LSU has played 57 NCAA sanctioned postseason games and won 31, plus one more that the NCAA does not count: a 56 to 0 win over the University of Havana in the 1907 Bacardi Bowl, played on Christmas Day in Cuba. Thirteen of the 57 were Sugar Bowls, and three of them were national championship games the Tigers won. The last two seasons have both ended in the Texas Bowl.
Every LSU Bowl Game
Listed by season. Gold rows are national championship seasons. Red rows are championship game losses.
| Season | Bowl | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1907 | Bacardi Bowl, Havana (unsanctioned) | W 56 to 0 vs Havana |
| 1935 | Sugar Bowl | L 2 to 3 vs TCU |
| 1936 | Sugar Bowl | L 14 to 21 vs Santa Clara |
| 1937 | Sugar Bowl | L 0 to 6 vs Santa Clara |
| 1943 | Orange Bowl | W 19 to 14 vs Texas A&M |
| 1946 | Cotton Bowl | T 0 to 0 vs Arkansas |
| 1949 | Sugar Bowl | L 0 to 35 vs Oklahoma |
| 1958 | Sugar Bowl | W 7 to 0 vs Clemson |
| 1959 | Sugar Bowl | L 0 to 21 vs Ole Miss |
| 1961 | Orange Bowl | W 25 to 7 vs Colorado |
| 1962 | Cotton Bowl | W 13 to 0 vs Texas |
| 1963 | Bluebonnet Bowl | L 7 to 14 vs Baylor |
| 1964 | Sugar Bowl | W 13 to 10 vs Syracuse |
| 1965 | Cotton Bowl | W 14 to 7 vs Arkansas |
| 1967 | Sugar Bowl | W 20 to 13 vs Wyoming |
| 1968 | Peach Bowl | W 31 to 27 vs Florida State |
| 1970 | Orange Bowl | L 12 to 17 vs Nebraska |
| 1971 | Sun Bowl | W 33 to 15 vs Iowa State |
| 1972 | Bluebonnet Bowl | L 17 to 24 vs Tennessee |
| 1973 | Orange Bowl | L 9 to 16 vs Penn State |
| 1977 | Sun Bowl | L 14 to 24 vs Stanford |
| 1978 | Liberty Bowl | L 15 to 20 vs Missouri |
| 1979 | Tangerine Bowl | W 34 to 10 vs Wake Forest |
| 1982 | Orange Bowl | L 20 to 21 vs Nebraska |
| 1984 | Sugar Bowl | L 10 to 28 vs Nebraska |
| 1985 | Liberty Bowl | L 7 to 21 vs Baylor |
| 1986 | Sugar Bowl | L 15 to 30 vs Nebraska |
| 1987 | Gator Bowl | W 30 to 13 vs South Carolina |
| 1988 | Hall of Fame Bowl | L 10 to 23 vs Syracuse |
| 1995 | Independence Bowl | W 27 to 9 vs Michigan State |
| 1996 | Peach Bowl | W 10 to 7 vs Clemson |
| 1997 | Independence Bowl | W 27 to 9 vs Notre Dame |
| 2000 | Peach Bowl | W 28 to 14 vs Georgia Tech |
| 2001 | Sugar Bowl | W 47 to 34 vs Illinois |
| 2002 | Cotton Bowl | L 20 to 35 vs Texas |
| 2003 | Sugar Bowl (BCS Championship) | W 21 to 14 vs Oklahoma |
| 2004 | Capital One Bowl | L 25 to 30 vs Iowa |
| 2005 | Peach Bowl | W 40 to 3 vs Miami |
| 2006 | Sugar Bowl | W 41 to 14 vs Notre Dame |
| 2007 | BCS Championship, New Orleans | W 38 to 24 vs Ohio State |
| 2008 | Chick-fil-A Bowl | W 38 to 3 vs Georgia Tech |
| 2009 | Capital One Bowl | L 17 to 19 vs Penn State |
| 2010 | Cotton Bowl | W 41 to 24 vs Texas A&M |
| 2011 | BCS Championship, New Orleans | L 0 to 21 vs Alabama |
| 2012 | Chick-fil-A Bowl | L 24 to 25 vs Clemson |
| 2013 | Outback Bowl | W 21 to 14 vs Iowa |
| 2014 | Music City Bowl | L 28 to 31 vs Notre Dame |
| 2015 | Texas Bowl | W 56 to 27 vs Texas Tech |
| 2016 | Citrus Bowl | W 29 to 9 vs Louisville |
| 2017 | Citrus Bowl | L 17 to 21 vs Notre Dame |
| 2018 | Fiesta Bowl | W 40 to 32 vs UCF |
| 2019 | Peach Bowl (CFP semifinal) | W 63 to 28 vs Oklahoma |
| 2019 | CFP Championship, New Orleans | W 42 to 25 vs Clemson |
| 2021 | Texas Bowl | L 20 to 42 vs Kansas State |
| 2022 | Citrus Bowl | W 63 to 7 vs Purdue |
| 2023 | ReliaQuest Bowl | W 35 to 31 vs Wisconsin |
| 2024 | Texas Bowl | W 44 to 31 vs Baylor |
| 2025 | Texas Bowl | L 35 to 38 vs Houston |
The Sugar Bowl
LSU has played the Sugar Bowl thirteen times, more than any other bowl, and the New Orleans setting has made it the program’s de facto home postseason. The record there is losing, 6 and 7, and the first four appearances between 1935 and 1949 all ended in defeat. The 1958 win over Clemson clinched the first national championship and the 2003 win over Oklahoma clinched the second. Our national championships page covers both.
The Three Title Games in New Orleans
All four of LSU’s championship game appearances have been in New Orleans, and three were won: 2003 over Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl, 2007 over Ohio State, and 2019 over Clemson. The loss was the 2011 rematch with Alabama, a 21 to 0 game in which LSU did not cross midfield until the fourth quarter. Our LSU vs Alabama page covers that season.
Nebraska
LSU is 0 and 4 against Nebraska in bowls, losing the 1970 and 1982 Orange Bowls and the 1984 and 1986 Sugar Bowls, and three of the four were decided by a touchdown or less. The 1970 loss cost a share of the national championship. No other opponent has beaten LSU more than twice in the postseason.
The Texas Bowl
The last two seasons have both ended in Houston’s Texas Bowl, a 44 to 31 win over Baylor after 2024 and a 38 to 35 loss to Houston after 2025, in which the Cougars scored four touchdowns through the air to erase a 14 point lead. It was Frank Wilson’s last game as interim coach before Lane Kiffin took over. The 2015 Texas Bowl, a 56 to 27 win over Texas Tech in which Leonard Fournette ran for 212 yards, is the program’s most lopsided result in that game.
The Havana Game
On Christmas Day 1907, LSU travelled to Cuba and beat the University of Havana 56 to 0 in what was billed as the Bacardi Bowl. It was the first postseason game played by a Southern team and the first American college football game played outside the United States. The NCAA does not count it as a bowl, which is why LSU’s official total is 57.
The Bottom Line
LSU is 31 and 25 with one tie across 57 sanctioned postseason games, 32 wins counting the 1907 Bacardi Bowl. Three national championships were won in New Orleans, thirteen games have been Sugar Bowls, and the 0 and 4 record against Nebraska is the program’s standing postseason grudge. Our page on most bowl appearances shows where LSU ranks.