No. 18 Iowa State completes epic comeback, defeats No. 13 Miami in Pop-Tarts Bowl – CycloneFanatic.com

Dec 28, 2024; Orlando, Florida, USA; Iowa State Cyclones quarterback Rocco Becht (3) celebrates after defeating the Miami Hurricanes in the Pop Tarts Bowl at Camping World Stadium. Mandatory attribution: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

ORLANDO, Fla. — The touchdowns came in droves. Defensive stops, apart from turnovers, were very rare at the start. But Saturday’s pulsating Pop-Tarts Bowl between No. 18 Iowa State and No. 13 Miami eventually slowed to a timeout-driven crawl — all the way to the Cyclone quarterback Rocco Becht rushed in for a one-way touchdown with 56 seconds left and his team was able to pull off a thrilling 42-41 comeback win at Camping World Stadium.

“We’ve been in situations like this before,” said Becht, whose touchdown run came on fourth down and capped a 15-play, 84-yard drive with 5:38 left to play. “We practice it all the time. I think our team just has the attitude and confidence needed to be successful in the biggest moments.”

Becht – who also threw three touchdown passes – scored the game-winning goal in a similar game earlier this season, helping the Cyclones survive, 38-35, against UCF, which ironically plays its home games across town in Orlando.

Becht, a Florida native, completed 22 of 36 passes for 270 yards and touchdowns to tailback Carson HansenWide receivers Jaylin Noel and tight end Gabe Burkle.

Hansen scored three touchdowns – two rushing and one receiving – and the Cyclones (11-3) overcame a 10-point second-half deficit to increase their season record for wins to 11. They also won a bowl for the first time game since beating Oregon 34-17 in the 2021 Fiesta Bowl, while Miami fell to 1-12 in its last 13 bowl appearances.

“We were in some really tough situations,” ISU head coach said Matt Campbell said after his team’s fifth one-score win in a season full of firsts. “We’ve been in some tough situations and our ability to just keep playing – and it’s easy to say those things, right? Keep playing and stick with it, but only do so if the locker room requires it. You only do that if the seniors and the guys who run the football team show up every day since January and believe in it.”

ISU’s 42 points set a new program bowl record – as did the 41 points given up in a game with 930 yards of total offense.

The Cyclones’ defense racked up three turnovers, but forced Miami’s first punt with 6:34 remaining, setting off the winning comeback led by Becht. The Hurricanes’ final attempt to call out “Ave Maria” was intercepted by security Drew Surges when the time is up. Thousands of Cyclone fans in attendance cheered as their team won for the first time in three trips to Orlando – and watched as the players feasted on the human-sized Pop-Tart.

“We were ready for (the moment),” said Noel, a two-time captain and senior who made eight catches for 117 yards and a touchdown as a senior Jayden Higgins decided not to take part in the game. “I mean, it hasn’t hit me yet. I love this team so much. I love Coach (Campbell) for everything he has done for me. This team means the world to me and there’s no better way to go out.”

Senior cornerback Darien Porter – like Higgins – completed warm-ups before the game but decided not to play. Burkle, a former Cedar Rapids Prairie star, caught four passes for 54 yards and scored his first career score. Hansen, a sophomore, gained 98 all-purpose yards and increased his season total in touchdowns to 15.

“I trusted our defense to stop it late in the game,” Hansen said. “I was a little worried because it’s a close game and they have great players too, but so do we, so it was just a great team win. It was just incredible to see the confetti fall.”

Miami star quarterback Cam Ward was voted to play despite being widely considered a top five NFL draft pick, and threw three touchdown passes in the first half. Oddly enough, he sat out the second round and had to watch as ISU secured a last-second comeback victory.

“When decisions like this are made, we make them confidentially and remain confidential, so I would prefer not to answer questions related to that,” Miami’s head coach said Mario Cristobal said. “But I know he did his best there.”

In the first half alone, the Hurricanes totaled 358 yards of offense, averaging 9.4 yards per play. The Cyclones’ injury-depleted defense became even thinner, both at senior captain and at safety Beau Freyler suffered a leg injury in the first half and did not return, but with the game on the line the unit buckled – and Freyler looked on approvingly from the sidelines.

“As you who have covered us know, Beau has battled injuries in every single game on this field for the last three years,” Campbell said of Freyler, who like Noel is a two-time captain. “He will go down in history as one of the all-time great leaders of this football program, and that should be the case forever.”

Just like the last-second victory on Saturday. ISU “didn’t flinch,” as Campbell often says, as it made history one last time this season.

“Man, they’re going to talk about Jaylin Noel forever, and they’re going to talk about Beau (Freyler) forever, and they’re going to talk about Rocco (Becht) forever,” Campbell said.