In the long history of bowl games, there isn't a college football team that is able to claim a victory in each of the bowls that make up the New Year's Six.
With a win in the Peach Bowl, Ohio State would become the first program to have at least one victory in the Cotton, Fiesta, Orange, Peach, Rose and Sugar Bowls.
| TEAM | BOWL |
|---|---|
| Alabama | Fiesta |
| Clemson | Rose |
| Florida State | Rose |
| Georgia | Fiesta |
| LSU | Rose |
| Miami | Fiesta |
| Notre Dame | Peach |
| Ohio State | Peach |
| Oklahoma | Peach |
| Penn State | Peach |
| Tennessee | Rose |
| Texas | Peach |
Entering the 2022 bowl season, 11 other teams besides the Buckeyes have won five of the NY6 bowls: Alabama, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Penn State, Tennessee and Texas.
Ohio State is the only team this bowl season to have a shot at completing the New Year’s Six win cycle.
Why is getting a win in every NY6 bowl so difficult? Part of the reason is opportunity.
Of the 12 teams with victories in five of the New Year's Six bowls, eight of those schools have never played in the bowl missing from their trophy case. Alabama, Florida State, Tennessee, and Miami are the only teams who have had at least one shot at winning the coveted sixth bowl. However, all four teams came up short.
Every school with wins in five of the NY6 bowls has at least notched one victory in the Cotton, Orange and Sugar Bowls. This leaves either the Fiesta, Peach or Rose Bowl as the final jewel in the New Year's Six crown each of those teams are chasing.
Let's take a deeper look at the bowl each program is chasing, those teams’ history and how that team could end up in the missing NY6 game next year.
Rose Bowl
Clemson, Florida State, LSU, and Tennessee will need to finish the 2023 season in the top four and beat their semifinal opponent in the Rose Bowl to have a chance at completing the NY6 cycle. The Seminoles had a shot at winning the Rose Bowl in the 2014 CFP semifinal against Oregon, but the Ducks handled Jimbo Fisher’s fourth-seeded squad in a 59-20 blowout.
Florida State defeated Auburn in the 2014 BCS National Championship Game that was played in Pasadena, but that season’s national championship game was played separately from the Rose Bowl, in which Michigan State beat Stanford five days earlier.
In the 1940s, Tennessee had two chances to win the Granddaddy Of Them All, but the Volunteers were thwarted by USC both times. On Jan. 1, 1940, the third-ranked Trojans blanked No. 2 Tennessee, 14-0. Five years later, No. 7 USC kept the 12th-ranked Volunteers scoreless again in a 25-0 beatdown. To date, the Rocky Top team is winless and scoreless in the Rose Bowl.
LSU and Clemson have never played in Pasadena.
Fiesta Bowl
Three teams from the South require a trip to the Sunkist/IBM/Tostitos/Vizio/BattleFrog/Playstation/Vrbo/YourNameHere Fiesta Bowl to notch their final NY6 victory. Alabama, Georgia and Miami could make the Fiesta Bowl next year only if they miss the CFP.
The Bulldogs have never played in this postseason game. With this knowledge, maybe they should have selected the Fiesta Bowl over hosting the Buckeyes in their backyard of Atlanta.
The Crimson Tide’s only shot at this elusive win was on Jan. 1, 1991. No. 18 Louisville destroyed No. 25 Alabama, 34-7, in Gene Stallings’ first year as head coach in Tuscaloosa.
Miami has had four cracks at winning the Fiesta Bowl and failed each of the four times. Three of the four defeats were by seven points or less. The Hurricanes’ first appearance was on Jan. 1, 1985 with a 39-37 loss to No. 14 UCLA. Two years later, second-ranked Penn State edged No. 1 Miami, 14-10.
The third game was a blowout loss to No. 16 Arizona on Jan. 1, 1994. Dennis Erickson’s team fell 29-0 to the Wildcats in Miami’s widest margin of defeat ever in a bowl game.
Every Buckeye fan reading this knows about The U's fourth loss in the Fiesta Bowl. Jim Tressel’s undefeated 2002 team traveled to Tempe and slayed the Hurricanes, 31-24, in double overtime.
Peach Bowl
The bowl game in Atlanta has proved the most difficult to win. Of the 12 teams with wins in five of the NY6 bowls, five have never been able to get a bite of the elusive Peach.
Four of them have never even played in it, including Notre Dame, Penn State and Texas. Ohio State is getting its first shot on New Year’s Eve. Oklahoma had a chance to complete the NY6 cycle in the 2019 semifinal game against LSU, but Joe Burrow’s No. 1 Tigers destroyed Lincoln Riley’s Sooners, 63-28.
| Bowl Game | Record | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Cotton Bowl | 2–0 | ||
| Fiesta Bowl | 5–4 | ||
| Orange Bowl | 1–1 | ||
| Peach Bowl | 0–0 | ||
| Rose Bowl | 9–7 | ||
| Sugar Bowl | 4–2* | ||
|
NY6 Overall Record 21–14* *Includes 2011 Sugar Bowl |
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NY6 Leaders Since the 2014 Season
Since the beginning of the College Football Playoff era, Alabama is the only team to have won five of the New Year's Six bowls, having won CFP semifinal games at every bowl site except the Fiesta Bowl.
Georgia and Ohio State are next on the list with four NY6 bowl victories since 2014. The Bulldogs need wins in the Cotton and Fiesta Bowls to finish the cycle in the CFP era.
The Buckeyes’ only win in the Orange Bowl came in 1976, but they will have victories since 2014 in every other New Year’s Six game if they can beat the Bulldogs in Atlanta.
