CNN
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The Poptarts Bowl offered fans a little bit of everything.
Wild mascots, scoring and college football history were all on the menu.
The Pop-Tarts mascot may be the talk of the town on social media, but the game itself was also worthy of attention.
No. 18 Iowa State beat No. 13 Miami 42-41 after Cyclones quarterback Rocco Becht rushed for a 1-yard touchdown and goal on fourth down with less than a minute left. Ta.
The redshirt sophomore had three passing touchdowns and rushed for 270 yards and a score.
But the end result wasn’t even the main story.
Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward will likely go down as one of the best quarterbacks in college history and will likely have his name called in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. And on Saturday, he proved his college dominance at Camping World Stadium in Orlando.
Ward threw the 156th touchdown pass of his college career to wide receiver JaColby George for a 4-yard score in the first quarter.
He passed Case Keenum as the all-time leader in Division I (FBS and FCS) history.
Ward completed 12 of 19 passes for 190 yards and three scores in the first half and sat out the second half. He finished his collegiate career with 158 touchdown passes.
Despite a close first half with Miami leading 31-28, backup quarterback Emory Williams replaced Canes in the second half, and Ward watched from the bench.
Mr Ward’s absence raised many eyebrows and drew heavy criticism on social media.
After the game, Miami head coach Mario Cristobal was tight-lipped about the decision to sideline Ward in the final minutes of the game.
“I think all the meetings and decisions with players are like that. We do them privately and keep them private. … (Cam Ward) was doing his best when he was over there. I know that.”
Ward’s path to history was not so simple.
The 22-year-old was not widely scouted out of high school and started his college career at Incarcerate Ward for two seasons before transferring to Washington State for the 2022 season.
Ward played two seasons in Pullman, Wash., and made his mark in the video game before transferring for a third time, this time to the University of Miami ahead of this season.
The senior finished the season with 4,123 yards, 36 touchdowns and seven interceptions and was named a Heisman Trophy finalist, losing out to Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter.
The decision to bench Ward as the Hurricanes struggled on both ends of the ball drew the ire of many, including football analysts David Pollack and Todd McShay.
“Has anyone ever opted out at halftime of a bowl game? I don’t remember anyone ever doing that,” Pollack, a former ESPN analyst, told X. “Cam Ward did it today at the Pop Tart Bowl.”
“I’m grateful that Cam Ward has played at CFB during this era, but especially as a quarterback, you start the game with your teammates and you want your teammates to finish the job in a back-and-forth battle,” McShay said. I can’t imagine myself choosing to back out. I’m a realist. I’m not knocking Cam here either.”
The Hurricanes, who at one time were the driving force behind winning the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) title, suffered two consecutive losses and finished the season with a record of 10 wins and 3 losses.
Why play in the Pop Tarts Bowl if you don’t want to celebrate with the Pop Tarts mascot after a program-defining win?
The win gave Iowa State its 11th win of the season and the first time it accomplished the feat in the program’s 133-year history.
Becht was named the bowl game’s Most Valuable Player and selected a cinnamon roll Pop-Tart mascot to be placed in a giant toaster for quarterback and head coach Matt Campbell to enjoy.
No, no humans were harmed in the process.
