Pop-Tarts Bowl Again Delivers With More Edible Insanity, Zombie Mascot

It’s not in the championship bracket or even among the prestigious bowl games, but the Pop-Tarts Bowl once again delivered on its promise of being the most viral of college games Saturday with even more edible insanity.

After becoming an online sensation in its debut year in 2023 with a postgame celebration that included a toaster pastry mascot sacrificing itself to the winning team, the Pop-Tarts Bowl — formerly the Cheez-It Bowl, the MicronPC Bowl, and the Blockbuster (Video) Bowl, among other names — returned to Orlando’s Camping World Stadium this year with three life-sized Pop-Tarts mascots, and featured the Number 13-ranked Miami Hurricanes facing off agains the 18th-ranked Iowa State Cyclones.

While the college football world focused on the much-anticipated theatrics, the game itself perhaps overshadowed the spectacle, as the underdog Cyclones defeated the Hurricanes in a back-and-forth, always-close battle that ended with Iowa State eking out a 42-41 win thanks to a last-minute touchdown.

The 2024 Pop-Tarts Bowl also featured some history as Miami quarterback Cam Ward broke the all-time Division I college football record for throwing touchdowns with 156, and threw two more before leaving the game at halftime; Ward’s record secure at 158 TDs, and with no incentive to continue playing other than potentially eating postgame Pop-Tarts, the quarterback opted to protect himself from injury in anticipation of the NFL Draft next year. (However, the decision perhaps coast Miami the win, as his second half replacement threw one interception and no touchdowns.)

As for the aforementioned Strawberry Frosting Pop-Tart that sacrificed itself at the inaugural bowl in 2023 and became a viral sensation, the 2024 game featured a special In Memoriam video to the character, who was then resurrected as a disfigured zombie mascot.

With the Iowa State victory, Cyclones quarterback Rocco Becht was named MVP and given the task of choosing which of the three Pop-Tarts mascots — cinnamon roll, hot fudge sundae, or wild berry — would descend into the giant toaster and come out as a giant edible celebration cake. Becht quickly opted for cinnamon roll, who was gleefully lowered to its death while sporting a sign that read “Follow Your Dreams.”