February 5, 2026
Headlines

Best of 2025 college football bowl games: Mascots, mayhem, more

Sagar09 mins

January 13, 2026, 07:00 am ET

After five months of college football, the season has been reduced to two teams and one game. But as we wait miami And Indiana to meet them College Football Playoff Title ThrowdownNow it’s time to take our annual look back at the postseason contests that led up to this one.

To all of them.

From December 13th, when Cricket Utsav Bowl And Bucked Up LA Bowl This great nation spanning 2,200 miles is covered in bowl games. And those bowl games are covered in mayonnaise, eggnog, baked beans, and Frosted Flakes.

If you don’t like entertainment then stop reading now. If you don’t like college football, stop reading now. And if you’re one of those Ebenezer Scrooge/mall-parking-lot-road-rage Karens who spent their holidays convincing the rest of us that bowl games are out of date, stop… OK, OK, you’ve probably already stopped reading. And that’s fine with us. Because it’s time for us to have our annual celebration of all that’s right about this greatest game, at a time when so many are obsessed with what’s wrong.

Welcome to the 2025-26 edition of Best of the Bowls.

Best Performance by a Game Winner: Hawaii’s Two-Headed QB

In Sheraton Hawaii BowlRainbow Warriors starting quarterback mica alejado Throwed for 274 yards and three TDs, and ran for 33 more yards, but he was hit hard in the final seconds of the game and his team fell to Cal 31–28. backup cubby luke weaverJoe, who had not played since mid-September, came off the bench and threw a 22-yard TD pass with 10 seconds remaining to win the game 35–31.

The Tigers QB threw for 267 yards and three TDs, and almost saved the day in the fourth quarter, but the string-playing team of the pre-Kiffin era blew an early 14-point lead and lost to Houston 38–35. Kinder’s Texas Bowl.

Best Finish You Might Have Missed: Rhett Bowl

you probably remember rate bowl Artistically, the game formerly known as the Copper Bowl, but now you will know it forever, is known as the Golden Gophers Last-Second Dagger Bowl.

Best Float: Prince Chedward’s Dragon

Okay, okay, yes, we know nothing can replace the Rose Parade when it comes to rolling street artistry. However, those flower and seed covered peepers never come close to the Rose Bowl. Prince Chedward rode in Cheez-It Citrus Bowl Atop a smoking dragon completely wrapped in Cheez-Its.

Best Sideline Interview: Snoop Dogg

Dude doesn’t just sponsor a game, Snoop Dogg Arizona BowlHe broke up the pregame interview with his name on it because he looked up and saw that he was making the actual play in the game with his name on it, yes, kicking into the end zone emblazoned with his name.

Best trophy you already know about: Pop-Tarts Bowl

What could possibly happen on top of a giant toaster that cooks human-sized Pop-Tarts, so huge that we all held our breath when one of those tarts jumped out to save its life? How about a trophy that’s also a toaster (even if the coach can’t figure out how to operate it)? If you don’t know about it Pop-Tarts Bowl Appreciation/Kitchen Tools, If You Need It read this story By the great Dave Wilson.

Best trophy you need to know about: Isleta New Mexico Bowl

During the first sunrise of September, on the sacred lands of Zaia Pueblo, the family of Elizabeth and Marcellus Medina gather clay from the land their family has occupied for centuries, to be used to make the pot that is awarded to the winner. New Mexico Bowl Every December. It is hand-painted except for a blank space reserved for the name of the winning team, which is carefully inscribed as soon as the game is over. One part history, one part art and all parts pride.

Best Trophy That Coaches Didn’t Want: Vrbo Fiesta Bowl

Miami’s Mario Cristobal, like Kirby Smart and others in the Saban coaching tree, has adopted his mentor’s model of post-game celebration after any win that is not a national championship. In his defense, Cristóbal was focused on getting his players on the stage rather than “all these extra people”, but when he was handed the golden football from above Vrbo Fiesta Bowl He looked at the trophy like he had just opened a Christmas present, he thought it would be a PlayStation, but it ended up being socks.

Still the best bowl perk: NASCAR ride-alongs

No matter the name of the game, from Continental Tire and Meineke Car Care to Belk Duke’s MayoCharlotte’s Bowl Game continues to electrify and awe its participants by taking them through a NASCAR racing experience on hot laps at nearly 180 mph at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Best Educational Experience: Was this where the dentist lost his tooth?

There’s no doubt that Nebraska was sad to lose SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl in Utah, but at least they were able to get some great learning opportunities. Isn’t that right, Huskers wideout Dane’s?

Best Surprise Game Tweeter: Steven Van Zandt

Social media can be the worst. But when Bruce Springsteen’s right-hand man, aka Miami Steve, aka Little Steven, aka Silvio Dante, starts randomly live-tweeting go bowling military bowl Because he likes the East Carolina logo because he wears a bandana like that, well, then social media can be the best. Especially since he kept tweeting throughout bowl season and the CFP.

‘Hang It in the Louvre’ Award: Duke WR q’sean brown

Brown did what Arizona State did jalen moss Did it before, diving into a giant bowl of Frosted Flakes after a TD Tony the Tiger Sun BowlBut the image that emerged from Brown’s backward flop was pure art.

‘Isn’t it really in the Louvre?’ Award: The Beaneater by Annibale Carracci

louisville beat toledo Bush’s Boca Raton Bowl of BeansThe Cardinals partook in said beans… and famous social media follower @ArtButSports partook in some art education.

‘Is there something opposite the Louvre in which we can hang it?’ Award: Holiday Bowl

Trust and Will Holiday Bowl It’s an underrated classic, ranging from BYU’s 1984 national title game to Kevin from “The Office” throwing eggshells at the coach’s head and at the photographers (which he did on purpose). But the paint jobs in this year-end area were like some kind of winter beach Rorschach test.

Best Odd Couple: Butch Jones and Master Chief

xbox bowl Made its debut this year, played at The Star in Frisco, Texas. If you’re going to be an Xbox gamer then who else should present the trophy than Xbox game hero, Halo’s Master Chief, who handed the hardware to Arkansas State and coach Butch Jones. I can’t explain exactly why this comparison is so ridiculous, but you have to admit that it is completely ridiculous.

Best Gatorade Bath Chase won by players: UTSA

As the Roadrunners end Florida International ServPro First Responder BowlHead coach Jeff Traylor responded by running more than 50 yards to avoid getting drenched in the cold December Dallas air, but the plastic sideline thing did him in.

Best Gatorade Bath Chase Almost Won by Coach: Sena

As the Black Knights put UConn away in the very cold New England air Wasabi Fenway BowlArmy head coach Jeff Monken rushed for a zillion yards, zigzagging like Barry Sanders before catching a surefire penalty against a D-lineman. jack bosum Worked hard.

Best Season: Bowl Season

The ratings were up, the fun was up, and the transfer portal was down, football was up… especially for those who knew their time together was over.

Source link

Please follow and like us:
fb-share-icon
Tweet
Pin Share

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related News