The 2024 Pop-Tarts Bowl between Iowa State and Miami might’ve been the best non-CFP game that college football fans were treated to this postseason.
In a fashion that was synonymous with the Cyclones’ offense for the 2024 season, Rocco Becht capped off a scoring drive with a one-yard touchdown with less than a minute to go in the game to secure a 42-41 win, giving ISU its first 11-win season in program history.
Matt Campbell’s Cyclones managed to outlast the Hurricanes in a four-quarter battle, but interestingly enough, one of the bigger storylines coming out of this game was the fact that Heisman finalist and projected first-round NFL draft pick Cam Ward sat out in the second half.
Ward completed 12 of 19 attempts for 190 yards and three touchdowns with zero turnovers in the first half, but ultimately decided to sit out the second half and let the Hurricanes lean on their run game in the final 30 minutes.
In the weeks that have passed since the game, there’s been a narrative that Ward simply gave up on his team and put his own needs first with the NFL Draft being the next major event of his career.
Miami head coach Mario Cristobal says that it’s a “false narrative” and that this was the plan all along given how likely it is that Ward goes as one of the first quarterbacks off the board.
According to Tim Reynolds of the AP, Cristobal even went as far as to call it “bullshit.”
“His play was spectacular,” Cristobal said, according to On3. “But again, I think all the other stuff, the intangibles, the behind-the-scenes stuff, the getting to the, bringing players together, galvanizing a team and galvanizing a program, teaching guys how to watch tape, you name it. All the things that are required to be a really good Division I football player and great teammate, he was exemplary.”
