11 College Football Programs With The Highest Bowl Game Winning Percentages

Every college football season is capped by annual bowl games, giving teams and players one last chance to close out the year on a positive note.

While the College Football Playoff has taken an emphasis off of the matchups that don’t boast national championship implications, many players still take pride in suiting up one last time.

For seniors, the experience can be especially meaningful. For those schools without annual title ambitions, the bowl games represent an opportunity for bragging rights.

Some programs have performed better than others in terms of wins and losses. Here, we’ll take a look at the 11 best.

College football teams with the best bowl game success.

There are 11 schools that have won at least 61% of their postseason matchups while also having had competed in at least 10 bowl games.

These programs vary from blue bloods with boatloads of postseason trips to smaller or newer schools not always included in the bowl season.

We’ll start with the team that boasts the top winning percentage and work our way down to No. 11.

Army Black Knights

The Black Knights are the only team on our list to win more than 70% of their bowl game appearances. They have a success rate just under 73% thanks to an 8-3 record through 11 games.

Despite having won three national championships, the program did not compete in its first bowl game until 1984. That season, Army beat Michigan State in the Cherry Bowl.

The Black Knights have won six of their last seven postseason trips, with the most recent coming in 2024. Their three bowl game losses have come by a combined seven points to the likes of Alabama, Auburn, and West Virginia.

Marshall Thundering Herd

Marshall has gone 13-6 across 19 postseason matchups to post an overall winning percentage of 68.4%. They last made an appearance in the 2023 Frisco Bowl, which they lost to UTSA.

The Thundering Herd made their first postseason trip in 1948 when they played in the Tangerine Bowl. The program didn’t return to a bowl game until 1997 due to its FCS affiliation.

Marshall moved up a level after winning the ’96 FCS National Championship. It’s postseason success continued as it won 12 of 14 bowl contests between 1997 and 2015.

Five years ago, the school would’ve owned the top spot on this list. Unfortunately, it’s gone 1-4 in bowl games since 2019.

USF Bulls

USF’s first season in the FBS came in 2000. Since, the Bulls have made 12 postseason appearances. The school has gone 8-4 in those contests, good for a winning percentage of 66.6%.

The most recent matchup set a record for longest bowl game in college football history as the Bulls beat San Jose State in five overtimes.

South Florida’s first bowl game came in 2005 when it lost to NC State. After dropping two of their first three postseason contests, the program ripped off seven wins in nine tries.

Oklahoma State Cowboys

Oklahoma State went to a bowl game each season between 2006 and 2023. That streak ended in 2024 when the Cowboys went 3-9 in the regular season.

In total, the program has made 34 postseason appearance dating back to its first in 1944. Oklahoma State has been highly successful, too, winning 22 of those contests.

The 22-12 overall mark is good for a 64.7% success rate.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons

The Demon Deacons have made 17 bowl game appearances in their 100+ year history. The school has won more than they’ve lost in those opportunities.

Wake Forest owns a 64.7% winning percentage by going 11-6. The team’s first postseason matchup came all the way back in 1945 when it beat South Carolina in the first ever Gator Bowl.

The most recent trip came in 2022 when the Demon Deacons took down Missouri in the Gasparilla Bowl.

USC Trojans

The Trojans have been to bowl games more than almost everyone on this list. The program owns 56 postseason trips across its illustrious history.

That makes the 64.3% winning percentage all the more impressive. USC is 36-20 in bowl games, with many determining the national champion.

The team’s first trip came in 1922 when it won a Rose Bowl against Penn State. The most recent was a Las Vegas Bowl win over Texas A&M.

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

The Hilltoppers are a relatively new program to the FBS with their first season coming in 2007. That hasn’t stopped the school from having success.

Western Kentucky has been to a bowl game in 11 of its 19 FBS seasons. They’ve posted a 7-4 record in those contests.

The first postseason trip came in the 2012 Little Caesar’s Bowl, which WKU lost to Central Michigan. The Hilltoppers then ripped off seven wins in nine tries before losing the 2024 Boca Raton Bowl to James Madison.

Ole Miss Rebels

The Rebels have a long history of bowl game success that dates back to 1935. The program made its first postseason appearance in the second-ever Orange Bowl, which it lost to Catholic.

Ole Miss would then lose two of its next three bowls before going on a bit of a hot streak. The team made 16 bowl trips in a 17-year span between 1952 and 1971. It won 10 of those contests, one of which resulted in the school’s lone national championship.

In all, the Rebels have made 41 bowl appearances, going 26-15 for a 63.4% success rate. They can technically claim another win from 2012 over Pitt which was vacated by the NCAA.

Utah Utes

Utah has played in 27 bowl games in its history. The school has gone 17-10 in those postseason opportunities.

The Utes made the Sun Bowl in 1938, which it won against New Mexico. They then lost to Hawaii in the 1947 Pineapple Bowl before beating West Virginia in the 1964 Liberty Bowl.

It would be nearly three decades before they returned to the postseason. The Utes played in the 1992 Copper Bowl. They’ve been streaky ever since.

From ’92 to ’96, the team went 1-3 in bowl games. They then won 14 of their next 15 but currently find themselves on a five-game losing skid.

Georgia Bulldogs

Georgia has the most bowl game trips on this list, as well as the most wins. In fact, the Bulldogs rank second all-time behind only Alabama in postseason matchups played.

UGA has gone 38-22-3 across 63 opportunities to post a 62.7% winning percentage. The program played its first bowl game in 1942 and won its first four before a tie broke the streak.

Georgia has been the beneficiary of the College Football Playoff, which has allowed them to play multiple bowl games on numerous occasions. They’ve been able to win a large chunk of those contests, two of which resulted in national titles.

Florida State Seminoles

We close out our list with Florida State, a program that’s appeared in 49 bowl games across its storied history. The Seminoles have been able to win 29 of those matchups.

The school’s 29-18-2 overall record gives it a 61.2% success rate to rank 11th amongst teams fitting our criteria. The ‘Noles’ first bowl game came in 1954.

FSU actually lost or tied in eight of its first 10 postseason contests. Since 1977, the school’s gone 27-11-1 which includes a 13-0-1 run between ’82 and ’95.

Three of Florida State’s bowl wins resulted in national championships.