The number of seasons having a bowl or playoff win in a 10+ win season since 1950

[saturdaysarebetter]

26 – Alabama (’52, ’61, ’62, ’66, ’75, ’77, ’78, ’79, ’80, ’86, ’91, ’92, 94, ’96, ’09, ’10, ’11, ’12, ’15, ’16, ’17, ’18, ’19, ’20, ’21, '22) not including ’93 and ’05 both vacated.

20 – Penn State (’68, ’69, ’71, ’73, ’74, ’77, ’80, ’81, ’82, ’86, ’91, ’93, ’94, ’96, ’99, ’05, ’09, ’17, ’19, '22)

19 – Georgia (’59, ’66, ’71, ’80, ’83, ’92, ’97, ’02, ’03, ’04, ’07, ’08, ’12, ’14, ’15, ’17, ’19, ’21, '22)

19 – Oklahoma (’55, ’57, ’58, ’67, ’71, ’75, ’78, ’79, ’80, ’85, ’86, ’00, ’01, ’02, ’10, ’11, ’13, 16, ’21) (’54 & ’56 consecutive bowl appearances prohibited by conference.)

17 – Florida State (’77, ’87, ’88, ’89, ’90, ’91, ’92, ’93, ’94, ’95, ’97, ’99, ’10, ’12, ’13, ’16, '22)

17 – USC (’52, ’62, ’67, ’69, ’72, ’74, ’76, ’78, ’79, ’02, ’03, ’04, ’06, ’07, ’08, ’13, ’16)

16 – Ohio State (’54, ’68, ’73, ’86, ’93, ’96, ’98, ’02, ’03, ’05, ’09, ’14, ’15, ’17, ’18, ’21)

15 – Nebraska (’63, ’70, ’71, ’80, ’82, ’84, ’86, ’94, ’95, ’96, ’97, ’99, ’00, ’03, ’09)

15 – Texas (’61, ’63, ’64, ’69, ’72, ’75, ’81, ’01, ’02, ’04, ’05, ’06, ’07, ’08, ’18)

14 – Clemson (’78, ’81, ’87, ’88, ’89, ’90, ’12, ’13, ’14, ’15, ’16, ’18, ’19, ’21)

13 – LSU (’58, ’61, ’87, ’96, ’01, ’03, ’05, ’06, ’10, ’13, ’18. ’19, '22)

13 – Notre Dame (’70, ’73, ’74, ’77, ’88, ’89, ’91, ’92, ’93, ’15, ’17, ’19, '22)

13 – Tennessee (’50, ’70, ’71, ’72, ’87, ’89, ’95, ’96, ’98, ’01, ’04, ’07, '22)

12 – Washington (’59, ’60, ’77, ’79, ’81, ’82, ’84, ’90, ’91, ’00, '22)

10 – Florida (’93, ’96, ’97, ’98, ’01, ’06, ’08, ’09, ’18, ’19)

10 – Wisconsin (’93, ’98, ’99, ’05, ’06, ’09, ’14, ’15, ’16, ’17)

9 – Auburn (’72, ’74, ’83, ’86, ’89, ’97, ’04, ’06, ’10)

9 – Miami (’83, ’87, ’88, ’89, ’90, ’91, ’00, ’01, ’03)

9 – Oregon (’00, ’01, ’08, ’11, ’12, ’13, ’14, ’19, '22)

8 – Michigan (’80, ’85, ’97, ’98, ’99, ’02, ’11, ’15)

7 – UCLA (’82, ’87, ’88, ’97, ’05, ’13, ’14)

 

[FHSPSU67]

Penn State beat Alabama in 1959 liberty Bowl. Also won Liberty
bowl in 1960 against Oregon and 1961Gator Bowl against Georgia Tech

 

[saturdaysarebetter]

Penn State beat Alabama in 1959 liberty Bowl. Also won Liberty
bowl in 1960 against Oregon and 1961Gator Bowl against Georgia Tech

Did Penn State also win 10 games in any of those seasons?

 

[psuno1]

That is pretty Elite for PSU, '68 '69 '94 should have been National Title Teams.

 

[Nits74]

Does anyone remember the days when Ohio State would play only nine games a year, all within conference I believe. Also back then the Big Ten (or Rose Bowl?) didn't allow repeat appearances by the conference champion.

 

[BobPSU92]

We’re just lucky to be playing football.

 

[JWB389]

This is the data you bring up when some hack sports writer posts his "blue blood" list minus PSU.

 

[ApexLion]

I hate our bowl wins - makes us stand out. Why can't we be more like OSU?

 

[Roar More]

How did Pitt win so many national championships with so few wins? It is a puzzlement.

 

[psuro]

Does anyone remember the days when Ohio State would play only nine games a year, all within conference I believe. Also back the Big Ten (or Rose Bowl?) didn't allow repeat appearances by the conference champion.

Not sure your entire statement is entirely true

It is true that the RB would not allow back to back appearances.

However, it was not only Ohio State that would play nine games - all teams did - this went on into the late 1960s. The Big Ten teams would play 7 conference games and two non conference games.

For a couple of years in the late 70s or early 80s, I think the conference had 9 conf games and 2 non conference games, because the limit was 11 games.

 

[Bob78]

Not sure your entire statement is entirely true

It is true that the RB would not allow back to back appearances.

However, it was not only Ohio State that would play nine games - all teams did - this went on into the late 1960s. The Big Ten teams would play 7 conference games and two non conference games.

For a couple of years in the late 70s or early 80s, I think the conference had 9 conf games and 2 non conference games, because the limit was 11 games.

Off the top, I think most schools and conferences had moved to a 10 game regular season in the early 60s, while the Big Ten stayed at 9 until a few seasons later. Rip's final season in 1965, and Joe's first season in 1966, were both 5-5 seasons, for example.
The national interest generated by PSU and Tennessee playing an 11th game at the back end of the 1971 regular season was one of the big factors in moving to 11 games being the new norm. That game was scheduled not too long before the 1971 season, if I recall.

 

[Bob78]

Does anyone remember the days when Ohio State would play only nine games a year, all within conference I believe. Also back the Big Ten (or Rose Bowl?) didn't allow repeat appearances by the conference champion.

Not all within conference, but the B1G stayed at 9 games for a couple seasons longer than other conferences and Independents.

Independents were a large collection of major schools well into the 80s. PSU joining the B1G (announced ~1990, with most sports moving into the conference by 1991 or 92), was the impetus for the mass movement of Independents into existing or newly formed conferences.

 

[GrimReaper]

Not sure your entire statement is entirely true

It is true that the RB would not allow back to back appearances.

However, it was not only Ohio State that would play nine games - all teams did - this went on into the late 1960s. The Big Ten teams would play 7 conference games and two non conference games.

For a couple of years in the late 70s or early 80s, I think the conference had 9 conf games and 2 non conference games, because the limit was 11 games.

Close, but you'll need a bigger torch to light that cigar.

When the Big Ten played nine games, you are pretty much correct that it was two non-conference games. Before that became the norm, it was three.

Wasn't the Rose Bowl that restricted back to back appearances, it was the Big Ten. That was the case from 1946 (before then the conference prohibited any teams from appearing in bowl games) until the early '70s. And during that period, the Rose Bowl was the only post-season game in which Big Ten Teams could appear.That also changed in the early '70s.

 

[GrimReaper]

Not all within conference, but the B1G stayed at 9 games for a couple seasons longer than other conferences and Independents.

Independents were a large collection of major schools well into the 80s. PSU joining the B1G (announced ~1990, with most sports moving into the conference by 1991 or 92), was the impetus for the mass movement of Independents into existing or newly formed conferences.

I was under pretty much the same impression, and then I did some spot checking. There were more than a handful of teams playing ten games in the '50s and even more in the '60s. The Big Ten didn't go to ten until 1971.

 

[Bob78]

I was under pretty much the same impression, and then I did some spot checking. There were more than a handful of teams playing ten games in the '50s and even more in the '60s. The Big Ten didn't go to ten until 1971.

Thanks for the clarification and the spot check. I should do more of that before I post (but what fun would that be?! ).

I mentioned the 10 games being more the norm in the 60s (see post #11), but I would have thought that was not the case in the 50s - I thought it was still just a relatively small number of teams playing 10 at that point.

For the young'uns still in attendance: the seasons didn't often start until the 3rd Saturday in September until the mid 60s, and then they generally started after Labor Day at the earliest, which often was the 2nd Saturday of September. Even when the trend moved to earlier in Sept., some schools and conferences continued to wait until mid-month. Hard to imagine anymore, but the TV/media explosion of the early 80s had yet to happen. I believe there were fewer than 10 total bowl games until the mid to late 70s as well.

Getting off topic:
The Ivies are the only Div. 1 conference that still waits that long, and they still play only 10 games with no post-season. I saw that there is a new lawsuit brought about very recently challenging the Ivies lack of athletic grants(?). Grim, if I recall, you have an Ivy background - any insight on that?

 

[GrimReaper]

Thanks for the clarification and the spot check. I should do more of that before I post (but what fun would that be?! ).

I mentioned the 10 games being more the norm in the 60s (see post #11), but I would have thought that was not the case in the 50s - I thought it was still just a relatively small number of teams playing 10 at that point.

For the young'uns still in attendance: the seasons didn't often start until the 3rd Saturday in September until the mid 60s, and then they generally started after Labor Day at the earliest, which often was the 2nd Saturday of September. Even when the trend moved to earlier in Sept., some schools and conferences continued to wait until mid-month. Hard to imagine anymore, but the TV/media explosion of the early 80s had yet to happen. I believe there were fewer than 10 total bowl games until the mid to late 70s as well.

Getting off topic:
The Ivies are the only Div. 1 conference that still waits that long, and they still play only 10 games with no post-season. I saw that there is a new lawsuit brought about very recently challenging the Ivies lack of athletic grants(?). Grim, if I recall, you have an Ivy background - any insight on that?

We share an inclination to shoot first and check later. It's an impulse that's difficult to hold in check. The realization that I might just be full of **** can be sobering.

No insight on the lawsuit against the Ivy League. Have a hard time seeing the plaintiffs ultimately prevail.

 

[FHSPSU67]

Did Penn State also win 10 games in any of those seasons?

Oops, failure to read through to the end. Mea Culpa

 

[Bob78]

Back to the original post's premise - Penn State is in high-falutin' company in this category, and at #2... wow! Shows that it is not easy to achieve this status, number of games per season or conference affiliation notwithstanding. Something we as PSU fans should be very proud of, and should make us appreciate our outstanding football past and terrific present standing even more.

 

[BiochemPSU]

Not sure what this is trying to show. If it is trying to show that psu is a tough out most years, then I would agree. If it is trying to show that we are superior to everyone not named Alabama, then I do not agree. If you use the same stat criteria since 2000, PSU ranks very differently.

 

[Nits74]

Not sure your entire statement is entirely true

It is true that the RB would not allow back to back appearances.

However, it was not only Ohio State that would play nine games - all teams did - this went on into the late 1960s. The Big Ten teams would play 7 conference games and two non conference games.

For a couple of years in the late 70s or early 80s, I think the conference had 9 conf games and 2 non conference games, because the limit was 11 games.

Yeah, you're right, because we played them a couple of times in the 1960's (63/64). Beat them both times in Columbus. Forgot that despite clearly remembering both of those games, especially 1964

 

[From Atherton to Auburn]

That is pretty Elite for PSU, '68 '69 '94 should have been National Title Teams.

Penn State could claim them just like Bama claims some disputed championships. They have gaslighted the media into buying them too

 

[saturdaysarebetter]

This is the data you bring up when some hack sports writer posts his "blue blood" list minus PSU.

You will hear how Penn State isn't a blue blood in the early years of college football. Total poppycock and balderdash!

According to the NCAA's own website: https://www.ncaa.com/history/football/fbs

Penn State won not just one but TWO national championships (in 1911 and 1912):
7 years before Notre Dame won their first one in 1919
13 years before Alabama won their first one in 1925
19 years before USC won their first one in 1931
30 years before Ohio State won their first one in 1942
38 years before Oklahoma won their first one in 1950
39 years before Tennessee won their first one in 1951
51 years before Texas won their first one in 1963
58 years before Nebraska won their first one in 1970.

AND: Penn State football had multiple 11+ win seasons during the '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s, '00s and '10s, a feat Ohio State, Michigan, Nebraska, Alabama, Texas, LSU, Georgia, USC, Notre Dame, Auburn, Clemson, FSU, Florida, Miami, Oklahoma, Tennessee nor Texas A&M cannot claim.