The wait is over. The 2024 Pop-Tarts Bowl has finally arrived.
The Pop-Tarts Bowl forever changed the game in 2023, unveiling the first edible mascot in college football—and probably sports?—history. It was the latest bowl game mascot innovation as corporate sponsors continued their attempts to one-up each other and roll out the most fun (and ridiculous) mascot and postgame ceremony to boost their investment in postseason college football.
This year alone, we've already witnessed coffee and french fries dumped on winning head coaches. And it's only going to get more wacky and wild on Saturday with Snoop Dogg hosting his first Arizona Bowl, and the Pop-Tarts Bowl planning to roll out three potential edible mascots to the winner of the matchup between Miami and Iowa State.
To celebrate the ridiculousness of bowl season, compiled a list of the best original bowl game mascots that will be taking over our television screens for the next month.
Note: This list doesn't include mascots already aligned with a team, such as Boston Red Sox mascot Wally the Green Monster taking the mascot duties at the Fenway Bowl. This list also only includes active bowl game mascots, as we've sadly bid adieu to some elite mascots over the years due to corporate rights changing hands. (We'll never forget you, Bloomin' Onion of the formerly named Outback Bowl.)
Without further ado, let's get to it:
18. Armed Forces Bowl: Freedom the Eagle
Let Freedom ring. And let Freedom paint the field, too.
17. Sun Bowl: Tony the Tiger
It's no small feat to have an entire bowl game named after a mascot. Actually, it's a pretty grrrrrrrreat feat.
16. LA Bowl: Rob Gronkowski
Nothing says high stakes in a college football postseason game like Gronk handing out a wrestling-style championship belt to the LA Bowl winner.
15. Las Vegas Bowl: Elvis and the Showgirls
It doesn't get much more Las Vegas than this—although a walking slot machine mascot has the potential to soar up this list. Is that a gamble the Las Vegas Bowl is willing to make?
According to his bio on the Peach Bowl's website, Huddles majored in turf management with a minor in community service. He wears No. 68 in honor of the first Peach Bowl played on Dec. 30, 1968—a 31–27 win for LSU over Florida State.
13. Gator Bowl: Mr. Tax and Patches
No animosity here. The only duo on this list, Mr. Tax (a knight who literally slashes your taxes) and Patches (a gator, of course) are self-described "besties."
12. Gasparilla Bowl: Billy Bayshore the Pirate
Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me … and whoever wins the Gasparilla Bowl on Friday night between Florida and Tulane. (Bonus points for painting treasure maps in the end zones.)
11. Cure Bowl: Cure Bear
If former NC State and NFL quarterback Mike Glennon needs a new side gig, he can take his abnormally long neck and fit comfortably as the new Cure Bear.
Created from "a solar flare in 1971," Spirit might be the hardest-working mascot in college football, as he will be seen at both the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz., on Dec. 31 and the Rate Bowl in Phoenix on Dec. 26. That's a true football guy right there.
The Arizona Bowl dropped Barstool Sports as its cooperate sponsor like it's hot for Snoop Dogg, who is coming off a summer in which he was basically the mascot for the entire United States at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. "The Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl presented by Gin & Juice by Dre and Snoop" is quite the mouthful, but hey, it's Snoop.
8. Frisco Bowl: Camen Carmelicious and Anita Coffee
Say "Anita Coffee" five times fast. You need a coffee? So did Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield, who was doused in coffee following the Tigers' 42–37 win over West Virginia in the Frisco Bowl. (Don't worry, it was a giant coffee.)
7. Holiday Bowl: Joey Chestnut
O.K., so, Joey Chestnut isn't the mascot at the Holiday Bowl, but the greatest professional eater of all time was named this year's "Chief Eggnog Official" at the Holiday Bowl in San Diego. He'll be overseeing the bowl's second annual celebratory "eggnog dump" on the winning coach. Can we get some hot dogs out to midfield at halftime, though?
The Bowl Dog checks off so many boxes of what makes a great college football bowl game mascot. The costume looks pretty cheap—Spirit Halloween quality—the eyes are caught in the middle of being cute and terrifying, and the name "Bowl Dog" is just so perfectly simple. Pair all that with a "Run This Town" hype video, and we have ourselves a mascot nipping at the heels of the top five.
5. Citrus Bowl: Ched-Z
Ched-Z, the Cheez-It icon who is in the Mascot Hall of Fame by the way, is literally officiating a wedding on the field during the Citrus Bowl's two-minute timeout. Love is not dead after all.
4. Orange Bowl: Obie
With all the trendy corporate mascots taking over the bowl game scene these days, there has been one constant over the years: Obie, the orange who hails from Miami. Like that orange sitting at the bottom of your fridge, he's definitely taken his fair share of bruises over the years.
French fries. Hashbrowns. Tator tots. There are many great versions of the potato, but none better than a dancing mascot at a college football bowl game in Boise. Spuddy Buddy has put Mr. Potato Head on the hot seat.
2. Duke's Mayo Bowl: Tubby
Move over, Anthony "The Brow" Davis, Tubby has the greatest set of eyebrows in college sports history. And those eyebrows will be present to watch Minnesota's P.J. Fleck and Virginia Tech's Brent Pry battle for the, uh, honor to get doused in mayonnaise after the game.
1. Pop-Tarts Bowl: Edible Mascots
The 2024 winner? The mascot who forever changed the game. The inaugural Pop-Tarts Bowl was a massive hit in 2023, as "Strawberry," a giant Pop-Tart, voluntarily popped himself into a giant toaster after the game and emerged as an edible mascot for Kansas State to enjoy.
This year, three flavors of Pop-Tarts will compete to win the role of edible mascot served up to the winning team—Frosted Hot Fudge Sundae, Frosted Wild Berry and Frosted Cinnamon Roll. That's a win-win-win right there.
