Pop-Tarts Bowl

The Pop-Tarts Bowl is set to return in 2026, with college football’s most talked-about postseason clash slated for Tuesday, December 29 at 5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. This year’s game — the fourth under Pop-Tarts’ title partnership — marks the 13th consecutive season the game will feature top programs from the Atlantic Coast and Big 12 Conferences. It will be the 37th edition of the bowl overall and the 26th played at Camping World Stadium, which will host the event at a reduced capacity as the venue undergoes a $400 million renovation set for completion in 2027. Last December, No. 12 BYU rallied for 15 unanswered fourth-quarter points to defeat No. 22 Georgia Tech 25-21, the Big 12’s third consecutive triumph in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. True freshman QB Bear Bachmeier earned MVP honors after throwing for 325 yards and a touchdown in the win, which capped the program’s first 12-win season under head coach Kalani Sitake. In the new College Football Playoff era, the bowl will match the top selection from the ACC (inclusive of Notre Dame) outside of the CFP series against the second selection from the Big 12 outside of the CFP series. Originally titled the Blockbuster Bowl, the game was born in Miami, Florida, in 1990 and thrived in its first year with a marquee matchup between Penn State and Florida State which drew more than 74,000 fans. After 11 seasons in South Florida, the game was acquired by Florida Citrus Sports and moved to Orlando. The first edition of the game in Central Florida was called the Tangerine Bowl, a tribute to the name of Orlando’s original bowl game (now the Citrus Bowl). With each successive year in Orlando, the bowl has made strides, at one point posting eight consecutive years of attendance increases (a standing record among bowl games). The game’s place in the postseason lineup has also improved significantly over its time in Orlando. In 2023, Pop-Tarts signed a multi-year agreement with Florida Citrus Sports to become the new title sponsor of the game. Date and time are subject to change.