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.
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.”
Pinstripe Bowl
▶ Nebraska 20, Boston College 15: Dylan Raiola passed for 228 yards and a touchdown as Nebraska built an 18-point lead through three quarters and hung on for its first bowl victory since 2015.
After Nebraska (7-6) built a 13-2 lead in the first half on scoring runs by Rahmir Johnson and Kwinten Ives, Raiola hit Emmett Johnson with a 13-yard TD pass on fourth down with 3:02 remaining in the third quarter for a 20-2 edge.
Raiola completed 23 of 31 passes in front of a sizable Nebraska crowd that celebrated the team’s first bowl win since topping UCLA in the 2015 Foster Farms Bowl and first winning season since 2016. Raiola completed passes to 10 receivers, including Jahmal Banks, who finished with four receptions for 79 yards.
Grayson James finished 25 of 40 for 296 yards as Boston College (7-6) fell to 0-3 in Pinstripe Bowl games.
Fenway Bowl
▶ UConn 27, North Carolina 14: Joe Fagnano threw for 151 yards and two touchdowns, embarrassing Bill Belichick’s new team in his old backyard at Boston.
Belichick did not attend the game in the home of the Boston Red Sox, about an hour north of the stadium where he and Tom Brady hung six Super Bowl championship banners. Interim coach Freddie Kitchens, who like Belichick is a former Cleveland Browns coach, took over when Mack Brown was fired and handled the bowl preparations.
The Tar Heels (6-7) scored on Chris Culliver’s 95-yard kickoff return but had no real offense until running back Caleb Hood, who is not listed as a quarterback on the depth chart, took over in the fourth quarter. He ran five times for 64 yards before throwing a 17-yard touchdown pass to John Copenhaver that made it 27-14.
Skyler Bell caught three passes for 77 yards for UConn (9-4), including a 38-yard touchdown that gave the Huskies a 10-0 first-quarter lead.
Before the game, UConn coach Jim Mora agreed to a two-year contract extension through 2028. Mora will earn $10.01 million plus incentives over the next four years.
New Mexico Bowl
▶ TCU 34, Louisiana-Lafayette 3: Josh Hoover passed for four touchdowns to help TCU prevail at Albuquerque. Hoover was 20 for 32 for 252 yards with an interception. Eric McAlister had eight catches for 87 yards and a TD for the Horned Frogs (9-4).
TCU’s defense also had a solid day, holding Louisiana-Lafayette (10-4) to 209 yards, including 61 on the game’s final possession.
Georgia’s Beck to NFL
Georgia quarterback Carson Beck on Saturday announced his plans to enter the NFL draft, five days after having season-ending elbow surgery. Beck could have returned for a sixth season.
He suffered a right elbow injury in the first half of the Bulldogs’ 22-19 overtime win over Texas in the SEC championship game. Beck had surgery on Monday to repair his ulnar collateral ligament in the elbow.
Washington State hires Rogers
Washington State hired South Dakota State’s Jimmy Rogers as its head coach Saturday. Rogers replaces Jake Dickert, who left to become Wake Forest’s head coach Dec. 18.
Rogers arrives in Pullman after two successful years with the Jackrabbits. He led them to the 2023 FCS national championship and to the national semifinals this season, compiling a 27-3 record.
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