The bowl season for college football is underway.
Teams are playing to win increasingly absurd prizes.
And Miami Hurricanes players are competing for the worst bowl trophy of all time.
Miami competes for a toaster trophy at the Pop-Tarts Bowl
The University of Miami Hurricanes football team hoped to sneak into one of the final spots for the College Football Playoff.
But an upset loss in the final game of the season to Syracuse left the 10-2 Hurricanes on the outside looking in.
The consolation prize for Miami was a clash against the Iowa State Cyclones in the Pop-Tarts Bowl played in Orlando, Florida.
Last year, the inaugural Pop-Tarts Bowl became a viral sensation on social media for featuring an edible mascot that was eaten by the winning team after the game.
Kansas State really won the Poptart Bowl and then ate a gigantic pop tart on the field to celebrate. Whoever thought this up deserves to replace the entire Bud Light marketing department. pic.twitter.com/SZJL6iQIO1
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) December 29, 2023
The Strawberry Pop-Tart mascot was lowered into a mock toaster and out came a giant Pop-Tart that was shared by players on the victorious Kansas State Wildcats squad.
This year the Pop-Tarts Bowl is dialing up the absurdity for the big game.
GE Appliances worked with Pop-Tarts to create a trophy for the bowl that doubles as a toaster.
“Our fans have made it clear: The Pop-Tarts Bowl isn’t just another game, it’s an experience,” Pop-Tarts Bowl CEO Steve Hogan said in a press release. “We listened, and with the help of GE Appliances, we’re delivering a trophy that doesn’t just sit on a trophy stand. We’re excited to share this fusion of fun and functionality with college football fans everywhere.”
Pop-Tarts Bowl 🤝 GE Appliances = the NEW Pop-Tarts Bowl trophy with a built-in WORKING (!!!) toaster #PopTartsBowl pic.twitter.com/hl1f3dU5Qg
— Pop-Tarts Bowl (@PopTartsBowl) December 15, 2024
The football at the top of the trophy has two slots to drop in Pop-Tarts for toasting.
Pop-Tarts is also adding more edible mascots for the game this year.
There will be mascots for Wild Berry, Hot Fudge Sundae, and a mystery flavor chosen by the fans.
Pop-Tart Bowl trophy is the latest in toaster innovations
Pop-Tarts and GE Appliances asked FirstBuild director of product engineering Rick Suel to help build the toaster into the trophy.
Suel was stunned at the request.
“The first response was, ‘OK, come on,’” Suel said. “‘This is a real thing? Are you serious?’ Then it’s: ‘What does it need to look like? What are the dimensions? Is it going to be a regular toaster or do you want us to do movie magic?’”
“We came up with a couple of designs that we thought might be possible,” Suel continued. “The stretch goal was an actual functional toaster.”
There were 300 pounds of aluminum used making the trophy.
The FirstBuild team used a CNC mill to manufacture the football-shaped toaster.
It will take about 90 seconds to toast after the cord for the trophy is plugged in.
The football is bigger than a regular one and weighs about 27 pounds.
“The toaster is, like, over 100 years old, and people thought innovation was done,” Suel said. “It’s the last appliance you would think you could innovate on. Yet here we are. It’s totally unexpected.”
Miami won’t compete for the national title this year, but the Hurricanes might be able to settle for a hot Wild Berry Pop-Tart.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
