Penn State's Bowl Game History: Appearances, Wins, Records

The Nittany Lions have a long, storied history in bowl games dating to 1923. Here's a look at Penn State's bowl history.

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin celebrates with the trophy after defeating the Utah Utes in the 109th Rose Bowl game at the Rose Bowl. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Penn State is one of the most decorated bowl teams in college football, ranking among the nation's top 10 in appearances, wins and winning percentage. Penn State's next bowl appearance is in its favorite bowl game: the Fiesta Bowl.

Penn State meets Boise State on New Year's Eve in the Fiesta Bowl, which now is part of the College Football Playoff. The quarterfinal-round game won't be Penn State's most important Fiesta Bowl but could rank pretty high on the all-time list if the Nittany Lions win. Penn State football is 7-0 in the Fiesta Bowl, including the landmark 14-10 win over Miami in the 1987 Fiesta Bowl to claim its second national championship. No team has won more games at one bowl game than Penn State has at the Fiesta Bowl.

Before Penn State meets Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl, here's a look at the Nittany Lions' bowl history and heritage, which began in 1923 at the Rose Bowl.

Penn State's bowl records

The Nittany Lions have appeared in 53 bowl games, tied for ninth nationally with Nebraska. Penn State is 31-20-2 in bowl games, and its bowl wins are tied for fourth all-time (with Oklahoma, Texas and Tennessee). Penn State's bowl winning percentage (60.4 percent) is tied for ninth with Florida State among teams with at least 20 bowl appearances.

Penn State's first bowl game

The Nittany Lions crossed the country by train in 1922 for their first bowl appearance in the 1923 Rose Bowl. Penn State fell to USC 14-3 in a game that featured a near-brawl pregame because the Nittany Lions were late and accused the Trojans of gamesmanship.

Otherwise, it was a spectacular week. Penn State spent five days on a train from the East Coast to Pasadena, stopping in Chicago and at the Grand Canyon along the way.

James Franklin's bowl history at Penn State

Franklin can get his Penn State bowl record back to .500 with a win over Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl. The Nittany Lions are 4-5 in bowl games under Franklin, most recently falling to Ole Miss in the 2023 Peach Bowl. Franklin's first team in 2014 began the season still under a bowl ban related to the 2012 NCAA sanctions but had the ban lifted early in the season. Franklin coached his first Penn State bowl at Yankee Stadium in the 2014 Pinstripe Bowl. The Nittany Lions defeated Boston College 31-30 in overtime.

Penn State has won three New Year’s 6 bowl games from 2016-22. Since 2014, Penn State is one of seven FBS teams with at least three NY6 bowl wins in a four-year span.

James Franklin's Penn State bowl record

• 2023 Peach Bowl: Ole Miss 38, Penn State 25

• 2023 Rose Bowl: Penn State 35, Utah 21

• 2022 Outback Bowl: Arkansas 24, Penn State 10

• 2019 Cotton Bowl: Penn State 53, Memphis 39

• 2019 Citrus Bowl: Kentucky 27, Penn State 24

• 2017 Fiesta Bowl: Penn State 35, Washington 28

• 2017 Rose Bowl: USC 52, Penn State 49

• 2016 TaxSlayer Bowl: Georgia 24, Penn State 17

• 2014 Pinstripe Bowl: Penn State 31, Boston College 30 (OT)

Penn State bowl game interesting facts

Penn State has at least one win in five of traditional New Year's 6 bowl games. Penn State has won the Rose, Fiesta, Sugar, Orange and Cotton but is 0-1 in the Peach Bowl.

Since 1940, Penn State has the highest winning percentage in NY6 bowl games. The Nittany Lions are .700. LSU is second at .672.

Penn State is 9-11 vs. SEC opponents in bowl games after losing to Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl. The Nittany Lions could get another SEC test in the Orange Bowl playoff semifinal. Penn State would have to beat Boise State, and Georgia would have to defeat Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl.

Journey Brown set the Penn State rushing record in the 2019 Cotton Bowl with 202 yards. He is the only Nittany Lion to top 200 yards rushing in a bowl game.

Penn State quarterback Drew Allar's 295 yards passing in the Peach Bowl rank third in school history. Christian Hackenberg set the school record with 371 yards passing in the 2014 Pinstripe Bowl.

Penn State's longest touchdown pass in a bowl game is also the longest touchdown pass in Rose Bowl history. Sean Clifford hit KeAndre Lambert-Smith for 88 yards in the 2023 Rose Bowl.

Penn State has four runs of 80+ yards in bowl games. The longest is Saquon Barkley's 92-yarder vs. Washington in the 2017 Fiesta Bowl. Nicholas Singleton went for 87 yards vs. Utah in the 2023 Rose Bowl.

Fourteen Nittany Lions have made two interceptions in a bowl game, most famously by Shane Conlan in the 1987 Fiesta Bowl. Most recently, Ji'Ayir Brown made two interceptions in the 2022 Outback Bowl.

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