No. 18 Iowa State wins 11 games for 1st time, tops No. 15 Miami 42-41 in Pop-Tarts Bowl
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.
The Cyclones didn't stop at 10 wins, either. They 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.
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.
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.
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.
The takeaway
- Iowa State: The Cyclones had touchdown drives of 22, 75, 65 and 75 yards on their first four possessions — 237 yards in all. They had one touchdown and 110 yards in their next five possessions, not counting one that was only a kneel-down to end the half.
- 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.
Poll implications
If Miami remains in the AP Top 25, it'll make 2024 the first season since 2017 in which the Hurricanes appeared in every poll. Iowa State will end the season ranked for only the second time since 2000.
School record
Andy Borregales' field goal with 9:40 left gave Miami a 41-35 lead — giving him 11 points (five PATs, two field goals) on the day and 404 points in his career. That set a new Miami school record, one more than Michael Badgley.
Up next
- Iowa State: Opens the 2025 season on Aug. 23 against Kansas State in Dublin, Ireland.
- 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.
