College football bowl mascots, ranked

College football’s bowl season is a lot of fun, and mascots are a big part of that fun. No, I’m not talking about the two teams’ mascots, I’m talking about the bowl-themed mascots for the games themselves. Not all the bowls have them, but several do.

14. The New Mexico Bowl’s Gildan shirt mascot

In 2017, the New Mexico Bowl, which was sponsored by Gildan, a T-shirt company, unveiled this, uh, shirt mascot?

A closer look:

Not too sure where exactly this mascot currently is at the moment, but the New Mexico isn’t sponsored by Gildan anymore so RIP, Shirt With Legs.

13. The knight and alligator at the Gator Bowl

TaxSlayer has sponsored the Gator Bowl since 2012, even taking the bowl name for itself for a long spell. The knight mascot, I guess, is a metaphor for slaying taxes?

12. The Cure Bowl’s bear

The annual bowl game in Orlando donates its proceeds to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, so naturally there’s a lot of pink in his outfit.

11. The Independence Bowl’s bald eagle

10. The Fiesta Bowl’s sun mascot, Spirit

It’s based in Glendale, Ariz., and the bowl decided to to use a giant sun for its mascot, named Spirit. The 2011 version was slightly terrifying:

SB Nation Arizona

The current Spirit is a tongue-out, more football-centric creature:

Still kinda terrifying, honestly.

9. The Amigo Man at the Sun Bowl

Easily the most friendly of all the mascots. Enter AMIGO MAN!

8. The chicken mascot at the Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl

This game is now the ServPro First Responder Bowl. When Zaxby’s had the sponsorship, the chicken chain had a chicken on the sidelines:

Zaxby’s sponsored the bowl from 2014-17. In some photos, the chicken can be seen toting a Zaxby’s flag, but overall this was just hilarious to see on the sidelines each year:

7. The Belk Bowl’s Belkie the Bear:

HI, SORRY FOR YELLING BUT HE IS ADORABLE:

Twitter/@BelkBowl

The Belk Bowl has been held in Charlotte since 2002, but Belk department stores took over as the bowl’s sponsor in 2011. In 2012, we saw Belkie for the first time. A similar stuffed animal version of the bowl game’s mascot can be found on Belk’s website, but Belkie makes an appearance at the bowl game every year:

6. Obie the Orange at the Orange Bowl:

Obie is a giant orange who has arms and a face, and a big ol’ crown atop his head:

Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

Obie has been around for quite a while now. According to the Orange Bowl website, he made his debut back in 1935:

Obie was born on a Florida Citrus Grove. In Florida, there are over 750,000 acres of citrus groves and more than 100 million citrus trees.

The official mascot of the Orange Bowl Committee is a fun-loving character who loves to entertain crowds. One of Obie’s biggest thrills is busting a move or two on the sidelines during an Orange Bowl game or during an Orange Bowl Youth Football Alliance game.

Obie resides in South Florida, but has been spotted on several college campuses throughout the country during football season.

5. The Chick-fil-A cows at the Peach Bowl

The Chick-fil-A cows have been roaming the sidelines of the Peach Bowl (previously known as the Chick-fil-A bowl) for ages:

Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images

But in recent years, Chick-fil-A has taken the mascot even higher — literally — by putting an inflatable cow on top of a blimp:

4. BITCOIN MASCOT

Prior to the St. Petersburg Bowl being renamed the BAD BOY MOWERS GASPARILLA BOWL, it was briefly nickamed the #BitcoinBowl, because Bitpay (a cryptocurrency service provider) bought the title sponsorship. Hence, a bitcoin mascot:

The Kanye West shades really made this costume, imo:

3. The Little Caesar’s Bowl mascots

The Little Caesars Bowl in Detroit is now the Quick Lane Bowl. That means we no longer have a breadstick mascot:

2. Outback Bowl’s Bloomin’ Onion and Coconut Shrimp

In honor of Outback Steakhouse’s famous Bloomin’ Onion and Coconut Shrimp appetizers, the bowl has actual human mascots of those apps on the sidelines. My totally normal colleague Ryan Nanni had long wanted to be the Bloomin’ Onion, and he somehow achieved his beautiful dream at the Michigan-South Carolina game after the 2017 season:

Look at this form:

But the coconut shrimp one is pretty fantastic, too:

1. Spuddy Buddy at the Potato Bowl

Spuddy is a giant dancing potato, and he is the overall No. 1 mascot for obvious reasons:

Here’s some background on Spuddy Buddy’s origins:

This is Spuddy Buddy.

He is not merely the mascot of the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. He is the mascot for the Idaho Potato Commission, the trade organization that sponsors the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

The commission’s job is to ensure people know Idaho is good at growing potatoes, and that when we go to the store and purchase potatoes, we choose potatoes that are grown in Idaho. I guess they do a good job, because if you asked me where potatoes are grown, I’d almost instantly say, “Idaho.”

However, I don’t know why they came to the conclusion that this overexcited, never-blinking humanoid potato was helpful. Spuddy Buddy doesn’t make me want to eat potatoes. He makes me want to ensure potatoes get the treatment they need.

How could he not be No. 1?

Case closed.

Did I miss any bowl game mascots? Drop em in the comments below!