| Opponent | Month/Year | Bowl | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Stanford Cardinal | January 1925 Attendance: 53,000 | Rose Bowl Pasadena, California | W. 27-10 |
 | Texas Longhorns | January 1970 Attendance: 73,000 | Cotton Bowl Dallas, Texas | L, 17-21 |
| Texas Longhorns | January 1971 Attendance:73,000 | Cotton Bowl Dallas, Texas | W, 24-11 |
 | Nebraska Cornhuskers | January 1973 Attendance: 80,010 | Orange Bowl Miami, Florida | L, 40-6 |
 | Alabama Crimson Tide | December 1973 Attendance: 85,161 | Sugar Bowl New Orleans, Louisiana | W, 24-23 |
| Alabama Crimson Tide | January 1975 Attendance: 71,801 | Orange Bowl Miami, Florida | W, 13-11 |
 | Penn State | December 1976 Attendance: 67,827 | Gator Bowl Jacksonville, Florida | W, 20-9 |
| Texas Longhorns | January 1978 Attendance: 76,701 | Cotton Bowl Dallas, Texas | W, 38-10 |
 | Houston Cougars | January 1979 Attendance: 32,500 | Cotton Bowl Dallas, Texas | W, 35-34 |
 | Georgia Bulldogs | January 1981 Attendance: 77,895 | Sugar Bowl New Orleans, Louisiana | L, 17-10 |
 | Boston Colege Eagles | December 1983 Attendance: 47,071 | Liberty Bowl Memphis, Tennessee | W, 19-18 |
 | SMU Mustangs | December 1984 Attendance: 41,777 | Aloha Bowl Honolulu, Hawaii | L, 2-20 |
 | Texas A&M Aggies | January 1988 Attendance: 73,006 | Cotton Bowl Dallas, Texas | L, 35-10 |
 | West Virginia Mountaineers | January 1989 Attendance: 74,911 | Fiesta Bowl Tempe, Arizona | W, 34-21 |
 | Colorado Buffalos | January 1990 Attendance: 81,191 | Orange Bowl Miami, Florida | W, 21-6 |
| Colorado Buffalos | January 1991 Attendance: 77,062 | Orange Bowl Miami, Florida | L, 9-10 |
 | Florida Gators | January 1992 Attendance: 76,447 | Sugar Bowl New Orleans, Louisiana | W, 39-28 |
| Texas A&M Aggies | January 1993 Attendance: 71,615 | Cotton Bowl Dallas, Texas | W, 28-3 |
| Texas A&M Aggies | January 1994 Attendance: 69,855 | Cotton Bowl Dallas, Texas | W, 24-21 |
| Colorado Buffalos | January 1995 Attendance: 73,968 | Fiesta Bowl Tempe, Arizona | L, 24-41 |
 | Florida State Seminoles | January 1996 Attendance: 72,198 | Orange Bowl Miami, Florida | L, 26-31 |
 | LSU Tigers | December 1997 Attendance: 50,459 | Independence Bowl Shreveport, Louisiana | L, 9-27 |
 | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets | January 1999 Attendance: 70,791 | Gator Bowl Jacksonville, Florida | L, 28-35 |
 | Oregon State Beavers | January 2001 Attendance: 75,428 | Fiesta Bowl Tempe, Arizona | L, 9-41 |
 | NC State Wolfpack | January 2003 Attendance: 73,491 | Gator Bowl Jacksonville, Florida | L, 6-28 |
| Oregon State Beavers | December 2004 Attendance: 45,917 | Insight.com Bowl Phoenix, Arizona | L, 21-38 |
 | Ohio State Buckeyes | January 2006 Attendance: 76,196 | Fiesta Bowl Tempe, Arizona | L, 34-20 |
 | LSU Tigers | January 2007 Attendance: 77,781 | Sugar Bowl Tempe, Arizona | L, 41-14 |
| Hawaii Rainbow Warriors | December 2008 | Hawaii Bowl Honolulu, HI | W, 49, 21 | |
 | Miami Hurricanes | December 2010 | Sun Bowl El Paso, TX | W, 33-17 |
| Florida State Seminoles | December 2011 | Champs Sports Bowl Orlando, FL | L, 13-18 |
| Alabama Crimson Tide | January 2013 | BCS Championship Miami, FL | L, 14-42 |
| Rutgers Scarlett Knights | December 2013 | Pinstripe Bowl New York, NY | W, 29-16 | |
| LSU Tigers | December 2014 | Music City Bowl Nashville, TN | W, 31-28 |
| Ohio State Buckeyes | January 2016 | Fiesta Bowl | L, 28-44 |
| LSU Tigers | January 2018 | Citrus Bowl | W, 21-17 |
| Clemson Tigers | December 2018 | Cotton Bowl | L, 3-30 | |
| Iowa State> Cyclones | December 2019 | Camping World Bowl | W, 33-9 | |
| Alabama Crimson Tide | January 2021 | Rose Bowl | L, 14-31 |
Author, here. Regrets to all – I was answeering the question “Do the Irish need to land…(some defenseman)”
Remember – “need” is a 4-letter-word. (swear-word) It’s too early to see, as OUR Irish are still forming under Coach Freeman.