LSU And Bowl Game Appearances

[LSUDad]

The 10 longest active streaks of bowl game appearances

ByCLINT BUCKLEY Jul 17, 3:30 PM 

Share0 Comments

Sustained excellence is hard to come by in the world of college football. Proof of this lies with the millions of dollars athletic departments spend on coaching buyouts on an annual basis.

Degrees of success, however, vary depending on the program. What’s good for one team is considered below-average for others.

Most programs would consider an eight- or nine-win season a job well done. But at places like Alabama, Clemson or Ohio State, it is a sure-fire way to ensure their head coaches begin to feel the pressure.

No matter where a program is in terms of yearly expectations, achieving bowl eligibility is the bare minimum. And while that usually requires only six regular-season wins (or half the schedule), there are only a few programs that have bowl-appearance streaks longer than 10 years.

While some of that is because certain programs have run afoul of NCAA regulations and been given one- or multi-year postseason bans, the lack of sustained postseason success within programs nationally speaks to how difficult the challenge of making a bowl game can be.

It may seem like Clemson and Alabama run college football right now, considering their annual appearances in the College Football Playoff in recent years. But from a wider perspective, there is significant parity in the sport currently.

New programs have arrived on the scene, while a few historical blue bloods have fallen by the wayside in recent years. Even though they have significant historical standing, programs like Texas, Michigan, Nebraska and USC have had long bowling streaks interrupted over the last decade.

The more this subject is researched, the more impressive a long bowling streak becomes. However, some of the programs on this list have fanbases that simply aren’t satisfied by getting to bowl games every year.

With that in mind, 247Sports took a look at the 10 college football programs with the longest active bowl appearance streaks.

Scroll up to see the list.

10. TEXAS A&M — 11 [2009-19]

 

(Photo: 12thMan.com)

Count Aggies fans among those not easily impressed. Sure, Texas A&M has an impressive bowl streak going, but fans in College Station expect their team to compete for championships in the SEC. That seems outrageous considering A&M shares the same division with LSU and Alabama, who have combined to win seven national championships since 2007. But the Aggies’ facilities are second to none in the conference, the amount of revenue the athletic department brings in on an annual basis is on par with the SEC’s best. The Aggies also have a head coach in Jimbo Fisher, who’s won a national title in the last 10 years. Barring a series of unforeseen calamities in Aggieland, A&M will push its bowl appearance streak to a dozen years this season.

9. MIAMI — 12 [2008-19]

 

(Photo: Andrew Ivins, 247Sports)

The Hurricanes of the last decade-plus were certainly not in the same class as the Miami teams that came before them. There was a time in the 1980’s, again in the ’90’s and once in the 2000’s, that “The U” was the standard in college football. Not only did the ‘Canes have a talented pool of recruits from their own backyard in Miami and across the state of Florida, Miami was a national program. The Hurricanes were able to sell the unmatched nightlife of Miami, the long history of the program churning out NFL stars and the team’s winning ways. Miami’s current bowl streak of 12 seasons has withstood four different head coaches as the program has fallen out of the top tier of the nation’s elite teams.

8. OKLAHOMA STATE — 14 [2006-19]

 

(Photo: Brett Deering, Getty)

Playing in the shadow of the mighty Oklahoma Sooners, Mike Gundy and Oklahoma State have quietly built of the country’s most consistent college football programs. The calling card for the Cowboys over the years has been offense. Quarterbacks, wide receivers and running backs have found a happy home in Stillwater in recent years. Gundy’s offensive mind works perfectly in the Big 12, where lighting up scoreboards every Saturday in the fall have become a staple in the conference. And there’s plenty of optimism around the Oklahoma State program that it will continue. With a ton of firepower returning in 2020, including the nation’s leading rusher Chuba Hubbard, there is no reason to expect the Cowboys’ streak to stop this season. 

7. CLEMSON — 15 [2005-19]

 

(Photo: Christian Petersen, Getty)

OK, so not a shock. A case can be made that the Clemson Tigers have overtaken Alabama in terms of national dominance. Clemson has reached the CFP in five consecutive years, made the national title game in four of the last five seasons and won two championships. But before Clemson broke through in 2015, the Tigers were seen as a program that routinely underachieved. From 2011-14, Clemson won at least 10 games, but never could get over the hump and become a player on the national level. Needless to say, that’s not the case anymore, and it is safe to assume the Tigers’ streak of making bowl games will last for quite a while. Clemson could make it six CFP appearances in a row this season, and the Tigers are among the two or three favorites to win it all in 2020.

6. ALABAMA — 16 [2004-19]

 

(Photo: Stuart McNair, 247Sports)

The string of postseason appearances predates Nick Saban, but Alabama has taken it to a new level since Saban took over the program in 2007. Alabama won 12 games in Saban’s second year on the job, and the Tide claimed the first of their five national championships under Saban in the third year. Since 2009, Alabama has compiled a staggering overall record of 138-15 and the worst Alabama has done since then is 10-3. The Tide finished that year ranked No. 10 in the Associated Press poll, which is also its lowest ranking since ’09. Alabama has finished ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 an incredible seven times in the previous 11 seasons. Last year was the first time Alabama failed to reach the CFP since the four-team tournament’s inception in 2014. And most experts believe that was an aberration and that InbredGumps will be back on top of the mountain this season.

5. WISCONSIN — 18 [2002-19]

 

(Photo: Brad Fedie, 247Sports)

Ohio State and Michigan grab most of the headlines in the Big Ten, but don’t sleep on the Badgers. While it’s true Wisconsin has not played for a national title during its current streak of 18 bowl appearances, no other program in the conference has been as consistent on an annual basis. Barry Alvarez began the streak during the early part of the 2000’s, while Bret Bielema, Gary Andersen and current coach Paul Chryst have kept the Badgers’ run of bowls going. Wisconsin won’t be described as flashy, especially on the offensive side of the ball, but its method of winning games cannot be denied. Using powerful rushing attacks along with physical play on both the offensive and defensive lines, Wisconsin has found a perfect formula for success once the weather turns cold in October and November.

4. LSU — 20 [2000-19]

 

(Photo: Stephen Lew, USA TODAY Sports)

As hard as it may be to believe, the LSU football program took a backseat to baseball during the decade of the 1990’s. While the Tigers were a fixture in Omaha at the College World Series, the football team was mediocre at best. From 1990-99, LSU compiled an overall record of 54-58-1, reaching only three bowl games and registering at least 10 wins in a season just once. But a new day dawned when Saban showed up in Baton Rouge prior to the 2000 season. Saban won a national title in his five years with LSU, while Les Milescontinued to establish a standard of excellence for the Tigers program by winning another title in 2007. And when Miles’ historic run ended, it took his replacement, Ed Orgeron, three years to bring home the program’s third national championship since 2003.

3. OKLAHOMA — 21 [1999-2019]

 

(Photo: Matthew Emmons, USA TODAY Sports)

While Alabama certainly has a case, the Oklahoma Sooners might be the college football program most in control of its own conference. OU will sometimes get challenged by Texas, Oklahoma State and a couple others, but more often than not, the Big 12 championships goes through Norman. Starting with Bob Stoops and continuing with Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma’s success in the conference is as close to a sure thing as it gets in college football. The Sooners have finished either first or second in the Big 12 a phenomenal 14 times since Stoops was hired all the way back in 1999. Riley has had OU on the precipice of national championships in each of the last three years by reaching the CFP. However, a finals berth has eluded the Sooners each time with losses in the semifinals. But as long as Riley remains at the head of the program, it is unlikely Oklahoma’s string of postseason appearances comes to an end any time soon.

2. GEORGIA — 23 [1997-2019]

 

(Photo: Getty)

Georgia, not Alabama, LSU or Florida, has the longest active streak of bowl appearances in the SEC. The Bulldogs get overlooked at times because none of the 23 bowl games resulted in the program winning a national championship, but Georgia could be the nation’s best program over the last two decades without a title. The streak has withstood three head coaches as Jim Donnan began the run all the way back in 1997. Mark Richt and now Kirby Smart have built upon their predecessors’ success and taken the program to the verge of national titles. Richt’s teams won 10 games or more in a season 10 times, while Georgia is 36-7 in the last three years under Smart. Despite Jake Fromm moving onto the NFL, Georgia is once again expected to challenge for the CFP in 2020 with not one but two potential all-SEC performers at quarterback: JT Daniels and Jamie Newman.

1. VIRGINIA TECH — 27 [1993-2019)

 

(Photo: USA TODAY Sports)

The last time the Virginia Tech Hokies failed to quality for a bowl game George H.W. Bush was still the President. If that doesn’t constitute consistency, nothing does. Most of the success occurred under the direction of longtime head coach Frank Beamer, who retired after the 2015 season. Beginning in 1993, Beamer’s seventh season in Blacksburg, Virginia Tech could not be kept out of bowl season. The streak has survived a move from the Big East to the ACC, which occurred in 2004, includes 14 seasons of at least 10 victories and 18 years in which the Hokies finished ranked in the AP Top 25. Current head coach Justin Fuente has led Virginia Tech to four consecutive bowl games, but fans of the Hokies are hoping this year’s team can achieve 10 wins for only the second time since 2012.

[houtiger]

OK, #1 surprised me.