College football bowl season is about to officially end, with the national championship game between Michigan and Washington on Monday finishing out the postseason.
But before we say goodbye, it’s time to have one last look at the most important parts of bowl season: The mascots.
I’m not talking about the ones that come with the various football programs playing in the bowls. I’m talking bowl-specific mascots, the ones that have gone viral on social media and in our hearts. We’re going to rank them by … I don’t know … how wacky they are and how much we loved watching them.
Let’s dive in:
5
Tony the Tiger (from the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl)
This is not a drill.
Tony the Tiger has a loaded gun at the Sun Bowl & he’s using it 👕 pic.twitter.com/yTjdDJQV0g
— Andrew Sanders (@DrewSandersWNDU) December 29, 2023
Listen, Tony the Tiger is a fine mascot. It’s just that he’s a known figure in the mascot world and has been around for decades. Next.
4
Spuddy Buddy (from the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl)
He got dropped this year. But generally, he’s goofy and silly, and that’s not a bad thing!
Whoever was inside the Spuddy Buddy costume will remember being hoisted up on the shoulders of Georgia State's players & dropped onto the Smurf Turf for the rest of his or her life. 🥹 pic.twitter.com/6tNjZmXbVH
— Jim Weber (@JimMWeber) December 24, 2023
3
Tubby (from the Duke's Mayo Bowl)
Tubby maybe should be ranked higher with those incredible eyebrows and moves like this:
Can your mascot do THIS? 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔@DukesMayoBowl pic.twitter.com/0KTirntqWd
— Duke's Mayo (@DukesMayonnaise) December 27, 2023
2
Ched-Z (from the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl)
This entrance alone gets him up high:
“Ched-Z,” the @cheezit @CitrusBowl mascot makes his case (he’s a giant Cheez-It with shutter shades).
Note: He is non-edible. pic.twitter.com/BxhOPm1Pdj
— Jeff Eisenband (@JeffEisenband) January 1, 2024
woke up feelin' like Ched-Z@CitrusBowl pic.twitter.com/38qL3TibYd
— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) January 2, 2024
1
The Pop-Tart (from the Pop-Tarts Bowl)
My goodness, there’s so much gold here. He was edible:
Here we are… the edible mascot in the Pop-Tarts Bowl.. pic.twitter.com/0XgKGoXseS
— PJ Green (@PJGreenTV) December 29, 2023
He was meme-able from the moment he popped out:
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) December 29, 2023
He was just so goofy. Perfect all around.
