# List of Michigan State Spartans bowl games

The Michigan State Spartans college football team competes as part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), representing Michigan State University in the Big Ten Conference (Big Ten). Since the establishment of the team in 1896, Michigan State has appeared in 30 bowl games. Included in these games are five appearances in the Rose Bowl Game. Through the history of the program, nine separate coaches have led the Spartans to bowl games with Mark Dantonio having the most appearances with twelve.

## Key

General :
| † | Bowl game record attendance |
| ‡ | Former bowl game record attendance |
| § | Denotes College Football Playoff game |
Results :
| W | Win |
| L | Loss |

## Bowl games

List of bowl games showing bowl played in, score, date, season, opponent, stadium, location, attendance and head coach :
| # | Bowl | Score | Date | Season | Opponent | Stadium | Location | Attendance | Head coach |
| 1 | Orange Bowl | L 6–0 | January 1, 1938 | 1937 | Auburn | Miami Orange Bowl | Miami | 18,972$^‡$ | Charlie Bachman |
| 2 | Rose Bowl | W 28–20 | January 1, 1954 | 1953 | UCLA | Rose Bowl | Pasadena | 100,500 | Biggie Munn |
| 3 | Rose Bowl | W 17–14 | January 1, 1956 | 1955 | UCLA | Rose Bowl | Pasadena | 100,809 | Duffy Daugherty |
| 4 | Rose Bowl | L 14–12 | January 1, 1966 | 1965 | UCLA | Rose Bowl | Pasadena | 100,087 | Duffy Daugherty |
| 5 | Cherry Bowl | L 10–6 | December 22, 1984 | 1984 | Army | Pontiac Silverdome | Pontiac | 70,332$^†$ | George Perles |
| 6 | Hall of Fame Classic | L 17–14 | December 31, 1985 | 1985 | Georgia Tech | Legion Field | Birmingham | 45,000 | George Perles |
| 7 | Rose Bowl | W 20–17 | January 1, 1988 | 1987 | USC | Rose Bowl | Pasadena | 103,847 | George Perles |
| 8 | Gator Bowl | L 34–27 | January 1, 1989 | 1988 | Georgia | Gator Bowl | Jacksonville | 76,236 | George Perles |
| 9 | Aloha Bowl | W 33–13 | December 25, 1989 | 1989 | Hawaii | Aloha Stadium | Honolulu | 50,000$^†$ | George Perles |
| 10 | John Hancock Bowl | W 17–16 | December 31, 1990 | 1990 | USC | Sun Bowl Stadium | El Paso | 50,562 | George Perles |
| 11 | Liberty Bowl | L 18–7 | December 28, 1993 | 1993 | Louisville | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium | Memphis | 34,216 | George Perles |
| 12 | Independence Bowl | L 45–26 | December 29, 1995 | 1995 | LSU | Independence Stadium | Shreveport | 48,835 | Nick Saban |
| 13 | Sun Bowl | L 38–0 | December 31, 1996 | 1996 | Stanford | Sun Bowl Stadium | El Paso | 42,271 | Nick Saban |
| 14 | Aloha Bowl | L 51–23 | December 25, 1997 | 1997 | Washington | Aloha Stadium | Honolulu | 34,419 | Nick Saban |
| 15 | Florida Citrus Bowl | W 37–34 | January 1, 2000 | 1999 | Florida | Citrus Bowl | Orlando | 62,011 | Bobby Williams |
| 16 | Silicon Valley Classic | W 44–35 | December 31, 2001 | 2001 | Fresno State | Spartan Stadium | San Jose | 30,456$^†$ | Bobby Williams |
| 17 | Alamo Bowl | L 17–3 | December 29, 2003 | 2003 | Nebraska | Alamodome | San Antonio | 56,226 | John L. Smith |
| 18 | Champs Sports Bowl | L 24–21 | December 28, 2007 | 2007 | Boston College | Citrus Bowl | Orlando | 46,554 | Mark Dantonio |
| 19 | Capital One Bowl | L 24–12 | January 1, 2009 | 2008 | Georgia | Citrus Bowl | Orlando | 59,681 | Mark Dantonio |
| 20 | Alamo Bowl | L 41–31 | January 2, 2010 | 2009 | Texas Tech | Alamodome | San Antonio | 64,757 | Mark Dantonio |
| 21 | Capital One Bowl | L 49–7 | January 1, 2011 | 2010 | Alabama | Citrus Bowl | Orlando | 61,519 | Mark Dantonio |
| 22 | Outback Bowl | W 33–30 $^{(3OT)}$ | January 2, 2012 | 2011 | Georgia | Raymond James Stadium | Tampa | 49,429 | Mark Dantonio |
| 23 | Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl | W 17–16 | December 29, 2012 | 2012 | TCU | Sun Devil Stadium | Tempe | 44,617 | Mark Dantonio |
| 24 | Rose Bowl | W 24–20 | January 1, 2014 | 2013 | Stanford | Rose Bowl | Pasadena | 95,173 | Mark Dantonio |
| 25 | Cotton Bowl Classic | W 42–41 | January 1, 2015 | 2014 | Baylor | AT&T Stadium | Arlington | 71,464 | Mark Dantonio |
| 26 | Cotton Bowl Classic§ | L 38–0 | December 31, 2015 | 2015 | Alabama | AT&T Stadium | Arlington | 82,812 | Mark Dantonio |
| 27 | Holiday Bowl | W 42–17 | December 28, 2017 | 2017 | Washington State | SDCCU Stadium | San Diego | 47,092 | Mark Dantonio |
| 28 | Redbox Bowl | L 7–6 | December 31, 2018 | 2018 | Oregon | Levi's Stadium | Santa Clara | 30,212 | Mark Dantonio |
| 29 | Pinstripe Bowl | W 27–21 | December 27, 2019 | 2019 | Wake Forest | Yankee Stadium | The Bronx | 36,895 | Mark Dantonio |
| 30 | Peach Bowl | W 31–21 | December 30, 2021 | 2021 | Pittsburgh | Mercedes-Benz Stadium | Atlanta | 41,230 | Mel Tucker |

## Record by bowl game

| Bowl Game | # | W | L | % |
| Alamo Bowl | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 |
| Aloha Bowl | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 |
| Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Champs Sports Bowl | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| Cherry Bowl | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| Citrus Bowl (Capital One Bowl) | 3 | 1 | 2 | .333 |
| Cotton Bowl | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 |
| Gator Bowl | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| Hall of Fame Classic | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| Holiday Bowl | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Independence Bowl | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| Liberty Bowl | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| Orange Bowl | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| Outback Bowl | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Peach Bowl | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Pinstripe Bowl | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Redbox Bowl | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| Rose Bowl | 5 | 4 | 1 | .800 |
| Silicon Valley Classic | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Sun Bowl (John Hancock Bowl) | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 |