# List of Houston Cougars bowl games

The Houston Cougars college football team competes as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), representing the University of Houston in the Big 12 Conference. Since the establishment of the team in 1946, Houston has appeared in 30 bowl games. The latest bowl occurred on December 23, 2022, when Houston defeated Louisiana in the 2022 Independence Bowl, which brought the Cougars' overall bowl record to thirteen wins, sixteen losses, and one tie (13–16–1).

## Key

General :
| † | Bowl game record attendance |
| ‡ | Former bowl game record attendance |
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 :
| # | Bowl | Score | Date | Season | Opponent | Stadium | Location | Attendance | Head coach |
| 1 | Salad Bowl | W 26–21 | January 1, 1952 | 1951 | Dayton Flyers | Montgomery Stadium | Phoenix | 17,000 | Clyde Lee |
| 2 | Tangerine Bowl | W 49–21 | December 22, 1962 | 1962 | Miami Redskins | Tangerine Bowl | Orlando | 7,500 | Bill Yeoman |
| 3 | Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl | W 37–7 | December 31, 1969 | 1969 | Auburn Tigers | Astrodome | Houston | 55,203 | Bill Yeoman |
| 4 | Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl | L 17–29 | December 31, 1971 | 1971 | Colorado Buffaloes | Astrodome | Houston | 54,720 | Bill Yeoman |
| 5 | Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl | W 47–7 | December 29, 1973 | 1973 | Tulane Green Wave | Astrodome | Houston | 44,358 | Bill Yeoman |
| 6 | Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl | T 31–31 | December 23, 1974 | 1974 | NC State Wolfpack | Astrodome | Houston | 35,122 | Bill Yeoman |
| 7 | Cotton Bowl Classic | W 30–21 | January 1, 1977 | 1976 | Maryland Terrapins | Cotton Bowl | Dallas | 54,500 | Bill Yeoman |
| 8 | Cotton Bowl Classic | L 34–35 | January 1, 1979 | 1978 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | Cotton Bowl | Dallas | 76,601$^‡$ | Bill Yeoman |
| 9 | Cotton Bowl Classic | W 17–14 | January 1, 1980 | 1979 | Nebraska Cornhuskers | Cotton Bowl | Dallas | 72,032 | Bill Yeoman |
| 10 | Garden State Bowl | W 35–0 | December 14, 1980 | 1980 | Navy Midshipmen | Giants Stadium | East Rutherford | 41,417 | Bill Yeoman |
| 11 | Sun Bowl | L 14–40 | December 26, 1981 | 1981 | Oklahoma Sooners | Sun Bowl Stadium | El Paso | 33,816 | Bill Yeoman |
| 12 | Cotton Bowl Classic | L 28–45 | January 1, 1985 | 1984 | Boston College Eagles | Cotton Bowl | Dallas | 56,522 | Bill Yeoman |
| 13 | Aloha Bowl | L 22–24 | December 25, 1988 | 1988 | Washington State Cougars | Aloha Stadium | Honolulu | 35,132 | Jack Pardee |
| 14 | Liberty Bowl | L 17–30 | December 27, 1996 | 1996 | Syracuse Orangemen | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium | Memphis | 49,163 | Kim Helton |
| 15 | Hawaiʻi Bowl | L 48–54 | December 25, 2003 | 2003 | Hawaii Warriors | Aloha Stadium | Honolulu | 29,005 | Art Briles |
| 16 | Fort Worth Bowl | L 13–42 | December 23, 2005 | 2005 | Kansas Jayhawks | Amon G. Carter Stadium | Fort Worth | 33,505 | Art Briles |
| 17 | Liberty Bowl | L 36–44 | December 29, 2006 | 2006 | South Carolina Gamecocks | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium | Memphis | 56,103 | Art Briles |
| 18 | Texas Bowl | L 13–20 | December 28, 2007 | 2007 | TCU Horned Frogs | Reliant Stadium | Houston | 62,097$^‡$ | Chris Thurmond |
| 19 | Armed Forces Bowl | W 34–28 | December 31, 2008 | 2008 | Air Force Falcons | Amon G. Carter Stadium | Fort Worth | 41,127 | Kevin Sumlin |
| 20 | Armed Forces Bowl | L 20–47 | December 31, 2009 | 2009 | Air Force Falcons | Amon G. Carter Stadium | Fort Worth | 41,414 | Kevin Sumlin |
| 21 | TicketCity Bowl | W 30–14 | January 2, 2012 | 2011 | Penn State Nittany Lions | Cotton Bowl | Dallas | 46,817 | Tony Levine |
| 22 | BBVA Compass Bowl | L 24–41 | January 4, 2014 | 2013 | Vanderbilt Commodores | Legion Field | Birmingham | 42,717 | Tony Levine |
| 23 | Armed Forces Bowl | W 35–34 | January 2, 2015 | 2014 | Pittsburgh Panthers | Amon G. Carter Stadium | Fort Worth | 37,888 | David Gibbs |
| 24 | Peach Bowl | W 38–24 | December 31, 2015 | 2015 | Florida State Seminoles | Georgia Dome | Atlanta | 71,007 | Tom Herman |
| 25 | Las Vegas Bowl | L 10–34 | December 17, 2016 | 2016 | San Diego State Aztecs | Sam Boyd Stadium | Las Vegas | 29,286 | Major Applewhite |
| 26 | Hawaiʻi Bowl | L 27–33 | December 24, 2017 | 2017 | Fresno State Bulldogs | Aloha Stadium | Honolulu | 20,546 | Major Applewhite |
| 27 | Armed Forces Bowl | L 14–70 | December 22, 2018 | 2018 | Army Black Knights | Amon G. Carter Stadium | Fort Worth | 44,738 | Major Applewhite |
| 28 | New Mexico Bowl | L 14–28 | December 24, 2020 | 2020 | Hawaii Rainbow Warriors | Toyota Stadium | Frisco | 2,060 | Dana Holgorsen |
| 29 | Birmingham Bowl | W 17–13 | December 28, 2021 | 2021 | Auburn Tigers | Protective Stadium | Birmingham | 47,100 | Dana Holgorsen |
| 30 | Independence Bowl | W 23–16 | December 23, 2022 | 2022 | Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns | Independence Stadium | Shreveport | 23,410 | Dana Holgorsen |