Dec 29, 2024

Iowa State Crowned Pop-Tarts Bowl Champions with 42-41 Victory Over Miami

By Nick Cohen
Florida Citrus Sports

The No. 18 Iowa State Cyclones upset the No. 12 Miami Hurricanes in a 42-41 shootout at the 2024 Pop-Tarts Bowl.

 

“This team has faced a lot of adversity from some really tough injuries that we’ve had to deal with all year, and they have never flinched,” Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell said after the game. “We have been in some really hard spots, and we have been in some tough situations, and our ability to just keep playing.

“It’s easy to say those things, right? ‘Keep playing,’ and, ‘stay in it.’ you only do that if the locker room demands it, and you only do it if the seniors and the guys that lead the football team show up every single day, since January, and they believe in that. That’s how they work and that’s the standards that they set.”

The Saturday afternoon shootout began with the debut of this year’s Pop-Tarts mascots: Cinnamon Roll, Hot Fudge Sundae and Wild Berry joining the team’s captains and referees at midfield for the coin toss before the football action got started.

Following a Miami turnover on the first play of the game, a pair of Cyclones redshirt sophomores connected for a score, with quarterback Rocco Becht throwing a 9-yard touchdown pass to tight end Gabe Burkle to put Iowa State up 7-0.

Miami responded by making quick work of its second drive, with junior running back Damien Martinez breaking free for a 75-yard rushing touchdown to tie the game at 7-7.

On Iowa State’s next possession, sophomore running back Carson Hansen ripped a 30-yard rushing touchdown bringing the score to 14-7 Cyclones midway through the first quarter. The lead was short-lived, however, because on Miami’s third drive, quarterback Cam Ward, a Heisman trophy finalist, set the Division I record for touchdown passes with a four-yard strike to senior receiver Jacolby George.

Iowa State’s third drive yielded yet another touchdown, as the teams continued to trade blows. With pressure in his face, Becht launched a ball to one of his favorite targets, senior receiver Jaylin Noel, for 49 yards. Noel was ruled down at the 2-yard line, but a roughing the passer penalty brought the offense to the 1-yard line, where Hansen punched the ball in for six.

Ward was letting it fly on Miami’s fourth drive with a 24-yard pass to redshirt junior tight end Elijah Arroyo and a 40-yard conversion to freshman receiver Joshisa Trader.

The shootout continued, with Becht finding redshirt junior receiver Isaiah Alston for 39 yards and then throwing another 13-yard touchdown pass to Hansen for his third touchdown of the day.

On Miami’s next drive, Martinez ripped a 31-yard rush that led to Ward’s game-tying 33-yard touchdown pass to Arroyo, tying the score 28-28. Later, Miami kicker Andres Borregales made a 30-yard field goal to give the ‘Canes a 31-28 halftime lead.

Iowa State opened the second half with a punt and Miami followed with a quarterback switch, as sophomore sophomore Emory Williams entered the game for Ward at the start of the third quarter.

Williams completed one pass for eight yards on his first drive but the running back duo of Martinez and sophomore Mark Fletcher Jr. handled the rest, as Martinez ran for 30 yards and Fletcher Jr. totaled 33 yards, including a one-yard touchdown.

The Cyclones answered back with Becht’s third touchdown pass of the game, this time to Noel from four yards out. Later in the fourth quarter, Borregales nailed another field goal from 21 yards out, extending Miami’s lead to 41-35.

Each team’s next drive resulted in a punt before Iowa State put on a 16-play, five-minute drive, leading to a game-winning one-yard rushing touchdown from Becht.

Miami gave a valiant effort after taking over with 51 seconds to play, but Williams’ hail mary attempt intended for freshman tight end Elija Lofton was intercepted by Cyclones sophomore defensive back Drew Surges, ending the game 42-41 in favor of Iowa State.

Rocco Becht’s 270 passing yards and four total touchdowns earned him Pop-Tarts Bowl MVP honors.

“This guy has been on a mission to be great,” Campbell said of Becht. “He’s the guy who’s going to give everybody else the credit when it goes really well, and he’s the first guy to stand up and take the blame when it goes bad. To me, that’s real leadership. Hard to find it today. But man, I’d go to war with this guy any day, because what of he’s about and what he stands for.”

After the game, Becht selected Cinnamon Roll mascot to be lowered into an on-field toaster and eaten by his team.

“I really like cinnamon rolls, so when I heard about the choices was my immediate go-to,” Becht said.

Hansen finished with 82 rushing yards and three total touchdowns, Burkle totaled four receptions for 54 yards and a touchdown, and Noel finished with eight receptions for 117 yards and a touchdown.

Ward recorded 190 passing yards and three touchdowns for Miami, while Martinez finished with 179 rushing yards and a touchdown. Fletcher Jr. ended with 62 rushing yards and a touchdown, and Arroyo, Trader, and George all had receiving touchdowns.

“When we win, we win as a team. When we lose, we lose as a team, as well,” said Miami head coach Mario Cristobal. “When you look at certain aspects of our game, yeah there were some issues. Sometimes it’s communication and sometimes it’s alignment. Obviously, it’s nowhere near where what is the standard for us.”

Sign Up
for Alerts

Keep up to date with all of the news from the Pop-Tarts Bowl including event information, presale opportunities and more.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.