The Houston Cougars college football team competes as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), representing the University of Houston in the Big 12 Conference. Since the establishment of the team in 1946, Houston has appeared in 30 bowl games. The latest bowl occurred on December 23, 2022, when Houston defeated Louisiana in the 2022 Independence Bowl, which brought the Cougars' overall bowl record to thirteen wins, sixteen losses, and one tie (13–16–1).
Key
General
†
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Bowl game record attendance
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‡
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Former bowl game record attendance
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Results
W
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Win
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L
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Loss
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T
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Tie
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Bowl games
List of bowl games showing bowl played in, score, date, season, opponent, stadium, location, attendance and head coach[A 1]
#
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Bowl
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Score[A 2]
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Date
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Season[A 3]
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Opponent[A 4]
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Stadium
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Location
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Attendance[2]
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Head coach
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1
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Salad Bowl
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W 26–21
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January 1, 1952
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1951
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Dayton Flyers
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Montgomery Stadium
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Phoenix
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17,000
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Clyde Lee
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2
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Tangerine Bowl
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W 49–21
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December 22, 1962
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1962
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Miami Redskins
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Tangerine Bowl
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Orlando
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7,500
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Bill Yeoman
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3
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Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl
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W 37–7
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December 31, 1969
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1969
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Auburn Tigers
|
Astrodome
|
Houston
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55,203
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4
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Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl
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L 17–29
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December 31, 1971
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1971
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Colorado Buffaloes
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Astrodome
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Houston
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54,720
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5
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Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl
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W 47–7
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December 29, 1973
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1973
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Tulane Green Wave
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Astrodome
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Houston
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44,358
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6
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Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl
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T 31–31
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December 23, 1974
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1974
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NC State Wolfpack
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Astrodome
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Houston
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35,122
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7
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Cotton Bowl Classic
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W 30–21
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January 1, 1977
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1976
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Maryland Terrapins
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Cotton Bowl
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Dallas
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54,500
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8
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Cotton Bowl Classic
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L 34–35
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January 1, 1979
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1978
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Notre Dame Fighting Irish
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Cotton Bowl
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Dallas
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76,601‡
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9
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Cotton Bowl Classic
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W 17–14
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January 1, 1980
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1979
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Nebraska Cornhuskers
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Cotton Bowl
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Dallas
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72,032
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10
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Garden State Bowl
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W 35–0
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December 14, 1980
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1980
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Navy Midshipmen
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Giants Stadium
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East Rutherford
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41,417
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11
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Sun Bowl
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L 14–40
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December 26, 1981
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1981
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Oklahoma Sooners
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Sun Bowl Stadium
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El Paso
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33,816
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12
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Cotton Bowl Classic
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L 28–45
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January 1, 1985
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1984
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Boston College Eagles
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Cotton Bowl
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Dallas
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56,522
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13
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Aloha Bowl
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L 22–24
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December 25, 1988
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1988
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Washington State Cougars
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Aloha Stadium
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Honolulu
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35,132
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Jack Pardee
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14
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Liberty Bowl
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L 17–30
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December 27, 1996
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1996
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Syracuse Orangemen
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Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
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Memphis
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49,163
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Kim Helton
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15
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Hawaiʻi Bowl
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L 48–54
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December 25, 2003
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2003
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Hawaii Warriors
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Aloha Stadium
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Honolulu
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29,005
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Art Briles
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16
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Fort Worth Bowl
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L 13–42
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December 23, 2005
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2005
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Kansas Jayhawks
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Amon G. Carter Stadium
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Fort Worth
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33,505
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17
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Liberty Bowl
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L 36–44
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December 29, 2006
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2006
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South Carolina Gamecocks
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Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
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Memphis
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56,103
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18
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Texas Bowl
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L 13–20
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December 28, 2007
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2007
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TCU Horned Frogs
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Reliant Stadium
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Houston
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62,097‡
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Chris Thurmond[A 5]
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19
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Armed Forces Bowl
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W 34–28
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December 31, 2008
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2008
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Air Force Falcons
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Amon G. Carter Stadium
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Fort Worth
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41,127
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Kevin Sumlin
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20
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Armed Forces Bowl
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L 20–47
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December 31, 2009
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2009
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Air Force Falcons
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Amon G. Carter Stadium
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Fort Worth
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41,414
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21
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TicketCity Bowl
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W 30–14
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January 2, 2012
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2011
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Penn State Nittany Lions
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Cotton Bowl
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Dallas
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46,817
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Tony Levine
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22
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BBVA Compass Bowl
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L 24–41
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January 4, 2014
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2013
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Vanderbilt Commodores
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Legion Field
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Birmingham
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42,717
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23
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Armed Forces Bowl
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W 35–34
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January 2, 2015
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2014
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Pittsburgh Panthers
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Amon G. Carter Stadium
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Fort Worth
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37,888
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David Gibbs[A 6]
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24
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Peach Bowl
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W 38–24
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December 31, 2015
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2015
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Florida State Seminoles
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Georgia Dome
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Atlanta
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71,007
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Tom Herman
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25
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Las Vegas Bowl
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L 10–34
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December 17, 2016
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2016
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San Diego State Aztecs
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Sam Boyd Stadium
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Las Vegas
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29,286
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Major Applewhite
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26
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Hawaiʻi Bowl
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L 27–33
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December 24, 2017
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2017
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Fresno State Bulldogs
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Aloha Stadium
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Honolulu
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20,546
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27
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Armed Forces Bowl
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L 14–70
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December 22, 2018
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2018
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Army Black Knights
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Amon G. Carter Stadium
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Fort Worth
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44,738
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28
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New Mexico Bowl
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L 14–28
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December 24, 2020
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2020
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Hawaii Rainbow Warriors
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Toyota Stadium
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Frisco
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2,060
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Dana Holgorsen
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29
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Birmingham Bowl
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W 17–13
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December 28, 2021
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2021
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Auburn Tigers
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Protective Stadium
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Birmingham
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47,100
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30
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Independence Bowl
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W 23–16
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December 23, 2022
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2022
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Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
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Independence Stadium
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Shreveport
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23,410
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Notes
- ^ Statistics correct as of 2022–23 NCAA football bowl games.
- ^ Results are sortable first by whether the result was a Houston win, loss or tie and then second by the margin of victory.
- ^ Links to the season article for the Houston team that competed in the bowl for that year.
- ^ Links to the season article for the opponent that Houston competed against in the bowl for that year when available or to their general page when unavailable.
- ^ Chris Thurmond served as interim head coach for the 2007 Texas Bowl after Art Briles resigned his position to take the head coach position with the Baylor Bears.[3]
- ^ David Gibbs served as interim head coach for the 2015 Armed Forces Bowl after Tony Levine was fired from his position as head coach.[4]
References
- General
- National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). "Bowl/All-Star Game Records" (PDF). 2011 NCAA Division I Football Records. NCAA.org. Retrieved December 13, 2011.
- Specific
- ^ "Houston gets first bowl win since 1980". ESPN.com. Associated Press. December 31, 2008. Archived from the original on February 24, 2009. Retrieved December 18, 2011.
- ^ Bowl/All-Star Game Records, pp. 32–38
- ^ "Thurmond named interim coach after Briles bolts for Baylor". ESPN.com. Associated Press. November 28, 2007. Retrieved December 18, 2011.
- ^ Cooper, Nakia (December 8, 2014). "Tony Levine relieved of UH head coaching duties; David Gibbs to serve as interim". KPRC-TV. Archived from the original on January 4, 2015. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
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