Busiest Day of Bowl Games Delivers Sweet Results for 8 Teams

A full day of college football bowl games delivered a bevy of highlights.

Bear Bachmeier #47 of the BYU Cougars bites into a pop-tart after winning the Most Valuable Player award following the 2025 Pop-Tarts Bowl against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida, on Dec. 27, 2025. The BYU Cougars defeated the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 25-21. Julio Aguilar/Getty Images

One of the newest bowl game names on the block took college football by storm again on Saturday, and numerous Power Four teams bounced back from disappointments in style.

That all came on the busiest day of the bowl season with eight games around the country. It included games at two MLB stadiums, one bowl game named after rapper Snoop Dog, and another bowl relatively recently renamed after Pop-Tarts.

For the 12th-ranked BYU Cougars, the players and coaches even donned “People’s National Champion” t-shirts after a Pop-Tarts Bowl win over No. 22 Georgia Tech, 25–21. BYU missed out on the College Football Playoff despite a 12–2 record and a Big 12 championship game appearance.

“Listen, [the CFP committee] made the decision. We’re fine,” BYU head coach Kalani Sitake told reporters on Friday. “We got to move on and just keep playing football. I think what the committee did is a hard decision for them to go and put that together.”

“But, we love football, we’re going to watch the playoffs, we’re going to watch all the bowl games. I love that these guys want to play the game,” Sitake added. “We had everybody trying to play, the only ones that didn’t play are the ones that were injured, and we held out.”

Formerly the Blockbuster Bowl, the Pop-Tarts Bowl has become wildly popular during the past three years since the Orlando bowl game’s renaming. BYU players enjoyed two mega-sized Pop-Tarts during the trophy ceremony.

Fans voted on three flavors, and the applicable mascots jumped into a mega-sized toaster. Unfortunately, one of the mascots fell off the toaster—albeit safely—as the Cougars only got a taste of two flavors.

BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier helped his team rally with 325 yards passing and a touchdown. Cougars cornerback Evan Johnson then popped up to preserve the win with an interception in the end zone with six seconds left.

In the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl, Fresno State tasted victory 18–3 over Miami of Ohio. Fresno State kicker Dylan Lynch hit four field goals, and quarterback E.J. Warner sealed the game with a touchdown as their team received the trophy from Snoop Dogg himself.

Penn State and Army, meanwhile, won bowl game trophies on historic MLB fields. A playoff team last year, Penn State finished off a disappointing season in style with a 22–10 victory over Clemson in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium. Army, meanwhile, blasted UConn 41–16 at Fenway Park in the Fenway Bowl.

Black Knights quarterback Cale Hellums shined with two rushing touchdowns and a touchdown pass against the Huskies. Army running back Godspower Nwawuihe, meanwhile, dominated with 171 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

Penn State quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer showed promise for the future with 262 yards passing and two touchdowns. Clemson’s defense didn’t have enough answers as the Tigers failed to win at least eight games for the first time since 2010.

Three Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) teams overall went down on Saturday as East Carolina upset Pittsburgh 23–17 in the Military Bowl. ECU quarterback Cheston Ditta put his team up to stay with a touchdown pass in the third quarter, 17–14, and he finished with 177 yards and two touchdowns.

Virginia, the ACC runner-up, pulled off the lone win for the conference on Saturday in a 13–7 win over Missouri in the Gator Bowl. The No. 19 Cavaliers fell short of the College Football Playoff after a conference championship game loss to Duke, but Virginia finished with a program-best 11 wins on Saturday. Cavaliers running back Harrison Waylee had 68 yards and the lone touchdown for his team.

Houston meanwhile reached 10 wins for the first time since 2021 after back-to-back losing seasons. The Cougars took down LSU 38–35 in the Texas Bowl.

Cougars quarterback Conner Weigman went 27–36 passing for 236 yards and four touchdowns. It ultimately overshadowed Tigers quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr.’s 267-yard and three-touchdown performance.

No one overshadowed North Texas running back Caleb Hawkins in the New Mexico Bowl. Hawkins rushed for 198 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries in a 49–47 win over San Diego State. He also caught three passes for 25 yards and a touchdown.