Oklahoma Football Bowl History: Record, Results and Appearances

Oklahoma has played 59 postseason games, won 31, lost 27 and tied one, and twenty of them were Orange Bowls, the most by any program. The Sooners are one of two schools to have played all five BCS era bowls, reached four BCS championship games and won one, and have lost all five of their College Football Playoff games, a record no other program with that many appearances has.

Every Oklahoma Bowl Game

Listed by season. Gold rows are national championship seasons. Red rows are championship game losses.

Twenty Orange Bowls

Oklahoma has played the Orange Bowl twenty times, the most of any school, and is 12 and 8 there including the 2000 championship game. For most of the Big Eight era the conference champion went to Miami automatically, and Wilkinson and Switzer won it ten times between them. Two of the claimed national titles, 1955 and 1985, were clinched there, and two more, 1975 and 2000, as well. Our national championships page covers those seasons.

The Four BCS Title Games

Bob Stoops reached four BCS championship games in nine seasons and won the first, 13 to 2 over Florida State in the 2000 Orange Bowl. The three losses followed a pattern of increasing margin: 21 to 14 to LSU after the 2003 season, 55 to 19 to USC after 2004, and 24 to 14 to Florida after 2008 with a 716 point offence held to two touchdowns. Oklahoma is one of two programs, with Ohio State, to have played all five BCS era bowls.

The Playoff Record

Oklahoma is 0 and 5 in the College Football Playoff, the worst record of any program with that many appearances. The four semifinal losses came to Clemson in 2015, Georgia in double overtime in the 2017 Rose Bowl, Alabama in 2018 and LSU by 35 points in 2019. The 2025 return, in the twelve team format, ended 34 to 24 at Alabama in the first round. Our College Football Playoff results page has every championship game.

Clemson and Boise State

Oklahoma is 0 and 3 against Clemson in bowls, including a 40 to 6 loss in 2014 and the 2015 playoff semifinal. The 2006 Fiesta Bowl loss to Boise State, 43 to 42 in overtime on a hook and ladder, a Statue of Liberty two point conversion and a proposal on the field, is the most replayed bowl game of the era and the one Oklahoma would most like forgotten.

The Recent Slide

Oklahoma has lost its last four postseason games and six of the last seven, a stretch that includes a 21 to 20 loss to Navy in the 2024 Armed Forces Bowl and the 2025 playoff defeat. The last win was the 2021 Alamo Bowl over Oregon, coached by Bob Stoops as interim after Lincoln Riley’s departure. Our head coaches page covers that transition.

The Bottom Line

Oklahoma is 31 and 27 with one tie across 59 postseason games, with twenty Orange Bowls, one BCS title in four attempts and no wins in five playoff games. The 2000 Orange Bowl over Florida State is the last championship, the 2006 Fiesta Bowl the most famous loss, and the current run of four straight postseason defeats is the longest in program history. Our page on most bowl appearances shows where Oklahoma ranks.