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.
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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.
ALAMO BOWL
BYU 36, COLORADO 14: L.J. Martin rushed for 88 yards and two touchdowns, Jake Retzlaff passed for 151 yards, and the No. 17 Cougars (11-2) routed the No. 20 Buffaloes (9-4) in San Antonio.
Colorado was held to 210 total yards with only two net yards rushing. The Buffaloes had 90 yards in the fourth quarter with the Cougars leading by 29 points.
Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders was sacked three times and threw two interceptions. Sanders passed for 208 yards and two touchdowns while completing 16 of 23 passes.
Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter had four receptions for 106 yards and a touchdown.
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.
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 and the Cornhuskers (7-6) held on for the win at Yankee Stadium.
Raiola completed 23 of 31 passes in front of a sizable Nebraska crowd. Grayson James finished 25 of 40 for 296 yards for Boston College (7-6).
MILITARY BOWL
EAST CAROLINA 26, NC STATE 21: Rahjai Harris broke free for an 86-yard touchdown run with 1:33 remaining, giving East Carolina a pulsating victory over NC State in the Military Bowl in a game that descended into a wild brawl in the final minute in Annapolis, Md.
Harris had 220 of ECU’s 326 yards rushing, and his sensational sprint near the end of the game gave the Pirates (8-5) the lead back after they’d blown a 13-point advantage in the fourth. But after an interception by Dontavius Nash ended NC State’s final drive, East Carolina’s attempt to run out the clock was interrupted by a large-scale fight between the two in-state rivals — who play each other again to start next season.
Three players for ECU and five for NC State (6-7) were ejected.
ARIZONA BOWL
MIAMI (OHIO) 43, COLORADO STATE 17: Kevin Davis had a career-high 148 yards rushing and two touchdowns on just nine carries, and Jordan Brunson also ran for two TDs to help Miami (Ohio) wrapped the season at 9-5 by beating Colorado State (8-5) in Tucson, Ariz.
Davis scored on a 4-yard run with 12:35 left in the third quarter, Matt Salopek forced a fumble that was recovered by Silas Walters and quarterback Brett Gabbert’s first rushing touchdown of the season — a 10-yard scramble that capped a 47-yard drive — made it 22-3 about 2 minutes later.
INDEPENENCE BOWL
ARMY 27, LOUISIANA TECH 6: Bryson Daily broke the FBS record for touchdowns by a quarterback in a season with 32, running for three scores in No. 19 Army's victory over Louisiana Tech. Daily ran for 127 yards on 27 carries and was 2-of-9 passing for 65 yards to help the Black Knights set a program victory record at 12-2. Hayden Reed added 114 yards rushing and a TD on 20 carries.
Army entered the game with a nation-best 298.9 yards rushing per game and punished the Bulldogs (5-8), a late replacement for Sun Belt champion Marshall.
FENWAY BOWL
UCONN 27, NORTH CAROLINA 14: Joe Fagnano threw for 151 yards and two touchdowns to help the Huskies (9-4) beat the Tar Heels (6-7) at Fenway Park, embarrassing incoming coach Bill Belichick’s new team in his old backyard.
Mel Brown rushed for 96 yards for UConn and Skyler Bell caught three passes for 77 yards, including a 38-yard touchdown that gave the Huskies a 10-0 first-quarter lead.
NEW MEXICO BOWL
TCU 34, LOUISIANA 3: Josh Hoover passed for four touchdowns as the Horned Frogs (9-4) routed the Ragin’ Cajuns (10-4) in 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.
