SEC teams on list of most consecutive FBS bowl appearances

While the number of bowl games has grown rapidly in recent years, they still hold some cache for a senior class to go out in style, or to prepare the underclassmen to take the torch. Whether it’s 6-6 — or lately, 5-7 — a bowl appearance carries weight in recruiting and in national visibility around the holidays.

The number of long streaks of FBS bowl game appearances show not only who the blue bloods of the sport are, but which programs stick with a coach for more than a decade or make smooth transitions. The top five teams, for example, each kept a coach for at least 10 years, or had a combination of Nick Saban-Les Miles at the helm.

The SEC is well-represented with five teams among those that have played in bowl games at least six consecutive years. And it shows conspicuous absences from recent national champions Ohio State and Florida.

Most consecutive bowl game appearances:

Florida State 34 years
Virginia Tech 23 years
Georgia 19 years
Oklahoma 17 years
LSU 16 years
Boise State 14 years
Wisconsin 14 years
Alabama 12 years
Clemson 12 years
BYU 11 years
Oregon 11 years
Oklahoma State 10 years
Michigan State nine years
Nebraska eight years
Northern Illinois eight years
Pittsburgh eight years
Stanford seven years
Texas A&M seven years
Baylor six years
Kansas State six years
Louisville six years
Mississippi State six years
Notre Dame six years
San Diego State six years
Washington six years

Keith Farner

A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.