No. 18 Iowa State wins 11 games for 1st time, tops No. 15 Miami 42-41 in Pop-Tarts Bowl
ORLANDO, Fla. -- — It was a season of Iowa State comebacks. And fittingly, that's how it ended for the Cyclones.Game MVP Rocco Becht scored from a yard out on fourth-and-goal with 56 seconds remaining and No. 18 Iowa State capped the best season in school history by rallying past No. 15 Miami 42-41 in the Pop-Tarts Bowl on Saturday.
Becht finished with 270 passing yards and three touchdowns for Iowa State (11-2), a program that entered this season — the 133rd year of Cyclone football — never having won more than nine games in a year.
“If you look at this team, it’s really who they’ve been all year,” coach Matt Campbell said.
The win marked the fourth time in 2024 that Iowa State got a winning score with less than two minutes remaining. For this one, the Cyclones rallied from a 10-point deficit in the second half — with Miami quarterback Cam Ward watching after a record-setting first half — to get win No. 11. Carson Hansen rushed for a pair of touchdowns for Iowa State.
And as the MVP, Becht got the honor of choosing which flavor Pop-Tart was to be sacrificed in a giant toaster.
“There's only one,” Becht said. “Cinnamon roll.”
Ward passed for three touchdowns in his final college game, while Damien Martinez rushed for a career-high 179 yards for Miami (10-3), which dropped its sixth straight bowl game and lost three of four games to end the season — those three losses by a combined 10 points.
"Disappointed that we couldn't pull out a victory," Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. “These guys have always fought and always competed and this was no exception. ... It's painful. It's as painful as it gets when you don't win. But there's a lot to build on.”
Martinez and Mark Fletcher Jr. rushed for scores for Miami, which was seeking its first 11-win season since 2003. Elijah Arroyo, Jojo Trader and Jacolby George had TD catches for the Hurricanes.
A 15-play, 84-yard drive by Iowa State was what delivered the winning score.
“Just a great team win,” Hansen said. “And it was great to see that confetti fall.”
The first half was wild. Miami fumbled the ball away on the game's first snap. And the next eight drives all ended with touchdowns, neither team able to stop the other.
The teams combined for 625 yards — 358 for Miami, 267 for Iowa State — and 59 points by halftime, which Miami ended holding a 31-28 lead. The only punt was by Iowa State's Tyler Perkins midway through the second quarter; he was cheered when he entered the field during a ping-pong game of a first half, the teams trading touchdowns like nothing.
Ward was 12 of 19 passing for 190 yards and three touchdowns in the first half, before Emory Williams took over to start the second half. Fletcher's 1-yard run midway through the third quarter put Miami up 38-28, but the Hurricanes managed only three points on their final three drives.
“To end the season this way, it’s really fitting,” Campbell said. “It really tells the character of this team. Hard to find teams still in college football, but we’ve got one in Ames, Iowa.”
Miami: The Hurricanes were 50-0 since the start of 2000 when scoring at least 38 points and gaining at least 500 yards. They're 50-2 now — the loss to Syracuse that cost Miami a College Football Playoff berth ended the streak, and the Hurricanes lost despite 41 points and 524 yards on Saturday.
Miami: Opens the 2025 season at home against Notre Dame, sometime over Labor Day weekend. The date — anytime between Thursday, Aug. 28 and Monday, Sept. 1 — has not been finalized.
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