ORLANDO – The buzz that has surrounded the Pop-Tarts Bowl has led us, finally, to the game itself. No. 18 Iowa State seeks its first 11-win season in program history against No. 13 Miami (FL).

It’s been a season full of firsts for the Cyclones, as I’m sure you are all well aware. 10 wins, head coach Matt Campbell broke the wins record and two receivers had over 1,000 yards.

But it has all led to this moment. One final chance to lay everything on the line, and for the Iowa State seniors, that’s all they want. One more win.

Miami and Iowa State both achieved 10 wins this season, but it’s a feat that had a different sense of accomplishment for either program. 

For the Cyclones, this was their first time reaching that threshold, and it took 133 seasons. Miami has won 10 games in a season 16 times across 88 seasons, not to mention 61 winning seasons.

These two programs have about as different histories as you can get, but this season, Iowa State and Miami battled week after week making the Pop-Tarts Bowl one of the best bowl games outside of the College Football Playoff.

The coaches recognize that, too, as both Campbell and Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal credited each other for the programs they have built.

“The respect we have for coach Cristobal and his staff and the great competition and great team that Miami is, it’s just an honor to be part of that,” Campbell said.

“We have the great honor of playing a great football team with a rich tradition, a great tradition like Iowa State led by coach Campbell,” Cristobal said. “A ton of respect for him and the job that he’s done with his program.”

In nine seasons at Iowa State, Campbell has won 63 games, which is a school record, and led the Cyclones to two Big 12 Championship games and the Pop-Tarts Bowl, which will be his seventh bowl appearance and Iowa State’s 19th in school history.

As for Cristobal, he is in his third season at Miami and has steadily increased his win total every season, from five wins to seven and now 10 this season. Cristobal was also the head coach at Florida International for six seasons and Oregon for five.

Now, when it comes to the game itself and what everything leading into this game means, I have no doubts this one has a chance to be one of the best of bowl season.

Miami quarterback Cam Ward is playing, even though he is projected to be the possible No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft, while the Cyclones will have all of their seniors ready to go for this game.

That, to me, is what makes this game special in this day and age of college football. The transfer portal has changed things up, some parts of it are good and others not so much, but the fact that Ward and the Iowa State seniors are playing speaks volumes.

Campbell and Cristobal echoed that too.

“[Ward’s] upbringing, everything that he is made of and stands for is the right kind of stuff; the stuff you want your team made of,” Cristobal said. “He understands the importance of finishing, and he understands the caliber of opponent that we are playing and the importance of playing at a really high level to give ourselves the best opportunity in this game.”

“I know we are very fortunate that we’ve got a great senior class that has stood for the right thing for multiple years in our football program,” Campbell said. “I think when your seniors believe in those values, it really trickles down from the top down, and so we are really fortunate to have great leadership.”

That leadership will have to come in handy, especially on defense for the Cyclones if they want to slow the Hurricanes down. I think this game all boils down to whether or not Iowa State’s defense can slow Miami down enough.

Miami has the top offense in the country, mostly through the air. If Iowa State can slow Ward in any way, the Cyclones might come away with a win.

If Iowa State can limit its turnovers that would be a big help too.

I’m excited about this game, I really am. In my mind, this will be a shootout similar to Iowa State’s game against Kansas. Two offenses slicing through defenses.

The winner might end up being who gets a stop first. Do that, and the life-sized Pop-Tart is yours.

The Pop-Tarts Bowl starts at 2:30 p.m. CT from Camping World Stadium. The game will be nationally televised on ABC.