By Trey McCurry.
By Trey McCurry
The Tigers are 16-18 all-time in bowl games, dating back to the 1940 Cotton Bowl. In the span, Clemson has played bowls in seven separate states against 26 different teams.
This year’s Chick-Fil-A Bowl will mark the Tigers first trip to Atlanta for a postseason game since 2007 and its eighth appearance in the game. Clemson is 2-5 in their previous seven trips, including a 2-4 mark against SEC teams. The Tigers have faced LSU in a bowl game twice in their history, a 7-0 LSU win in the 1959 Sugar Bowl and a 10-7 LSU win in the 1996 Peach Bowl.
Clemson’s 16 bowl wins rank as the 18th most in NCAA history. Since 1985, the Tigers have made 24 bowl appearances, which ranks among the top-10 in the country during that time. Overall, nine of Clemson’s 16 wins have come against coaches who are in the College Football Hall of Fame. Four times, the Tigers have defeated a coach who is in the 200-victory club.
Today, TheClemsonInsider.com takes a look back at Clemson’s great bowl tradition.
1940 Cotton Bowl (Dallas, TX) Clemson 6, Boston College 3
1949 Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, FL) Clemson 24, Missouri 23
1951 Orange Bowl (Miami, FL) Clemson 15, Miami (FL) 14
1952 Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, FL) Miami (FL) 14, Clemson 0
1957 Orange Bowl (Miami, FL) Colorado 27, Clemson 21
1959 Sugar Bowl (New Orleans, LA) LSU 7, Clemson 0
1959 Bluebonnet Bowl (Houston, TX) Clemson 23, TCU 7
1977 Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, FL) Pittsburgh 34, Clemson 3
1978 Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, FL) Clemson 17, Ohio State 15
1979 Peach Bowl (Atlanta, GA) Baylor 24, Clemson 18
1982 Orange Bowl (Miami, FL) Clemson 22, Nebraska 15
1985 Independence Bowl (Shreveport, LA) Minnesota 20, Clemson 13
1986 Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, FL) Clemson 27, Stanford 21
1988 Florida Citrus Bowl (Orlando, FL) Clemson 35, Penn State 10
1989 Florida Citrus Bowl (Orlando, FL) Clemson 13, Oklahoma 6
1989 Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, FL) Clemson 27, West Virginia 7
1991 Hall of Fame Bowl (Tampa, FL) Clemson 30, Illinois 0
1992 Florida Citrus Bowl (Orlando, FL) California 37, Clemson 13
1993 Peach Bowl (Atlanta, GA) Clemson 14, Kentucky 13
1996 Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, FL) Syracuse 41, Clemson 0
1996 Peach Bowl (Atlanta, GA) LSU 10, Clemson 7
1998 Peach Bowl (Atlanta, GA) Auburn 21, Clemson 17
1999 Peach Bowl (Atlanta, GA) Mississippi State 17, Clemson 7
2001 Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, FL) Virginia Tech 41, Clemson 20
2001 Humanitarian Bowl (Boise, ID) Clemson 49, Louisiana Tech 24
2002 Tangerine Bowl (Orlando, FL) Texas Tech 55, Clemson 15
2004 Peach Bowl (Atlanta, GA) Clemson 27, Tennessee 14
2005 Champs Sports Bowl (Orlando, FL) Clemson 19, Colorado 10
2006 Music City Bowl (Nashville, TN) Kentucky 28, Clemson 20
2007 Chick-Fil-A Bowl (Atlanta, GA) Auburn 23, Clemson 20 (OT)
2009 Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, FL) Nebraska 26, Clemson 21
2009 Music City Bowl (Nashville, TN) Clemson 21, Kentucky 13
2010 Meineke Car Care Bowl (Charlotte, NC) South Florida 31, Clemson 26
2012 Orange Bowl (Miami, FL) West Virginia 70, Clemson 33