Maybe it was the adrenaline rush from a thrilling come-from-behind win. Or maybe Kalani Sitake just really likes Pop-Tarts.
Whatever the reason, shortly after No. 12 BYU beat No. 22 Georgia Tech 25-21 in the Pop-Tarts Bowl — a game that came down to the wire — the Cougars’ head coach removed a Pop-Tart from the functional football-shaped toaster trophy and devoured it.
In one second.
The impressive feat has gone viral.
“We should all attack every aspect of our lives the way Kalani Sitake attacks a Pop-Tart,” ESPN senior writer Ryan McGee shared in a post on X that has over 35,000 views.
One video of the moment, shared by Front Office Sports on X, has racked up more than 370,000 views.
Sitake’s speedy Pop-Tart consumption has also drawn comparisons to competitive eating legend Joey Chesnut — and even caught the attention of the formidable 17-time Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest champion himself.
Kalani Sitake goes ‘Joey Chestnut-mode’ on Pop-Tart
The Chestnut comparisons came quickly.
“Kalani Sitake went Joey Chestnut style on this pop-tart,” Bleacher Report captioned a TikTok video.
“BYU coach Kalani Sitake went Joey Chestnut-mode on the trophy Pop Tarts!” The Athletic similarly shared on X.
“If he’s not in the Nathans hot dog contest next year we have failed as a nation,” one X user wrote on Front Office Sports’ post of the viral moment.
“He Chestnutted that thing,” another X user wrote in response to the post.
But 247 Sports’ Jeff Hansen, who retweeted a video of Sitake in all of his Pop-Tart-eating glory, actually got a response from Chestnut.
“Will @joeyjaws come to BYU this offseason?" Hansen wrote on X, tagging Chestnut in the post.
Chestnut — who has actually consumed 100 Pop-Tarts in roughly 30 minutes — didn’t answer the question. But he did praise Sitake’s feat.
“The man is a beast!” Chestnut replied to Hansen’s post. “And that trophy is next level.”
Could there be a Joey Chestnut vs. Kalani Sitake Pop-Tart competition?
One of Chestnut’s most notable records is downing 76 hot dogs in 10 minutes — buns included.
Per the Major League Eating website, other world records include 182 chicken wings in 30 minutes; 103 Krystal hamburgers in 8 minutes; 12 pounds of deep-fried asparagus spears in 10 minutes; 13.76 pounds of pork ribs in 12 minutes; 14.5 pounds of burritos in 10 minutes; and 121 Twinkies in 6 minutes.
And while it wasn’t an official Major League Eating competition, Chestnut devoured 100 Pop-Tarts (10 different flavors) in roughly 30 minutes during a 2020 YouTube livestream.
But don’t count on a Chestnut vs. Sitake Pop-Tart matchup anytime soon; Chestnut considers Pop-Tarts to be one of the worst food challenges of his career.
“It was terrible. I thought it would be delicious, start to end, but it got really, really old really quickly,” he told Mashed in 2020. “They got super dry, it tore up my mouth, it took me longer. It was not as enjoyable as I thought it would be.”
