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With 12 SEC squads in bowl games and the bowl calendar rapidly approaching, let’s take a quick look back. Who has played in the most bowl games in the 2000s? Whose streak is still active? Who has the best wins?
Here are the answers to all of that and each team’s three best bowl wins in the 21st century.
Alabama
2000-15 bowl record: 9-5
Consecutive years bowl streak: 13
3 best wins
2015 CFP Championship: vs. Clemson (45-40)
2011 BCS Championship: vs. LSU (21-0)
2009 BCS Championship: vs. Texas (37-21)
You know it’s been good times for Alabama when we leave out a title game. We elected for 2015 (the best game), 2011 (conference revenge match), and 2009 (the return to glory). They just it look too easy against Notre Dame in the 2012 title game.
Arkansas
2000-15 bowl record: 5-6
Consecutive years bowl streak: 3
3 best wins
2011 Cotton Bowl: vs. Kansas St. (29-16)
2003 Independence Bowl: vs. Missouri (27-14)
2009 Liberty Bowl: vs. East Carolina (20-17)
The 2011 Cotton Bowl is the biggest bowl win of the century, with the others coming from a shallow pool of only five choices.
Auburn
2000-15 bowl record: 9-5
Consecutive years bowl streak: 4
3 best wins
2010 BCS Championship: vs. Oregon (22-19)
2004 Sugar Bowl: vs. Virginia Tech (16-13)
2006 Cotton Bowl vs. Nebraska (17-14)
Cam Newton’s title team in 2010 takes the cake, with the game that should have won a title in 2004 coming second. The third was a random win against a quality opponent.
LSU
2000-15 bowl record: 10-6
Consecutive years bowl streak: 17
3 best wins
2007 BCS Championship: vs. Ohio State (38-24)
2003 Sugar Bowl (Championship): vs. Oklahoma (21-14)
2006 Sugar Bowl: vs. Notre Dame (41-14)
Two titles (with the Mad Hatter’s edging out Saban’s), with the third game being a big time bowl mauling of Notre Dame. Not a bad group.
Mississippi State
2000-15 bowl record: 6-2
Consecutive years bowl streak: 7
3 best wins
2010 Gator Bowl: vs. Michigan (52-14)
2015 Belk Bowl: vs. NC State (51-28)
2000 Independence Bowl: vs. Texas A&M (43-41)
A whipping of a Big Ten power tops the list, along with Dak Prescott’s last offensive shellacking, and Jackie Sherrill’s final bowl game.
Ole Miss
2000-15 bowl record: 7-2
Consecutive years bowl streak: 0
3 best wins
2003 Cotton Bowl: vs. Oklahoma St. (31-28)
2015 Sugar Bowl: vs. Oklahoma St. (48-20)
2008 Cotton Bowl: vs. Texas Tech (47-34)
Two big bowl wins to wrap up 10-win seasons over Oklahoma State top the list. The 2009 Cotton Bowl (again vs. Oklahoma State) was just beaten out for the last spot by a win over Mike Leach’s best team.
Texas A&M
2000-15 bowl record: 5-6
Consecutive years bowl streak: 8
3 best wins
2012 Cotton Bowl: vs. Oklahoma (41-13)
2013 Chick-Fil-A Bowl: vs. Duke (52-48)
2014 Liberty Bowl: vs. West Virginia (45-37)
Only five wins to choose from, with precedence going to Manziel’s Heisman confirmation game — and to his final college game, a great comeback win over Duke.
East
Florida
2000-15 bowl record: 8-7
Consecutive years bowl streak: 3
3 best wins
2008 BCS Championship: vs. Oklahoma (24-14)
2006 BCS Championship: vs. Ohio State (41-14)
2001 Orange Bowl: vs. Maryland (56-23)
So for the Gators, it’s two national titles (went Tim Tebow in 2008 over Chris Leak in 2006) and Steve Spurrier’s Gator swan song for their top bowl wins. Pretty solid group.
Georgia
2000-15 bowl record: 11-5
Consecutive years bowl streak: 20
3 best wins
2002 Sugar Bowl vs. Florida St. (26-13)
2007 Sugar Bowl: vs. Hawaii (41-10)
2012 Capital One Bowl: vs. Nebraska (45-31)
There’s a big air of “what might have been” hanging over this list. Three big bowl wins for Top 6 Bulldog teams, but none of them being the big prize. Still, it’s a pretty lucrative bowl history, even without a title.
Kentucky
2000-15 bowl record: 3-2
Consecutive years bowl streak: 1
3 best wins
2006 Music City Bowl: vs. Clemson (28-20)
2007 Music City Bowl: vs. Florida St. (35-28)
2008 Liberty Bowl: vs. East Carolina (25-19)
These are the three 21st century bowl wins for Kentucky, with the 2006 game featuring UK as a 10.5-point underdog that pulled an impressive win.
Missouri
2000-15 bowl record: 6-4
Consecutive years bowl streak: 0
3 best wins
2013 Cotton Bowl: vs. Oklahoma St. (41-31)
2007 Cotton Bowl: vs. Arkansas (38-7)
2008 Alamo Bowl: vs. Northwestern (30-23)
A pair of Cotton Bowl wins on each side of the Big 12/SEC divide tops the Mizzou list, with the third game being an overtime thriller over a Big Ten foe.
South Carolina
2000-15 bowl record: 7-4
Consecutive years bowl streak: 1
3 best wins
2012 Outback Bowl: vs. Michigan (33-28)
2013 Capital One Bowl: vs. Wisconsin (34-24)
2000 Outback Bowl: vs. Ohio State (24-7)
Two New Year’s Day wins that marked the eleventh victory of each season headline the list for the Gamecocks. The third choice was the cherry on top of Lou Holtz’s progression from 0-11 in 1999 to a New Year’s Day bowl win in 2000.
Tennessee
2000-15 bowl record: 5-6
Consecutive years bowl streak: 3
3 best wins
2001 Citrus Bowl: vs. Michigan (45-17)
2004 Cotton Bowl: vs. Texas A&M (38-7)
2015 Outback Bowl: vs. Northwestern (45-6)
Only five 21st century bowl wins to choose among for the Vols. The top two picks are New Year’s Day thumpings from the Phil Fulmer days, the latter of which had UT as a 4.5-point underdog. The third choice is the Vols’ biggest bowl game since Fulmer.
Vanderbilt
2000-15 bowl record: 3-1
Consecutive years bowl streak: 1
3 best wins
2008 Music City Bowl vs. Boston College (16-14)
2012 Music City Bowl vs. NC State (38-24)
2013 Compass Bowl vs. Houston (41-24)
Like Kentucky, Vandy only has three options to choose from. And like Kentucky, the top pick ended a lengthy bowl drought with a big victory. The second pick was James Franklin’s first bowl win, and it as the last pick was the ninth win of their respective season for Vandy.
Joe Cox is a columnist for Saturday Down South. He has also written or assisted in writing five books, and his most recent, Almost Perfect (a study of baseball pitchers’ near-miss attempts at perfect games), is available on Amazon or at many local bookstores.
