 |
| 53 | Dec. 30, 2016 | Music City | Tennessee | 38 | No. 24 Nebraska | 24 | Nashville, TN | Nissan Stadium | 68,496 |
| 54 | Dec. 28, 2024 | Pinstripe | Nebraska | 20 | Boston College | 15 | New York, NY | Yankee Stadium | 30,062 |

## Record breakdown

| Opponent No. Opponent Record 6 Miami (FL)2–4 4 LSU4–0 Florida State0–4 3 Georgia2–1 Tennessee Alabama1–2 2 Florida2–0 Arizona1–1 Auburn Clemson Michigan 1 Boston College1–0 Michigan State Mississippi State North Carolina Northwestern Texas Texas Tech UCLA Virginia Tech Arizona State0–1 Arkansas Georgia Tech Houston Oklahoma Ole Miss South Carolina USC Washington | Bowl App. Bowl Record 17 Orange8–9 6 Fiesta2–4 4 Sugar3–1 Cotton1–3 Holiday 3 Alamo3–0 Citrus0–3 2 Gator2–0 Sun Rose0–2 1 Bluebonnet1–0 Gotham Liberty Pinstripe San Francisco Independence0–1 Music City | Coach No. Coach Tenure Record 25 Tom Osborne 1973–1997 12–13 (.480) 9 Bob Devaney 1962–1972 6–3 (.667) 7 Bo Pelini 2003, 2008–2014 4–3 (.571) 5 Frank Solich 1998–2003 2–3 (.400) 2 Bill Callahan 2004–2007 1–1 (.500) Mike Riley 2015–2017 1 Matt Rhule 2023–present 1–0 (1.000) Biff Jones 1937–1941 0–1 (.000) Bill Glassford 1949–1955 Barney Cotton 2014 |