Florida has played 50 postseason games on the field and won 26, counting a 1912 win in Havana the NCAA does not recognise and the three championship games that produced its national titles. The program did not play a bowl until the 1952 season, which is later than any other SEC founding member, and then went nearly forty years without a major bowl win. Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer changed that. Florida has not played a bowl since 2024.
Every Florida Bowl Game
Listed by season. Gold rows are national championship seasons. The red row is a championship game loss.
| Season | Bowl | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1912 | Bacardi Bowl, Havana (unsanctioned) | W 28 to 0 vs Vedado Athletic Club |
| 1952 | Gator Bowl | W 14 to 13 vs Tulsa |
| 1958 | Gator Bowl | L 3 to 7 vs Ole Miss |
| 1960 | Gator Bowl | W 13 to 12 vs Baylor |
| 1962 | Gator Bowl | W 17 to 7 vs Penn State |
| 1965 | Sugar Bowl | L 18 to 20 vs Missouri |
| 1966 | Orange Bowl | W 27 to 12 vs Georgia Tech |
| 1969 | Gator Bowl | W 14 to 13 vs Tennessee |
| 1973 | Tangerine Bowl | L 7 to 16 vs Miami (Ohio) |
| 1974 | Sugar Bowl | L 10 to 13 vs Nebraska |
| 1975 | Gator Bowl | L 0 to 13 vs Maryland |
| 1977 | Sun Bowl | L 14 to 37 vs Texas A&M |
| 1980 | Tangerine Bowl | W 35 to 20 vs Maryland |
| 1981 | Peach Bowl | L 6 to 26 vs West Virginia |
| 1982 | Bluebonnet Bowl | L 24 to 28 vs Arkansas |
| 1983 | Gator Bowl | W 14 to 6 vs Iowa |
| 1987 | Aloha Bowl | L 16 to 20 vs UCLA |
| 1988 | All-American Bowl | W 14 to 10 vs Illinois |
| 1989 | Freedom Bowl | L 7 to 34 vs Washington |
| 1991 | Sugar Bowl | L 28 to 39 vs Notre Dame |
| 1992 | Gator Bowl | W 27 to 10 vs NC State |
| 1993 | Sugar Bowl | W 41 to 7 vs West Virginia |
| 1994 | Sugar Bowl | L 17 to 23 vs Florida State |
| 1995 | Fiesta Bowl (Bowl Alliance Championship) | L 24 to 62 vs Nebraska |
| 1996 | Sugar Bowl (Bowl Alliance Championship) | W 52 to 20 vs Florida State |
| 1997 | Citrus Bowl | W 21 to 6 vs Penn State |
| 1998 | Orange Bowl | W 31 to 10 vs Syracuse |
| 1999 | Citrus Bowl | L 34 to 37 vs Michigan State |
| 2000 | Sugar Bowl | L 20 to 37 vs Miami |
| 2001 | Orange Bowl | W 56 to 23 vs Maryland |
| 2002 | Outback Bowl | L 30 to 38 vs Michigan |
| 2003 | Outback Bowl | L 17 to 37 vs Iowa |
| 2004 | Peach Bowl | L 10 to 27 vs Miami |
| 2005 | Outback Bowl | W 31 to 24 vs Iowa |
| 2006 | BCS Championship, Glendale | W 41 to 14 vs Ohio State |
| 2007 | Capital One Bowl | L 35 to 41 vs Michigan |
| 2008 | BCS Championship, Miami | W 24 to 14 vs Oklahoma |
| 2009 | Sugar Bowl | W 51 to 24 vs Cincinnati |
| 2010 | Outback Bowl | W 37 to 24 vs Penn State |
| 2011 | Gator Bowl | W 24 to 17 vs Ohio State |
| 2012 | Sugar Bowl | L 23 to 33 vs Louisville |
| 2014 | Birmingham Bowl | W 28 to 20 vs East Carolina |
| 2015 | Citrus Bowl | L 7 to 41 vs Michigan |
| 2016 | Outback Bowl | W 30 to 3 vs Iowa |
| 2018 | Peach Bowl | W 41 to 15 vs Michigan |
| 2019 | Orange Bowl | W 36 to 28 vs Virginia |
| 2020 | Cotton Bowl | L 20 to 55 vs Oklahoma |
| 2021 | Gasparilla Bowl | L 17 to 29 vs UCF |
| 2022 | Las Vegas Bowl | L 3 to 30 vs Oregon State |
| 2024 | Gasparilla Bowl | W 33 to 8 vs Tulane |
The Late Start
Florida did not play in a bowl until January 1953, when Bob Woodruff’s team beat Tulsa 14 to 13 in the Gator Bowl, 47 seasons after the program began and two decades after most of its SEC rivals had made the Rose or Sugar Bowl. The 1912 game in Havana against a Cuban athletic club, which Florida won 28 to 0, is the only earlier postseason trip and the NCAA does not count it, so the sanctioned record is 25 and 24 in 49 games.
The Three Championship Games Won
The 1996 Sugar Bowl, a 52 to 20 win over Florida State in the Bowl Alliance title game, was the program’s first national championship and a rematch of a loss five weeks earlier. The 2006 BCS championship in Glendale, 41 to 14 over top ranked Ohio State, and the 2008 game in Miami, 24 to 14 over Oklahoma, were Urban Meyer’s. Florida is 3 and 1 in games played for the national title, the loss being the 62 to 24 Fiesta Bowl defeat to Nebraska after the 1995 season, still the most lopsided title game of the modern era. Our national championships page covers all four.
Michigan, Iowa and Penn State
Florida has played Michigan four times in bowls and won once, the 41 to 15 Peach Bowl after the 2018 season, with losses in 2002, 2007 and the 41 to 7 Citrus Bowl of 2015. Against Iowa the Gators are 3 and 1 across four Outback and Gator Bowls, and against Penn State 3 and 0, including Steve Spurrier’s first bowl win as coach in the 1997 Citrus Bowl. Nebraska and Miami have each beaten Florida twice without losing.
The Spurrier Bowls
Spurrier’s teams played eleven bowls and won six, and three of the five losses came in the biggest games: the 1991 Sugar Bowl to Notre Dame, the 1994 Sugar Bowl to Florida State and the 1995 Fiesta Bowl to Nebraska. The 1996 title, the 1997 Citrus Bowl, the 1998 Orange Bowl and the 56 to 23 Orange Bowl over Maryland in his final game as coach are the ones the program keeps.
The Recent Record
Florida has played five bowls since 2018 and won two, the 2019 Orange Bowl over Virginia and the 2024 Gasparilla Bowl over Tulane, which was Billy Napier’s only postseason win. The 2020 Cotton Bowl, a 55 to 20 loss to Oklahoma with much of the roster opted out, and the 2022 Las Vegas Bowl, a 30 to 3 loss to Oregon State, are the low points. The 2025 team went 4 and 8 and did not qualify.
The Bottom Line
Florida is 26 and 24 across 50 postseason games on the field and 25 and 24 in the 49 the NCAA counts, with three championship games won and one lost by 38. The program’s first bowl came in its 47th season and its first major bowl win in its 61st, and the 1996 Sugar Bowl, 2006 Fiesta Bowl and 2008 Orange Bowl are the three that produced national titles. Our page on most bowl appearances shows where Florida ranks.