Citrus Bowl Betting History

The Citrus Bowl stands as the seventh-oldest bowl in major college football. It began life as the Tangerine Bowl back in 1947 and was later played as the Florida Citrus Bowl and the Capital One Bowl. Now, it’s simply the Citrus Bowl. 

Since 1993 the Citrus Bowl has pitted teams from the Big Ten against teams from the Southeastern Conference, making for many very good matchups between some of the top programs in the country. But exceptions can be made, such as in 2016 when Louisville was chosen to play instead of a Big Ten outfit.  Through 2016 the SEC was 14-10 in Citrus Bowl matchups against the Big Ten.

The Citrus Bowl is played at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, which itself began existence as the Tangerine Bowl. In 1987 the Citrus Bowl became a regular member of the New Year’s Day bowl rotation.

The Catawba Indians, who now play Division 2 football, won the first two Tangerine Bowls in 1946-47, beating Maryville and Marshall. The Citrus Bowl remained a match between smaller schools until the early 1970s.

In 1973 an 11-0 Miami-Ohio team beat Florida in a Citrus Bowl played at the Swamp in Gainesville. The RedHawks then beat Georgia the following season, and South Carolina the season after that. 

Nobody knew it at the time but the 1982 Citrus Bowl featured two future Heisman Trophy Sportsbooks, as Bo Jackson’s Auburn Tigers defeated Doug Flutie’s Boston College Eagles 33-26. In 1991 Georgia Tech entered the Citrus Bowl against Nebraska at 10-0-1, bombed the Cornhuskers 45-21 and ending up splitting the national championship. The 1997 game, a Florida victory over Penn State, set the Citrus Bowl record with a crowd of nearly 73,000.    

In 2005 Iowa pulled off one of the more improbable bowl victories of recent memory, scoring on a 56-yard touchdown pass from Drew Tate to Warren (One-Time) Holloway on the final play to win 30-25. It was Holloway’s only touchdown of his collegiate career.

In 2008 Heisman Sportsbook Tim Tebow accounted for four Florida touchdowns, but Michigan beat the Gators 41-35 in coach Lloyd Carr’s final game. And in 2016 the Wolverines, this time led by coach Jim Harbaugh, beat Florida again, this time by a more convincing score of 41-7.

This season’s Citrus Bowl pits the Kentucky Wildcats against the Penn State Nittany Lions. For the latest odds, a free pick and handicapping information, visit our Citrus Bowl Game Center.