Pop-Tarts Bowl put BYU on a postseason pedestal and broke records along the way

Much like the frosted toaster pastries that share their namesake with the Pop-Tarts Bowl, BYU and Georgia Tech had all their postseason dreams come true this season, when they were the two lucky programs to be selected for the king of all postseason competition.

The Pop-Tarts Bowl isn't just a football game, though it does feature two teams squaring off on the gridiron. It isn't simply a competition to put the most points on the board, though it is, of course, that when boiled down into its most basic form. No, the Pop-Tarts Bowl is a gladiator duel. A sugar-coated death match between two of the best teams to not participate in the 12-team tournament at season's end.

Pop-Tart mascots dominate the airtime. Sprinkles adorn the end zones and uniforms on the game's participants. The trophy is a fully-functioning toaster, for heaven's sake. Mascots have been roasted, consumed, and returned from the dead after the winning team consumed their flesh in celebration.

I cannot stress enough how happy I am that it was Kalani Sitake and the BYU Cougars who emerged victorious in the end, and earned the right to stuff their faces full of processed breakfast food when the final whistle had blown.

The national championship game still has yet to be decided, but the people's national champion has already been crowned. Congratulations to the Cougars of Brigham Young University -- lords of the sugar-coated college football universe.

This year's Pop-Tarts Bowl was so much more than a simple postseason football game, of course, and the viewership numbers prove that.

The eyes of the nation were on the Pop-Tarts Bowl this year, as 8.7 million viewers tuned in to see who would trade confetti for sprinkles, and hardware for a soft shell. This number led all non-CFP games and was the most-watched bowl game since the 2019-2020 postseason, according to Yahoo Sports and ESPN.

Do BYU fans still feel slighted for having missed out on a chance at the College Football Playoff? Of course, and they probably should be, but did they enjoy the next best thing the sport has to offer? Absolutely. That, to me, is one heck of a consolation prize.

This article was not sponsored by Pop-Tarts, by the way, though I would absolutely shill out for our frosted overlords, and I want that to be on record.