How many times have teams from the Same Conference played each other in a Bowl Game??

In researching random college football things, I came across the 1955 Vanderbilt season and noticed at the end of the season, they played Auburn in the Gator Bowl. I said to myself, well that’s a bit weird that two teams from the same conference would wind up playing against each other in a bowl game. Generally, Bowl Games don’t want match ups from two teams in the same conference. Down the rabbit hole I went.

I tried to find a repository to answer this question and make it easy on myself but again at the Sickos Committee, we tend to ask questions where there isn’t much research. Then we get to do the research ourselves manually. So upfront, I will likely have missed something because I am human and if you find an omission, I will be happy to add it to this post. Yell at me via twitter or in the comments of this substack, I promise I won’t get mad because I know I am missing one (or more) for sure.

I will try to dive in deep to give some background on the situation on why this inter-conference bowl game happened, if I can find it. Otherwise, it’ll likely be a brief listing of the game.

Also, I am ruling they had to be in the conference at the TIME of the Bowl Game occurring. Not later in the same conference or in the same conference now. Finally, I am not considering any BCS Title or College Football Playoff Games.

Adding a late addendum and update here: The SEC didn’t fully begin integration until 1965 - 1972. Most of the bowls with 2 SEC Teams were likely due to the lack of integration before these years.

Also, the Gator Bowl was first Integrated in 1962 by Penn State. There was Sugar Bowl in 1956 between Pitt and Georgia Tech which was integrated but they did not have another integrated Sugar Bowl until after the Civil Rights Act was signed in 1964.

The Liberty Bowl was integrated when it was played in Philadelphia in 1959 between Penn State and Alabama. However, the Liberty Bowl in question in 1965 was the first one in Memphis, so this likely could have been a factor in the two SEC team match-up.

Rose Bowl

1944 - Washington vs USC (PCC)

Let’s start with the Granddaddy of them All, the Rose Bowl. A traditional Big Ten vs PCC/Pac-12 Match-up. There was one instance we found of two in-conference opponents meeting in the Rose Bowl.

This was the only Rose Bowl game with teams from the same conference, necessitated by the travel restrictions imposed by the World War II effort. Also, it was treated as a de-facto Conference Championship game. It determined the champion of the PCC for the 1943 season and the USC Trojans shut out the Washington Huskies 29–0 to win the PCC Championship.

Orange Bowl

1979 Oklahoma vs Nebraska (Big 8)

Nebraska had upset #1 Oklahoma 17–14 on November 11 in Lincoln, their first win in the rivalry since the Game of the Century in 1971, and appeared headed towards a national championship showdown. However, unranked Missouri (6–4) played spoiler and stunned the then #2 ranked Huskers 35–31 in Lincoln the following week. This dropped Nebraska into a tie with Oklahoma for the Big Eight championship.

Nebraska earned the Big Eight's automatic Orange Bowl berth by virtue of its victory over the Sooners, but, with Penn State and Notre Dame (which accepted an invitation to the Cotton Bowl) off the board, the Orange Bowl committee decided to set up a bowl rematch with Oklahoma to create the best possible match-up.

Despite the road loss to the Huskers in the regular season, Oklahoma was a double-digit favorite and defeated Nebraska 30-24 in the Orange Bowl.

Sugar Bowl

1953 - Ole Miss vs Georgia Tech (SEC)

The Yellow Jackets were champions of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) with a 7–0 conference record and ranked #2 going into the game. Ole Miss finished third in the SEC, but had an undefeated regular season at 8-0-2, highlighted by an upset win over Maryland, and were ranked in the top ten for the first time. This was the first bowl game for Ole Miss since 1948 and the program's first Sugar Bowl. This was Georgia Tech's first Sugar Bowl since 1944. This was the first televised Sugar Bowl, which was broadcast by ABC. Georgia Tech won the game 24-7.

1960 - Ole Miss vs LSU (SEC)

LSU and Ole Miss played the season’s “Game of the Century” on Halloween night, 1959. The Tigers, still unbeaten and No. 1-ranked, were losing a game of field position and defense to the No. 3-ranked Rebels until Billy Cannon cut loose with a fourth-quarter superhuman 89-yard punt return for a touchdown. LSU prevailed 7-3.

LSU then had to play Tennessee the next week. LSU had three backs individually out-rush the entire Volunteer team but lost 14-13 and dropped from its No. 1 perch. A week later, Ole Miss tore apart the same Tennessee team 37-7 and moved to No. 2 in the national polls, one spot ahead of LSU.

Syracuse, which took over the No. 1 position after LSU’s loss to Tennessee, was paired with Texas in the Cotton; fifth-ranked Georgia, which won the SEC championship after the LSU - Tennessee - Ole Miss round robin, was matched with Missouri in the Orange. If the Tigers wanted a bowl game, it would have to be either in the Sugar against Ole Miss or in the Bluebonnet in another rematch with another opponent they beat earlier in the year, TCU.

Reluctantly after much deliberation, the LSU players voted to play Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl after many thought they’d just skip a bowl all together. Playing a conference opponent for the second time in the Sugar Bowl doesn’t seem to go well for LSU. Ole Miss defeated the Tigers 21-0, which was the same score of their 2012 BCS Title game loss to Alabama.

1964 - Ole Miss vs Alabama (SEC)

The Crimson Tide lost to Florida and long-time rival Auburn en route to an 8–2 regular season. The Sugar Bowl was originally wanting to pit Navy against Ole Miss. However, the Sugar Bowl extended the invitation to Alabama with two weeks remaining in the regular season. Ole Miss won the SEC Conference Title.

To give you an idea of how unusual the 1964 Sugar Bowl was between Alabama and Ole Miss, the teams combined for 17 fumbles, 11 by the Rebels, both all-time bowl records. Likely the reason for these fumbles, a substantial snowstorm hit New Orleans the day before kickoff and in those times the Sugar Bowl was played outdoors in Tulane Stadium. The field was ringed with snow for the game as seen below.

Alabama relied on field goal kicker Tim Davis who had four field goals, of 31, 46, 22 and 48 yards, as Alabama won 12-7. 

Gator Bowl

1946 - Wake Forest vs South Carolina (Southern Conference)

The 1946 Gator Bowl was the first inaugural game and it featured the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and the South Carolina Gamecocks, both from the Southern Conference. It was one of only two bowl rematches of a regular season game that ended in a tie. This was the first bowl game appearance for either team. The two had played earlier in the season (November 22) in Charlotte, ending in a tie, 13–13. Wake Forest had finished 4–0–1 down the stretch, while South Carolina was 2–3–3, but were still invited to play???

Led by Head Coach Peahead Walker, Wake Forest won 26-14.

1955 - Vanderbilt vs Auburn (SEC)

The 1955 Vandy squad finished the regular season 7–3. The Commodores lost to Georgia, Ole Miss and Tennessee. They accepted an invitation to play in the Gator Bowl in the days following their loss to Tennessee. The appearance was the first all-time bowl appearance for Vanderbilt.

The 1955 Auburn squad finished the regular season 8–1–1. The Tigers lost to Tulane and tied Kentucky in route to their third-place finish in the conference. They accepted an invitation to play in the Gator Bowl against Vanderbilt in the days following their victory over long-time rival Alabama. The appearance was the fifth overall bowl appearance and third consecutive in the Gator Bowl.

Vanderbilt upset favored Auburn 25–13 to secure their first ever bowl victory. This remained the lone bowl victory for the Commodores until their 16–14 victory over Boston College in the 2008 Music City Bowl.

1958 - Ole Miss vs Florida (SEC)

The Gators finished eighth in the SEC, but with four teams above them having fewer overall wins. This was their first Gator Bowl since the 1953 game. The Rebels finished third in the SEC, earning an invitation to their second straight bowl game and first Gator Bowl. Ole Miss won this game 7-3.

1969 - Florida vs Tennessee (SEC)

Florida's reward for the program's first one-loss season since 1928 was a trip to the Gator Bowl to play 11th-ranked Tennessee (9-1). The Volunteers were champions of the  Southeastern Conference, but were bypassed by the Sugar Bowl in favor of No. 8 Ole Miss and their star quarterback Archie Manning, who finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy balloting and led the Rebels to a 38-0 shutout of the Vols in November. 

The Gators took down the Volunteers in the Gator Bowl winning 14-13.

1971 - (January) Ole Miss vs Auburn (SEC)

This was a match-up of two SEC teams, fourth-place Ole Miss and second-place Auburn. Although in the same conference they rarely played each other. They had met only once since 1953, in the Liberty Bowl in December 1965.

The Rebels made their fourteenth straight bowl appearance in Johnny Vaught's final full season as head coach, but it was their first Gator Bowl since 1958. This was Archie Manning's final game as Rebel quarterback. This was Auburn's third straight bowl game and first Gator Bowl since 1955. Auburn quarterback Pat Sullivan won the Heisman Trophy the following season.

The Tigers took down Ole Miss 35-28.

Speaking of the 1965 Liberty Bowl…

Liberty Bowl

1965 - Ole Miss vs Auburn (SEC)

The Rebels had finished 4th in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), a rise from the prior year's 7th-place finish. This was the Rebels' 9th straight bowl appearance. As for the Tigers, they finished 2nd in the SEC after tying Tennessee in the beginning of the season and losing to Alabama in the Iron Bowl. This was the first Liberty Bowl played in Memphis, Tennessee, after five editions in Philadelphia and one edition in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Ole Miss won a close one 13-7 over Auburn.

Arizona Bowl

2015 - Nevada vs Colorado State (Mountain West)

The 2015 NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl was a post-season college football bowl game between the Nevada Wolf Pack and the Colorado State Rams played on December 29, 2015, at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Arizona.

It was the inaugural edition of the Arizona Bowl. In an unusual circumstance for a postseason bowl game, both teams were from the Mountain West Conference due to issues fulfilling the bowl's conference tie-ins, resulting in the first bowl game to feature conference opponents since the 1979 Orange Bowl.

Nevada beat Colorado State 28-23.

Ole Miss

They’ve been to 40 Bowl Games in their history but 15% of their Bowl Games have been against Conference Opponents. We know it’s unlikely to happen more in the future but that just seems to be a weird coincidence it has happened to Ole Miss on six different occasions.

• 1953 Sugar Bowl vs Georgia Tech

• 1958 Gator Bowl vs Florida

• 1960 Sugar Bowl vs LSU

• 1964 Sugar Bowl vs Alabama

• 1965 Liberty Bowl vs Auburn

• 1971 Gator Bowl vs Auburn

If I missed a bowl game that pitted two conference members at the time against each other, please let me know! Thank you for reading.