With the transfer portal and conference realignment hindering some college football traditions, there’s nothing like a food bath for the winner of a bowl to reaffirm fans’ love of the sport.
The Pop-Tarts Bowl is the newest member of unique food celebrations with its edible mascot, named Strawberry.
The Kansas State Wildcats are the inaugural winners after defeating the NC State Wolfpack, 28-19. The celebration included players taking a bite out of Pop-Tarts that were placed inside the hardware during the trophy presentation.
Then, amid chants of “toast that mascot,” Strawberry was lowered into a toaster prop before a large, edible toaster pastry was dispensed from the bottom of the machine.
Head coach Chris Klieman and quarterback Avery Johnson took the first bites of the treat.
Here’s a look more notable food celebrations from the 2023 bowl season.
Duke’s Mayo Bowl: West Virginia Mountaineers 30, North Carolina Tar Heels 10
WVU coach gets doused in mayo after bowl win
West Virginia coach Neal Brown gets a mayo bath after his team wins the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.
WVU coach gets doused in mayo after bowl win
West Virginia coach Neal Brown gets a mayo bath after his team wins the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.
The Duke’s Mayo Bowl kicked off the seasonal trend with several bits inspired by the condiment.
In the end, West Virginia defeated the Tar Heels 30-10, but the box score might have been overshadowed by the game’s intriguing scenes, including Mountaineers’ coach Neal Brown’s victory mayo bath.
“I feel cold. I feel wet. But I feel like a winner,” Brown said after getting doused in Duke’s mayo.
The two mayo dumpers, Derek and Levi, successfully completed the mayo combine, earning a chance to drop 4.5 gallons of mayo on the winning head coach. The combine included different activities, such as mayo hands and a mayo squat.
Our 2023 Duke’s Mayo Bowl Mayo Dumpers are here 🏋️♀️
Coach, you’ll see Derek & Levi on the field 🪣🪣🪣🪣 @DukesMayoBowl pic.twitter.com/7siOkZq2cV
— Duke’s Mayo (@DukesMayonnaise) December 27, 2023
Fans on both sides of the matchup also indulged in the bowl game’s titular treat.
IT’S MAYO TIME. pic.twitter.com/Xz9WBy8geO
— Duke’s Mayo Bowl (@DukesMayoBowl) December 27, 2023
Lincoln Riley’s résumé includes four Big 12 championships, a Big 12 Coach of the Year award and now an eggnog bath.
The DIRECTV Holiday Bowl has been played 44 times, but eggnog on the winning coach, described on the bowl’s social media page as “nog on the noggin,” is a new tradition. The Trojans came out on top behind a strong performance by Miller Moss, who threw for 371 yards and six touchdowns, a USC bowl game record.
Riley had the holiday classic dumped on him to celebrate the big win.
Congratulations, coach Riley – your reward is the ceremonial #HolidayBowl egg nog! pic.twitter.com/VPOfmiYiCe
— DIRECTV Holiday Bowl (@DIRECTV_HB) December 28, 2023