Alabama has played more bowl games than any program in college football, and it is not close. Eighty postseason games, sixteen more than second place Georgia, running from a 1926 Rose Bowl upset that put Southern football on the map to a 2025 playoff run that ended in Pasadena.
Every Alabama Bowl Game
Listed by season. Gold rows are national championship seasons. Red rows are championship game losses.
| Season | Bowl | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1925 | Rose Bowl | W 20 to 19 vs Washington |
| 1926 | Rose Bowl | T 7 to 7 vs Stanford |
| 1930 | Rose Bowl | W 24 to 0 vs Washington State |
| 1934 | Rose Bowl | W 29 to 13 vs Stanford |
| 1937 | Rose Bowl | L 0 to 13 vs California |
| 1941 | Cotton Bowl | W 29 to 21 vs Texas A&M |
| 1942 | Orange Bowl | W 37 to 21 vs Boston College |
| 1944 | Sugar Bowl | L 26 to 29 vs Duke |
| 1945 | Rose Bowl | W 34 to 14 vs USC |
| 1947 | Sugar Bowl | L 7 to 27 vs Texas |
| 1952 | Orange Bowl | W 61 to 6 vs Syracuse |
| 1953 | Cotton Bowl | L 6 to 28 vs Rice |
| 1959 | Liberty Bowl | L 0 to 7 vs Penn State |
| 1960 | Bluebonnet Bowl | T 3 to 3 vs Texas |
| 1961 | Sugar Bowl | W 10 to 3 vs Arkansas |
| 1962 | Orange Bowl | W 17 to 0 vs Oklahoma |
| 1963 | Sugar Bowl | W 12 to 7 vs Ole Miss |
| 1964 | Orange Bowl | L 17 to 21 vs Texas |
| 1965 | Orange Bowl | W 39 to 28 vs Nebraska |
| 1966 | Sugar Bowl | W 34 to 7 vs Nebraska |
| 1967 | Cotton Bowl | L 16 to 20 vs Texas A&M |
| 1968 | Gator Bowl | L 10 to 35 vs Missouri |
| 1969 | Liberty Bowl | L 33 to 47 vs Colorado |
| 1970 | Bluebonnet Bowl | T 24 to 24 vs Oklahoma |
| 1971 | Orange Bowl | L 6 to 38 vs Nebraska |
| 1972 | Cotton Bowl | L 13 to 17 vs Texas |
| 1973 | Sugar Bowl | L 23 to 24 vs Notre Dame |
| 1974 | Orange Bowl | L 11 to 13 vs Notre Dame |
| 1975 | Sugar Bowl | W 13 to 6 vs Penn State |
| 1976 | Liberty Bowl | W 36 to 6 vs UCLA |
| 1977 | Sugar Bowl | W 35 to 6 vs Ohio State |
| 1978 | Sugar Bowl | W 14 to 7 vs Penn State |
| 1979 | Sugar Bowl | W 24 to 9 vs Arkansas |
| 1980 | Cotton Bowl | W 30 to 2 vs Baylor |
| 1981 | Cotton Bowl | L 12 to 14 vs Texas |
| 1982 | Liberty Bowl | W 21 to 15 vs Illinois |
| 1983 | Sun Bowl | W 28 to 7 vs SMU |
| 1985 | Aloha Bowl | W 24 to 3 vs USC |
| 1986 | Sun Bowl | W 28 to 6 vs Washington |
| 1987 | Hall of Fame Bowl | L 24 to 28 vs Michigan |
| 1988 | Sun Bowl | W 29 to 28 vs Army |
| 1989 | Sugar Bowl | L 25 to 33 vs Miami |
| 1990 | Fiesta Bowl | L 7 to 34 vs Louisville |
| 1991 | Blockbuster Bowl | W 30 to 25 vs Colorado |
| 1992 | Sugar Bowl | W 34 to 13 vs Miami |
| 1993 | Gator Bowl | W 24 to 10 vs North Carolina |
| 1994 | Citrus Bowl | W 24 to 17 vs Ohio State |
| 1996 | Outback Bowl | W 17 to 14 vs Michigan |
| 1998 | Music City Bowl | L 7 to 38 vs Virginia Tech |
| 1999 | Orange Bowl | L 34 to 35 vs Michigan (OT) |
| 2001 | Independence Bowl | W 14 to 13 vs Iowa State |
| 2004 | Music City Bowl | L 16 to 20 vs Minnesota |
| 2005 | Cotton Bowl | W 13 to 10 vs Texas Tech |
| 2006 | Independence Bowl | L 31 to 34 vs Oklahoma State |
| 2007 | Independence Bowl | W 30 to 24 vs Colorado |
| 2008 | Sugar Bowl | L 17 to 31 vs Utah |
| 2009 | BCS Championship | W 37 to 21 vs Texas |
| 2010 | Capital One Bowl | W 49 to 7 vs Michigan State |
| 2011 | BCS Championship | W 21 to 0 vs LSU |
| 2012 | BCS Championship | W 42 to 14 vs Notre Dame |
| 2013 | Sugar Bowl | L 31 to 45 vs Oklahoma |
| 2014 | Sugar Bowl (CFP semifinal) | L 35 to 42 vs Ohio State |
| 2015 | Cotton Bowl (CFP semifinal) | W 38 to 0 vs Michigan State |
| 2015 | CFP Championship | W 45 to 40 vs Clemson |
| 2016 | Peach Bowl (CFP semifinal) | W 24 to 7 vs Washington |
| 2016 | CFP Championship | L 31 to 35 vs Clemson |
| 2017 | Sugar Bowl (CFP semifinal) | W 24 to 6 vs Clemson |
| 2017 | CFP Championship | W 26 to 23 vs Georgia (OT) |
| 2018 | Orange Bowl (CFP semifinal) | W 45 to 34 vs Oklahoma |
| 2018 | CFP Championship | L 16 to 44 vs Clemson |
| 2019 | Citrus Bowl | W 35 to 16 vs Michigan |
| 2020 | Rose Bowl (CFP semifinal) | W 31 to 14 vs Notre Dame |
| 2020 | CFP Championship | W 52 to 24 vs Ohio State |
| 2021 | Cotton Bowl (CFP semifinal) | W 27 to 6 vs Cincinnati |
| 2021 | CFP Championship | L 18 to 33 vs Georgia |
| 2022 | Sugar Bowl | W 45 to 20 vs Kansas State |
| 2023 | Rose Bowl (CFP semifinal) | L 20 to 27 vs Michigan (OT) |
| 2024 | ReliaQuest Bowl | L 13 to 19 vs Michigan |
| 2025 | CFP first round | W 34 to 24 vs Oklahoma |
| 2025 | Rose Bowl (CFP quarterfinal) | L 3 to 38 vs Indiana |
The 1926 Rose Bowl
Twelve programs had played in bowl games before Alabama played its first. Wallace Wade’s team went to Pasadena as heavy underdogs against Washington and won 20 to 19, a result that is still credited with establishing Southern football as a national force. Alabama went 5, 1 and 1 across its first seven bowls, all but one of them at the Rose Bowl.
Bear Bryant’s 24 Straight
After a five year gap in the 1950s, Bryant led Alabama to 24 consecutive bowl games from 1959 through 1982: eight Sugar Bowls, five Orange Bowls, four Cotton, four Liberty, two Bluebonnet and a Gator. Ray Perkins extended the streak to 25 with the 1983 Sun Bowl.
Inside that run was a stretch Bryant would have preferred to forget. From the 1967 Cotton Bowl through the 1974 Orange Bowl, Alabama went winless in eight straight postseason games. The 1970 tie with Oklahoma came after a missed 45 yard field goal to win. Two of the losses, in the 1973 Sugar and 1974 Orange Bowls, came against Notre Dame by a combined three points and cost Alabama at least one undisputed national title.
Nine Championship Games in Thirteen Years
Nick Saban took Alabama to nine title games between the 2009 and 2021 seasons and won six of them. Three came in the BCS era, over Texas, LSU and Notre Dame. Three more came in the playoff era, over Clemson, Georgia and Ohio State. The three losses were to Clemson twice and Georgia once.
No other program has played in as many championship games in a comparable span. Our College Football Playoff results page has every title game.
The Michigan Problem
Alabama has faced Michigan more often than any other bowl opponent, six times, and lost four. Three of those losses came in a five year span: the 2023 Rose Bowl playoff semifinal in overtime, the 2024 ReliaQuest Bowl, and the 1999 Orange Bowl before that, also in overtime.
Texas is the other bad matchup. Alabama is winless in five traditional bowl games against the Longhorns, 0 and 4 with a tie, though the 2009 championship game win balances that somewhat.
The 2025 Playoff
Alabama beat Oklahoma 34 to 24 in the first round of the twelve team playoff, then travelled to Pasadena for the quarterfinal and lost 38 to 3 to Indiana. The Hoosiers went on to win the national championship at 16 and 0. It was Alabama’s heaviest postseason defeat since the 1990 Fiesta Bowl.
Record by Bowl
Alabama has played the Sugar Bowl 16 times, more than any other, and holds a winning record there. The Orange Bowl accounts for 11 appearances, the Cotton Bowl 10, and the Rose Bowl 9 including three playoff games. The 1952 Orange Bowl win over Syracuse, 61 to 6, remains the largest bowl margin in program history.
The Bottom Line
Alabama is 47 and 30 with 3 ties across 80 postseason games, the most appearances in college football by a margin of sixteen. Bear Bryant’s 24 straight bowls and Nick Saban’s nine championship games in thirteen years are the two defining runs. Our page on most bowl appearances shows where every program ranks.