It is Christmas Eve so first and foremost – a very Merry Christmas to you and your family.
It’s not a day that you usually think too long or hard about football but 15 years ago today Notre Dame was putting a bow on the 2008 season with an appearance in the Hawaii Bowl.
The game came after a disappointing season for Notre Dame. After starting 2-0 and at one point being 4-1, the Irish stumbled down the stretch and finished the regular season just 6-6.
Often times that would have meant Notre Dame turning down a bowl game. Well, it just so happened that a trip to Hawai’i for a bowl game meant another chance to try and recruit then mega-prospect [autotag]Manti Te’o[/autotag].
Was it the only reason Notre Dame accepted the invitation? Certainly not, but it clearly helped their chances with the star linebacker, too.
Anyway, back to the game. Notre Dame hadn’t won a bowl game since New Year’s Day 1994 at this time, having lost nine-straight. Notre Dame came out on Christmas Eve with their names on their jerseys for the first time in decades, and proceeded to roll Hawai’i, 49-21.
Check out some of the highlights below:
It would set the table for what many thought would be a big 2009 season for Notre Dame but unfortunately the Irish would again finish just 6-6, Charlie Weis would be fired, and a bowl game wouldn’t be in the cards.
Regardless, for roughly three-and-a-half hours that Christmas Eve, seemingly everything regarding Notre Dame football was right during an era that it almost always certainly wasn’t.
Here is the final score of every bowl game played by Penn State in program history.
After opting to stay home from the college football bowl season in an odd 2020 season, Penn State is heading back to a bowl game to wrap up the 2021 season. The Nittany Lions will play in the Outback Bowl, where they will face the Arkansas Razorbacks in the first meeting between the two schools on January 1, 2022. Penn State will also be looking to win their second consecutive bowl game and snap a three-game losing streak in bowl games to SEC teams.
The 2022 Outback Bowl will be the 51st bowl game in Penn State program history, and it will be the fifth time the Nittany Lions have appeared in the Outback Bowl. Penn State is 3-1 all-time in the Outback Bowl and is 30-18-2 all-time in postseason bowl games. The highlights of those bowl victories are two national championship victories in the 1983 Sugar Bowl against Georgia and the 1987 Fiesta Bowl against heavily-favored Miami.
Here is a complete list of every Penn State bowl game in program history including the 2022 Outback Bowl against Arkansas.
January 1, 1948, Cotton Bowl: Penn State 13, SMU 13
December 19, 1959, Liberty Bowl: Penn State 7, Alabama 0
December 17, 1960, Liberty Bowl: Penn State 41, Oregon 12
December 30, 1961, Gator Bowl: Penn State 30, Georgia Tech 15
December 29, 1962, Gator Bowl: Florida 17, Penn State 7
December 30, 1967, Gator Bowl: Penn State 17, Florida State 17
January 1, 1969, Orange Bowl: Penn State 15, Kansas 14
January 1, 1970, Orange Bowl: Penn State 10, Missouri 3
January 1, 1972, Cotton Bowl: Penn State 30, Texas 6
December 31, 1972, Sugar Bowl: Oklahoma 14, Penn State 0
January 1, 1974, Orange Bowl: Penn State 16, LSU 0
January 1, 1975, Cotton Bowl: Penn State 41, Baylor 20
December 31, 1975, Sugar Bowl: Alabama 13, Penn State 6
December 27, 1976, Gator Bowl: Notre Dame 20, Penn State 9
December 25, 1977, Fiesta Bowl: Penn State 42, Arizona State 30
January 1, 1979, Sugar Bowl: Alabama 14, Penn State 7
December 22, 1979, Liberty Bowl: Penn State 9, Tulane 6
December 26, 1980, Fiesta Bowl: Penn State 31, Ohio State 19
January 1, 1982, Fiesta Bowl: Penn State 26, USC 10
Jan 1, 1983, New Orleans, LA, USA; FILE PHOTO; The video board at the Superdome after the 1983 Sugar Bowl where the Penn State Nittany Lions defeated the Georgia Bulldogs. Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
January 1, 1983, Sugar Bowl: Penn State 27, Georgia 23
December 26, 1983, Aloha Bowl: Penn State 13, Washignton 10
January 1, 1986, Orange Bowl: Oklahoma 25, Penn State 10
Jan 2, 1987; Tempe, AZ, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback John Shaffer (14) hands the ball off to running back D.J. Dozier (42) during the 1987 Fiesta Bowl against the Miami Hurricanes. Photo: USA TODAY Sports
January 2, 1987, Fiesta Bowl: Penn State 14, Miami 10
January 1, 1988, Citrus Bowl: Clemson 35, Penn State 10
December 29, 1989, Holiday Bowl: Penn State 50, BYU 39
December 28, 1990, Blockbuster Bowl: Florida State 24, Penn State 17
January 1, 1992, Fiesta Bowl: Penn State 42, Tennessee 17
January 1, 1993, Blockbuster Bowl: Stanford 24, Penn State 3
January 1, 1994, Citrus Bowl: Penn State 31, Tennessee 13
Penn State’s Ki-Jana Carter (32) is chased by Oregon’s Alex Molden (1) as he heads for the end zone on the Nittany Lions’ first possession of the 81st Rose Bowl against Oregon. AP Photo/Reed Saxon
January 2, 1995, Rose Bowl: Penn State 38, Oregon 20
January 1, 1996, Outback Bowl: Penn State 43, Auburn 14
January 1, 1997, Fiesta Bowl: Penn State 38, Texas 15
January 1, 1998, Citrus Bowl: Florida 21, Penn State 6
January 1, 1999, Outback Bowl: Penn State 26, Kentucky 14
December 28, 1999, Alamo Bowl: Penn State 24, Texas A&M 0
January 1, 2003, Capital One Bowl: Auburn 13, Penn State 9
MIAMI GARDENS, FL – JANUARY 3: Quarterback Michael Robinson #12 hands off the ball to Austin Scott #33 of the Penn State Nittany Lions during the FedEx Orange Bowl against the Florida State Seminoles at Dolphins Stadium on January 3, 2005 in Miami Gardens, Florida. Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images.
January 3, 2006, Orange Bowl: Penn State 26, Florida State 23
January 1, 2007, Outback Bowl: Penn State 20, Tennessee 10
December 29, 2007, Alamo Bowl: Penn State 24, Texas A&M 17
January 1, 2009, Rose Bowl: USC 38, Penn State 24
January 1, 2010, Capital One Bowl: Penn State 19, LSU 17
January 1, 2011, Outback Bowl: Florida 37, Penn State 24
January 2, 2012, Ticket City Bowl: Houston 30, Penn State 14
Dec 27, 2014; Bronx, NY, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions wide receiver DaeSean Hamilton (5) makes a catch in front of Boston College Eagles defensive back Ty-Meer Brown (5) for a touchdown during the fourth quarter in the 2014 Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium. Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
December 27, 2014, Pinstripe Bowl: Penn State 31, Boston College 30
January 2, 2016, TaxSlayer Bowl: Georgia 24, Penn State 17
January 2, 2017, Rose Bowl: USC 52, Penn State 49
December 30, 2017, Fiesta Bowl: Penn State 35, Washington 28
January 1, 2019, Citrus Bowl: Kentucky 27, Penn State 24
December 28, 2019, Cotton Bowl: Penn State 53, Memphis 39
Dec 28, 2019; Arlington, Texas, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions running back Journey Brown (4) celebrates scoring a touchdown in the first quarter against the Memphis Tigers at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
January 1, 2022, Outback Bowl: Penn State vs. Arkansas
