The Pop-Tarts Bowl is 'upping the ante' with even more pastry mascots to toast
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After years of viral clips and moments, college football’s Pop-Tarts Bowl is back, and is promising to “up the ante” for football and food fans alike.
While the college football season culminates with a bowl game for some teams who have not advanced to the playoffs, some bowls have different sponsors attached to it that shape the event’s happenings outside of the game.
Those events have led to wacky moments, like a couple getting married during a commercial timeout of the Citrus Cheez-It Bowl and the ceremony being officiated by the Cheez-It mascot, Ched-Z. Among the most popular has been the end of the Pop-Tarts Bowl when a Pop-Tarts mascot “toasts itself” in a giant toaster, resulting in an equally large edible pastry emerging to be eaten by the players.
The Pop-Tarts Bowl is promising an even bigger ending this year. Here’s what to know about the bowl game, the mascots and how to tune in.
What is the Pop-Tarts Bowl? A football game and dancing Pop-Tarts
The Pop-Tarts Bowl arose in the college football postseason after signing a multi-year agreement with Florida Citrus Sports to be the new title sponsor of the bowl in 2023. Since then, images and videos of the smiling pastry mascot sinking into a giant toaster before being eaten by players have circled the internet.
The bowl game is played between the top team selection that did not make the College Football Playoff from the Atlantic Coast Conference, including the University of Notre Dame, against the second selection from the Big 12 conference. In 2024, those teams were the Iowa State Cyclones and the University of Miami Hurricanes.
What’s new with the Pop-Tarts Bowl in 2025?
This year, the bowl is coming back and raising the stakes by upping the number of “edible mascots” and level of fan involvement, according to a news release. While three flavors – Frosted Wild Berry, Frosted Hot Fudge Sundae, and Frosted Cinnamon Roll – competed last year for the chance to be eaten by the winning team, this year the fans will be the ones deciding the pastries’ fates.
The bowl will see six edible Pop-Tarts mascots this time around, with three on Team Sprinkles and three on Team Swirls. Fans will have the chance to vote on which team should be sacrificed to join past eaten mascots, Frosted Cinnamon Roll and Frosted Strawberry.
“Over the past two years, fans have made it clear: the Pop-Tarts Bowl deserves championship-level status,” Leslie Serro, Vice President of Marketing for Pop-Tarts, said in the release. “In true Crazy Good fashion, we’re answering that call with a Pop-Tarts Bowl experience designed for the fans, dubbing this year’s game The People’s National Championship. While the Pop-Tarts Bowl may not decide the college football champion, it delivers what fans love most — more mascots, more sacrifices, more ‘only-at-the-Pop-Tarts-Bowl’ moments and more ways to be part of the action.”
The rosters for each Pop-Tarts team will be released on social media in future weeks on the company’s social channels.
How to watch the Pop-Tarts Bowl
Though it is not yet known which teams (or Pop-Tarts mascots) will face off in Orlando, you can plan to catch the 2025 Pop-Tarts Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 27 at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 2025 Pop-Tarts Bowl adds new mascots and fan voting. How to watch.
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