Rocco Becht scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak on fourth down with 56 seconds left and No. 18 Iowa State edged No. 13 Miami 42-41 on Saturday in the Pop-Tarts Bowl at Orlando, Fla.
Becht also passed for 270 yards and three touchdowns as the Cyclones (11-3) overcame a 10-point deficit in the second half to secure their first 11-win season in school history.
“We’ve been in those situations before,” Becht said of the late fourth down. “We practice it all the time. I think our team just has the poise and the confidence to execute in the biggest moments.”
The Hurricanes (10-3), who lost for the third time in four games after starting the season with a 9-0 record, rushed for 308 yards — most in school history in a bowl game. However, they had virtually no passing attack in the second half with backup Emory Williams under center.
“When we win, we win as a team. We lose, we lose as a team as well,” Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal said. “When you look at certain aspects of our game, there were some issues. Sometimes it’s communication, and sometimes it’s alignment. Obviously it’s nowhere near the standard for us. … But yeah, there were some issues. It’s not acceptable.”
Heisman Trophy finalist Cam Ward threw for 190 yards and three touchdowns for Miami. The first TD was the 156th of his career, breaking the Division I (FBS and FCS) record he shared with Houston’s Case Keenum (2007-11) — before sitting out the second half of his last college game.
Williams, who was intercepted on the final play of the game, finished 5-for-14 passing for 26 yards. He was 3-for-8 for 20 yards when the Hurricanes got the ball back one final time at their own 20 with 47 seconds left.
Both offenses combined to deliver an electric first half that featured 59 points and 625 total yards.
After the Hurricanes fumbled the ball away on an errant snap on the game’s first play, the teams scored touchdowns on eight consecutive possessions, starting with Becht’s 9-yard throw to tight end Gabe Burkle on third-and-goal.
Damien Martinez raced 75 yards to the end zone on Miami’s second offensive play, and Carson Hansen answered with a 30-yard rushing touchdown. Ward knotted the score again with a 4-yard pass to Jacolby George.
Becht, a Tampa area native, and Jaylin Noel connected for a 49-yard completion to the 1 and Hansen charged in the next play for a 21-14 lead with 2:23 left in the first quarter.
The onslaught continued with three more touchdowns in the next eight minutes.
Ward threw a 40-yard score to Joshisa Trader, Hansen caught a 13-yard pass from Becht for his third touchdown, and Ward hit Elijah Arroyo for a 33-yard score. Andy Borregales kicked a 30-yard field goal with 16 seconds left in the half for a 31-28 Hurricanes lead.
Miami went up by 10 on Mark Fletcher Jr.’s 1-yard touchdown run with 8:09 left in the third quarter. Iowa State answered with Becht’s third TD pass, a 4-yarder to Noel, the ensuing drive.
Borregales knocked in a 21-yarder to put the Hurricanes up 41-35 with 9:40 remaining in the game.
–Field Level Media
