Prepare yourselves, college football fans. This year's Pop-Tarts Bowl, the strangest bowl game on the docket, is only a little over a month away.
And to perhaps whet our appetites ahead of the big day, Kellanova on Tuesday announced some big changes to this year's contest.
For starters, this year's game will feature a total of six so-called "Edible Mascots" (up from three last year), which will be divided into two teams: Team Sprinkles and Team Swirls. These teams will then go head-to-head in what Kellanova has described as "the ultimate Edible Mascot showdown."
And, in another twist, an entire team of mascots will be selected for chowing—rather than just one—and fans are in charge of choosing. That's right, fans will get to vote as to whether Team Sprinkles or Team Swirls goes to Mouth Heaven at the end of the game, in what will surely amount to the most enjoyable fever dream of the NCAA football season.
The 2025 Pop-Tarts Bowl is slated for Dec. 27 at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC. Given the changes to this year's program, plus the hilarious madness that was 2024's iteration, you simply won't want to miss it.
The history of the Pop-Tarts Bowl
The bowl game now known as the Pop-Tarts Bowl was originally the Blockbuster Bowl and held in Miami, Florida from 1990-2000. But due to low attendance, the game eventually moved to Orlando, where it has been held at Camping World Stadium since 2001.
The game's title sponsor has changed many a time over the years. For instance, it was the Carquest Bowl from 1994-97, the MicronPC Bowl in 1998, the MicronPC.com Bowl in 1999 and 2000, and the Visit Florida Tangerine Bowl in 2001. More recently, you may remember it as the Camping World Bowl from 2017 to 2019 or the Cheez-It Bowl from 2020 to 2023. The first iteration of the Pop-Tarts Bowl was played in 2023.
In the new CFP era, the Pop-Tarts Bowl will see the top selection from the ACC (Notre Dame included) outside of the CFP series go up against the second selection from the Big 12 outside of the CFP series. Last year, the No. 18 Iowa State Cyclones upset the No. 12 Miami Hurricanes in a tight 42–41 thriller.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as The Fan-Favorite Pop-Tarts Bowl Has Announced Big Changes for 2025 Game.
