Cincinnati Bearcats bowl history: From the Sun Bowl in 1947 to the Cotton Bowl in 2021
When the Cincinnati Bearcats and Alabama Crimson Tide meet on New Year's Eve in the Cotton Bowl in Arlington, Texas, it will be the 21st bowl game in UC's history.
The first bowl game came on Jan. 1, 1947 when the Bearcats defeated Virginia Tech 18-6 in the Sun Bowl.
The Bearcats would defeat Toledo in the 1949 Glass Bowl before losing to West Texas State in the 1951 Sun Bowl.
That would be the Bearcats' last appearance in a bowl game until a 35-19 win over Utah State in the 1997 Humanitarian Bowl.
Entering this season's Cotton Bowl, the Bearcats have a 10-10 all-time record in bowl games.
Their first bowl opponent, Virginia Tech, has also been their most-played bowl opponent. The Hokies defeated the Bearcats in the 2008 Orange Bowl and 2014 Military Bowl, while UC got the win in the 2018 Military Bowl.
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Here is the University of Cincinnati's all-time bowl record:
Jan. 1, 1947 Sun Bowl: Cincinnati 18, Virginia Tech 6
Dec. 3, 1949 Glass Bowl: Cincinnati 33, Toledo 13
Jan. 1, 1951 Sun Bowl: West Texas A&M 14, Cincinnati 13
Dec. 29, 1997 Humanitarian Bowl: Cincinnati 35, Utah State 19
Dec. 27, 2000 Motor City Bowl: Marshall 25, Cincinnati 14
Dec. 29, 2001 Motor City Bowl: Toledo 23, Cincinnati 16
Dec. 17, 2002 New Orleans Bowl: North Texas 24, Cincinnati 19
Dec. 23, 2004 Fort Worth Bowl: Cincinnati 32, Marshall 14
Jan. 6, 2007 International Bowl: Cincinnati 27, Western Michigan 24
Dec. 22, 2007 PapaJohns.com Bowl: Cincinnati 31, Southern Mississippi 21
Jan. 1, 2009 Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech 20, Cincinnati 7
Jan. 1, 2010 Sugar Bowl: Florida 51, Cincinnati 24
Dec. 31, 2011 Liberty Bowl: Cincinnati 31, Vanderbilt 24
Dec. 27, 2012 Belk Bowl: Cincinnati 48, Duke 34
Dec. 28, 2013 Belk Bowl: North Carolina 39, Cincinnati 17
Dec. 27, 2014 Military Bowl: Virginia Tech 33, Cincinnati 17
Dec. 24, 2015 Hawaii Bowl: San Diego State 42, Cincinnati 7
Dec. 31, 2018 Military Bowl: Cincinnati 35, Virginia Tech 31
Jan. 2, 2020 Birmingham Bowl: Cincinnati 38, Boston College 6
Jan. 1, 2021 Peach Bowl: Georgia 24, Cincinnati 21
Dec. 31, 2021 Cotton Bowl: vs. Alabama
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: University of Cincinnati bowl games: Bearcats opponents, records
