Syracuse and Washington State Bowl Records & History: How Have the Holiday Bowl Teams Fared Through the Years?

Syracuse and Washington State face off in the Holiday Bowl on Friday.

Syracuse Orange quarterback Kyle McCord celebrates with tight end Jamie Tremble. / Rich Barnes-Imagn Images

The 8-4 Washington State Cougars will take on 9-3 Syracuse on Friday in the 45th edition of the Holiday Bowl. The Holiday Bowl has taken place in San Diego, Calif., since 1978, and will be held at Snapdragon Stadium for the first time this year.

Though both Washington State and Syracuse have had football programs for at least 130 years, Friday's game will mark just the second matchup between the two teams. The two teams last played in 1979, when Syracuse earned a 52-25 win.

Syracuse comes into the game ranked No. 22 in the AP Top 25 poll, and riding a three-game winning streak. Washington State comes into the game with significantly less momentum, having lost their last three games.

Syracuse Bowl Game History: How The Orange Have Fared

SEASON	BOWL	OPPONENT	RESULT
1952	Orange Bowl	Alabama	L 6–61
1956	Cotton Bowl Classic	TCU	L 27–28
1958	Orange Bowl	Oklahoma	L 6–21
1959	Cotton Bowl Classic	Texas	W 23–14
1961	Liberty Bowl	Miami	W 15–14
1964	Sugar Bowl	LSU	L 10–13
1966	Gator Bowl	Tennessee	L 12–18
1979	Independence Bowl	McNeese State	W 31–7
1985	Cherry Bowl	Maryland	L 18–35
1987	Sugar Bowl	Auburn	T 16–16
1988	Hall of Fame Bowl	LSU	W 23–10
1989	Peach Bowl	Georgia	W 19–18
1990	Aloha Bowl	Arizona	W 28–0
1991	Hall of Fame Bowl	Ohio State	W 24–17
1992	Fiesta Bowl	Colorado	W 26–22
1995	Gator Bowl	Clemson	W 41–0
1996	Liberty Bowl	Houston	W 30–17
1997	Fiesta Bowl	Kansas State	L 18–35
1998	Orange Bowl	Florida	L 10–31
1999	Music City Bowl	Kentucky	W 20–13
2001	Insight.com Bowl	Kansas State	W 26–3
2004	Champs Sports Bowl	Georgia Tech	L 14–51
2010	Pinstripe Bowl	Kansas State	W 36–34
2012	Pinstripe Bowl	West Virginia	W 38–14
2013	Texas Bowl	Minnesota	W 21–17
2018	Camping World Bowl	West Virginia	W 34–18
2022	Pinstripe Bowl	Minnesota	L 20-28
2023	Boca Raton Bowl	South Florida	L 45-0

Notes on Syracuse's Bowl History

The Orange will play in their 29th bowl game on Friday, but will make their first appearance in the Holiday Bowl.

Syracuse first appeared in a bowl game in 1953, when they lost to Alabama in the Orange Bowl. The team lost their first three bowl games, and lost six of their first nine bowl game appearances. Their first bowl game win came over Texas in 1959, the same year they won their lone national championship.

The Orange have made three straight bowl games, but have lost each of the last two. They will look to correct course with a win over Washington State.

Washington State Bowl Game History: How The Cougars Have Fared

SEASON	BOWL	OPPONENT	RESULT
1915	Rose Bowl	Brown	W 14–0
1930	Rose Bowl	Alabama	L 0–24
1981	Holiday Bowl	BYU	L 36–38
1988	Aloha Bowl	Houston	W 24–22
1992	Copper Bowl	Utah	W 31–28
1994	Alamo Bowl	Baylor	W 10–3
1997	Rose Bowl	Michigan	L 16–21
2001	Sun Bowl	Purdue	W 33–27
2002	Rose Bowl	Oklahoma	L 14–34
2003	Holiday Bowl	Texas	W 28–20
2013	New Mexico Bowl	Colorado State	L 45–48
2015	Sun Bowl	Miami (FL)	W 20–14
2016	Holiday Bowl	Minnesota	L 12–17
2017	Holiday Bowl	Michigan State	L 17–42
2018	Alamo Bowl	Iowa State	W 28–26
2019	Cheez-It Bowl	Air Force	L 21–31
2021	Sun Bowl	Central Michigan	L 21–24
2022	LA Bowl	Fresno State	L 6–29

Washington State first appeared in a bowl game in 1915, when they played in the second edition of the historic Rose Bowl. They have played in the Rose Bowl four times over their history.

The Cougars have also appeared in the Holiday Bowl four different times. They made their first appearance in 1981, the fourth installment of the Holiday Bowl, and most recently in 2017.

Washington State saw their longest streak of bowl games under late coach Mike Leach, who led the Cougars to five straight Holiday Bowls from 2015 to '19. Washington State went 0-2 in the Holiday Bowl and 2-4 in total bowl games under Leach.

Syracuse, Washington State's Records in Bowl Games

The Orange hold the advantage over the Cougars in bowl game record.

TEAM	WINS	LOSSES	TIES	WINNING PERCENTAGE
Syracuse	16	11	1	.571
Washington State	8	10	0	.444

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