No. 18 Iowa State
Jayden Higgins, Wide receiver
Two seasons ago, Higgins made his Iowa State debut after spending the beginning of his career at Eastern Kentucky.
Now, 26 games later, Higgins is set to play in his final game as a Cyclone. While his stay in Ames has been short, he has made quite an impact on the field.
In his two seasons as a Cyclone, Higgins has caught 140 passes for 2,166 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Higgins’ most productive game during his time at Iowa State was in last season’s Liberty Bowl against Memphis. He hauled in nine passes for a career-high 214 yards and a touchdown in the loss to the Tigers.
Entering his second bowl game, he has the opportunity to put together another big performance against an inconsistent Miami defense.
Jaylin Noel, Wide receiver
Noel, the other side of the two-headed monster in the receiving room, is another player to watch against Miami.
Just like Higgins, this will be Noel’s final game as a Cyclone.
Unlike Higgins, Noel has been at Iowa State for the entirety of his four-year career, being named a captain ahead of his senior season.
Noel has seen his production increase every season, from having just 265 receiving yards in his freshman season to breaking the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his senior season.
Noel has done it all as a receiver and as a returner during his time as a Cyclone, and he will have one more chance to leave his mark against Miami.
Darien Porter, Defensive back
Porter is a fifth-year senior, who started his career at Iowa State as a wide receiver.
Porter eventually made the transition to defensive back but struggled to find his way on the field, playing mostly on special teams.
Now, Porter has become one of the best special teams players in the nation, blocking five kicks over his career.
It wasn’t until this season that Porter had worked his way into a starting role on defense, and he made the most of it.
Porter has been arguably the best player on the Cyclone defense. He has been targeted only 17 times in 12 games, recording an interception on three of those targets.
Two of Porter’s interceptions came in Iowa State’s comeback win over then-No. 21 Iowa.
Porter’s level of play has catapulted his NFL draft stock, and he’ll have one more opportunity to showcase his skills against a high-powered Miami offense.
No. 13 Miami
Cam Ward, Quarterback
Ward played his first two seasons at Incarnate Word before transferring to Washington State for two seasons, eventually landing at Miami for his fifth and final season of college football.
Since joining Miami, Ward has been arguably the best quarterback in the country.
Ward has thrown for 4,123 yards and 36 touchdowns with only seven interceptions, leading the Hurricanes to the number one total offense in the country.
Miami’s offense has averaged 538.3 yards per game and is the number-one scoring offense in the country, averaging 44.2 points per game.
These numbers were good enough to win the Davey O’Brien award for best college quarterback and a third-place finish in Heisman Trophy voting behind Colorado’s Travis Hunter and Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty.
The projected NFL draft top-10 pick will likely give the Cyclone defense plenty of problems in the final game of his illustrious college career.
Xavier Restrepo, Wide receiver
Ward’s favorite target has been fellow fifth-year senior Restrepo.
Restrepo has been at Miami for all five seasons of his college career, redshirting his freshman year.
After an injury limited Restrepo to playing just six games in his sophomore season, he has put together back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in his junior and senior seasons.
This season, Restrepo hauled in 69 passes for 1,127 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Restrepo was named to the first-team All-ACC team for the second consecutive season and was also named a consensus All-American.
The Pop-Tarts Bowl will be Restrepo’s final college game.
Francisco Mauigoa, Linebacker
Mauigoa is a redshirt junior who played the first two seasons of his college career at Washington State before transferring to Miami prior to the 2023 season.
Since joining the Hurricanes, Mauigoa has been one of the best players on the Miami defense, as he’s led in tackles in both seasons he has been on the team, recording 82 tackles and 7.5 sacks in 2023, and 88 tackles and two sacks in 2024.
Mauigoa has also recorded five pass deflections, an interception and a forced fumble this season.
Miami’s defense has struggled at times against stronger opponents this season and Mauigoa will play a big role in trying to shut down Iowa State’s offensive attack.
