Ohio State has played 61 postseason games and won 31 of them. The record is almost exactly even, which is surprising for a program with nine national championships and the second most wins in college football history. The explanation is that the Buckeyes have spent much of their bowl life playing the best team from another conference in the biggest game available, and losing about as often as not.
Every Ohio State Bowl Game
Listed by season. Gold rows are national championship seasons. Red rows are championship game losses.
| Season | Bowl | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1920 | Rose Bowl | L 0 to 28 vs California |
| 1949 | Rose Bowl | W 17 to 14 vs California |
| 1954 | Rose Bowl | W 20 to 7 vs USC |
| 1957 | Rose Bowl | W 10 to 7 vs Oregon |
| 1968 | Rose Bowl | W 27 to 16 vs USC |
| 1970 | Rose Bowl | L 17 to 27 vs Stanford |
| 1972 | Rose Bowl | L 17 to 42 vs USC |
| 1973 | Rose Bowl | W 42 to 21 vs USC |
| 1974 | Rose Bowl | L 17 to 18 vs USC |
| 1975 | Rose Bowl | L 10 to 23 vs UCLA |
| 1976 | Orange Bowl | W 27 to 10 vs Colorado |
| 1977 | Sugar Bowl | L 6 to 35 vs Alabama |
| 1978 | Gator Bowl | L 15 to 17 vs Clemson |
| 1979 | Rose Bowl | L 16 to 17 vs USC |
| 1980 | Fiesta Bowl | L 19 to 31 vs Penn State |
| 1981 | Liberty Bowl | W 31 to 28 vs Navy |
| 1982 | Holiday Bowl | W 47 to 17 vs BYU |
| 1983 | Fiesta Bowl | W 28 to 23 vs Pittsburgh |
| 1984 | Rose Bowl | L 17 to 20 vs USC |
| 1985 | Citrus Bowl | W 10 to 7 vs BYU |
| 1986 | Cotton Bowl | W 28 to 12 vs Texas A&M |
| 1989 | Hall of Fame Bowl | L 14 to 31 vs Auburn |
| 1990 | Liberty Bowl | L 11 to 23 vs Air Force |
| 1991 | Hall of Fame Bowl | L 17 to 24 vs Syracuse |
| 1992 | Citrus Bowl | L 14 to 21 vs Georgia |
| 1993 | Holiday Bowl | W 28 to 21 vs BYU |
| 1994 | Citrus Bowl | L 17 to 24 vs Alabama |
| 1995 | Citrus Bowl | L 14 to 20 vs Tennessee |
| 1996 | Rose Bowl | W 20 to 17 vs Arizona State |
| 1997 | Sugar Bowl | L 14 to 31 vs Florida State |
| 1998 | Sugar Bowl | W 24 to 14 vs Texas A&M |
| 2000 | Outback Bowl | L 7 to 24 vs South Carolina |
| 2001 | Outback Bowl | L 28 to 31 vs South Carolina |
| 2002 | Fiesta Bowl (BCS Championship) | W 31 to 24 vs Miami (2OT) |
| 2003 | Fiesta Bowl | W 35 to 28 vs Kansas State |
| 2004 | Alamo Bowl | W 33 to 7 vs Oklahoma State |
| 2005 | Fiesta Bowl | W 34 to 20 vs Notre Dame |
| 2006 | BCS Championship | L 14 to 41 vs Florida |
| 2007 | BCS Championship | L 24 to 38 vs LSU |
| 2008 | Fiesta Bowl | L 21 to 24 vs Texas |
| 2009 | Rose Bowl | W 26 to 17 vs Oregon |
| 2010 | Sugar Bowl | W 31 to 26 vs Arkansas (later vacated) |
| 2011 | Gator Bowl | L 17 to 24 vs Florida |
| 2013 | Orange Bowl | L 35 to 40 vs Clemson |
| 2014 | Sugar Bowl (CFP semifinal) | W 42 to 35 vs Alabama |
| 2014 | CFP Championship | W 42 to 20 vs Oregon |
| 2015 | Fiesta Bowl | W 44 to 28 vs Notre Dame |
| 2016 | Fiesta Bowl (CFP semifinal) | L 0 to 31 vs Clemson |
| 2017 | Cotton Bowl | W 24 to 7 vs USC |
| 2018 | Rose Bowl | W 28 to 23 vs Washington |
| 2019 | Fiesta Bowl (CFP semifinal) | L 23 to 29 vs Clemson |
| 2020 | Sugar Bowl (CFP semifinal) | W 49 to 28 vs Clemson |
| 2020 | CFP Championship | L 24 to 52 vs Alabama |
| 2021 | Rose Bowl | W 48 to 45 vs Utah |
| 2022 | Peach Bowl (CFP semifinal) | L 41 to 42 vs Georgia |
| 2023 | Cotton Bowl | L 3 to 14 vs Missouri |
| 2024 | CFP first round | W 42 to 17 vs Tennessee |
| 2024 | Rose Bowl (CFP quarterfinal) | W 41 to 21 vs Oregon |
| 2024 | Cotton Bowl (CFP semifinal) | W 28 to 14 vs Texas |
| 2024 | CFP Championship | W 34 to 23 vs Notre Dame |
| 2025 | Cotton Bowl (CFP quarterfinal) | L 14 to 24 vs Miami |
Seventeen Rose Bowls
Ohio State has played in Pasadena 17 times and is 9 and 8 there. For most of the program’s history the Rose Bowl was the only postseason available: the Big Ten sent one team, its champion, and for decades forbade the same school from going in consecutive years. That is why there is a 29 year gap between the first appearance in 1921 and the second in 1950, and why Woody Hayes coached for 28 seasons and played in only eight bowls.
Seven of those Rose Bowls were against USC. Ohio State is 3 and 4 in them.
The Gator Bowl Punch
The 1978 Gator Bowl is remembered for one thing. With Ohio State trailing Clemson 17 to 15 late in the fourth quarter, Clemson linebacker Charlie Bauman intercepted a pass near the Ohio State sideline, and Woody Hayes punched him. Hayes was fired the following morning, ending a 28 year tenure with five national championships. The loss itself is a footnote.
The 2002 Fiesta Bowl
The double overtime win over Miami for the 2002 national championship remains one of the most contested games in the sport’s history. Miami had won 34 straight and was a heavy favourite. Ohio State won 31 to 24 after a pass interference call in the first overtime extended a drive, and the argument about that flag has not ended in the two decades since.
The SEC Record
Ohio State has played SEC opponents in bowl games 15 times and won three. The losses include both BCS championship games, 41 to 14 to Florida after the 2006 season and 38 to 24 to LSU a year later, and the 52 to 24 defeat to Alabama in the 2020 playoff final. The only wins are over Arkansas in 2010, since vacated, Alabama in the 2014 semifinal, and Tennessee in the 2024 first round.
That record, three wins in fifteen, is the single statistic that most shapes how the program is perceived nationally.
The 2024 Title Run
Ohio State became the first team to win four games in a single College Football Playoff, beating Tennessee, Oregon, Texas and Notre Dame in succession after losing to Michigan in the regular season finale. It was the program’s ninth national championship and its first since the 2014 season.
The following year ended differently. As the No. 2 seed with a first round bye, the Buckeyes lost their quarterfinal 24 to 14 to Miami at the Cotton Bowl. Teams that earned a bye in the first two years of the twelve team format are now 1 and 7 in the quarterfinals. Our College Football Playoff results page has every championship game.
Record by Bowl
Rose Bowl 9 and 8 in 17. Fiesta Bowl 5 and 3 in 8, including the 2002 championship. Sugar Bowl 4 and 2 in 6. Cotton Bowl 3 and 2 in 5. The Citrus Bowl has been unkind: 1 and 3.
The Bottom Line
Ohio State is 31 and 30 across 61 postseason games, with four national championships won in bowl games and 17 Rose Bowl appearances. The Woody Hayes punch, the 2002 Fiesta Bowl and a 3 and 12 record against the SEC are the three things everyone remembers. Our page on most bowl appearances shows where every program ranks.