ORLANDO – In a game where defense was an afterthought, it finally showed up in the waning moments as No. 18 Iowa State pulled out a 42-41 Pop-Tarts Bowl win over No. 13 Miami (FL) at Camping World Stadium Saturday.

The Cyclones trailed by 10 points late in the third quarter, but then Iowa State came alive. The biggest piece that contributed to the 10-point comeback was the Cyclone defense’s only forced punt of the entire game.

It wasn’t until the fourth quarter when Iowa State finally stopped Miami in the form of a punt, not a turnover. In the Hurricanes’ first 10 drives, seven ended in scores, two were fumbles and one was a punt.

“It was really weird, I mean, we were just off a couple places,” Iowa State defensive lineman J.R. Singleton said. “We were getting them to third-and-longs and we just couldn’t get off the field.”

There was 6:34 left on the fourth quarter game clock when Miami punted for their first and only time. Presented with an opportunity, the Cyclones jumped on it on their final offensive drive.

Iowa State needed to go 84 yards and did. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Rocco Becht led the charge and punched in the go-ahead score himself from a yard out for the win.

“We have been in those situations before,” Becht said. “We practice it all the time. I think our team just has the poise and the calmness to just execute in the biggest moments, and that’s what we did.”

Though the defenses didn’t get a lot of stops in the first half, the Cyclones made their defensive presence known on the opening play of the game. A botched snap went over the head of Miami quarterback Cam Ward and was scooped up by Iowa State.

With a short 22-yard field ahead, the Cyclones used the turnover to their advantage and scored on that drive.

After that, there were no defensive stops for eight straight drives. Both offenses were unstoppable.

In the midst of the scoring, Iowa State senior defensive back Beau Freyler went down with an apparent knee injury. Freyler was slow to rise and gingerly walked off the field with assistance.

After he was carted off the field, Freyler did not return, marking an abrupt end to the final game of his Iowa State career.

“[Freyler] has fought through injury for the last every single game he’s stepped on that field for the last three years,” Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell said. “There’s no greater warrior that has given everything, his body, his heart, his mind, his soul, to a program than that player has.”

It was at that moment that the next-man-up mentality had to step in. A leader and a captain were gone, and some of the younger players needed to make a mark.

That statement came in the form of Iowa State’s second stop, which was another fumble. Miami had enough yardage to pick up a first down on third down, but the ball was ripped away by linebacker Will McLaughlin and was recovered by the Cyclones.

The drive that followed for Iowa State on offense ended in a turnover on downs, but it was a step forward, considering that Miami had scored on four straight drives prior.

A field goal for the Hurricanes ended the first half and gave Miami a 31-28 lead at the break. 

In the second half, Ward did not play. He threw for three touchdowns and 190 yards in the first half, so the change in quarterback for the Hurricanes may have played a part in how the second half went.

“I thought [defensive coordinator Jon] Heacock and our defensive staff really did a great job adapting,” Campbell said. “Now all of a sudden, the flow of the game changes and you’ve got to be able to do some different things.”

The Hurricanes started the second half strong too, with a three-and-out from the Cyclones followed by a six-minute touchdown drive. At the end of the day, Miami racked up 524 yards of total offense, 308 of which were on the ground.

Momentum had shifted into the hands of Miami, but Iowa State still had a shot. A Cyclone touchdown brought the gap within three, and the defense did what it relied on all season on the next drive: bend but don’t break.

After the punt and a game-sealing interception, Iowa State had claimed victory in the Pop-Tarts Bowl.

“What an awesome week it was,” Campbell said. “It’s rewritten history every step of the way, and to put a great exclamation point on it [Saturday] was really, really awesome.”

The win encapsulated the first 11-win season in Iowa State football history.

For Singleton, the bowl win in his final game was the sweetest of send-offs, and one of his favorite moments of his career, which already included the 2020 Fiesta Bowl win and defeating Iowa earlier this season.

“We made history,” Singleton said. “You aim for the moon, and you land on the stars. It’s not bad being on the stars right now.”