Nonetheless, and no sugarcoating required, the reality is the No. 13-ranked Hurricanes (10-2) indeed travel to face the No. 18 Cyclones (10-3) in the Pop-Tarts Bowl on Saturday, December 28, at Camping World Stadium in Orlando. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
As the bowl name and venue might telegraph to the astute fan, the matchup signifies a consolation-prize opportunity to cap off a once-promising but ultimately disappointing season with a victory and grab the hottest trophy in college football history.
Here's everything you need to know about what promises to be a truly saccharine spectacle.
Pop-Tarts Bowl 🤝 GE Appliances = the NEW Pop-Tarts Bowl trophy with a built-in WORKING (!!!) toaster #PopTartsBowl pic.twitter.com/hl1f3dU5Qg
— Pop-Tarts Bowl (@PopTartsBowl) December 15, 2024
The Pop-Tarts Bowl
The Pop-Tarts Bowl toaster trophy might not be the hardware Canes fans were hoping to play for, but you can't deny it's pretty neat! Do we want a working replica of one for the New Times office? Yes. Yes, we do. We want one bad.This year's version of the Pop-Tarts trophy was unveiled earlier this month and did not disappoint. Embedded within the trophy is a football with a working toaster inside. Football fans who thought their man cave/she shed was complete have another thing coming. Somewhere, someone will soon have a Pop-Tarts Bowl football toaster, and you'll look like an amateur. Time to step up your game.
Pop-Tarts Bowl Fun Fact
You know the Pop-Tarts Bowl well and don't even realize it. You see, the Pop-Tarts Bowl used to be the Blockbuster Bowl, a game many Miamians will remember as a bowl once played in Miami and named for the video-rental Goliath owned by none other than the late H. Wayne Huizenga. In 2021, the game moved to Orlando, and in 2023, the toasty breakfast treats took over as title sponsor.Now, Miami plays in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. It's a full-circle Lifetime Channel moment. Maybe it was all meant to be.
If You're Going
The big game is in Orlando, so you still have time to go. If you decide to make the trip, here's a nifty A-Z Guide with everything you need to know about the game, from parking to tickets and side-event parties. Need more incentive, Canes fan? As of this writing, get-in-the-door tickets are going for as low as $36 on StubHub.
The Matchup
Are we going to pretend we watched every Iowa State game this season? No, we will not be doing that. But we can tell you that most believe this Canes-Cyclones tilt will be all about Miami's passing attack versus an Iowa State secondary that has proven itself up to the challenge all season. The Hurricanes, of course, boast a high-powered offense that ranked No. 1 in the nation in points (44.2) and total yards (538.3) per game in the regular season. Iowa State — which, very importantly, doesn't have any reported opt-outs — won ten games for the first time in school history, mostly on the back of a solid pass defense (No. 2 in the Big 10).
Unlike Miami, Iowa State has already played in a big postseason game. They made it all the way to the Big 12 Championship, only to fall 45-19 to Arizona State.
The Good News
Every failure is an opportunity for redemption. For the Hurricanes, two crucial late-season losses that ousted them from consideration for the 12-team College Football Playoff don't erase the fact that Miami is looking to snap a bowl-game drought that stretches all the way back to 2016.Would Miami prefer playing Ohio State or Oregon in a playoff game under the lights with the entire nation looking on? Obviously, but beggars can't be choosers, and with the Canes sitting at 1-11 in their last 12 bowl games — the last bowl win was a 31-14 victory over West Virginia in the 2016 Champs Sports Bowl — simply breaking that drought against a solid Iowa State team would be a success.
And with the Pop-Tarts game taking place in Orlando and the opponent's home field nearly 1,400 miles away, the crowd that shows up to send off quarterback Cam Ward in his final game in a Miami uniform should be heavily pro-Canes.
The Bad News
It feels as if this Miami Hurricanes team took out substantial student loans that they'll be paying off for years but are destined to move on without a degree. How else do you describe going all-in on a roster that ends in the same place many lesser teams have in the past?The bad news? Where do we begin? Since joining the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2004, Miami has appeared in precisely one ACC title game and taken home [pauses to count on fingers] zero conference titles. None of that changed this season thanks to late-season defeats at the hands of Georgia Tech (7-5) and Syracuse (9-3) — teams they should have beaten.
As mentioned, Cam Ward is outta here, headed to the NFL, likely as a Top 3 draft pick, and much of the Canes' roster has already begun the annual swirling and twirling that is the transfer-portal process. This was the season for Miami, and the team wound up playing for the Pop-Tarts Bowl trophy. Nothing is promised in 2025, and fans are left wondering if the team has a quarterback or head coach.
Win or lose on Saturday, the Hurricanes face many questions heading into a pivotal offseason.
The Prediction
Miami 37, Iowa State 33.We think Cam Ward goes out with a bang (or is that a pop?) and the favored Canes cover the 3.5-point spread. But we also believe the Miami Hurricanes' defense is atrocious.
At the very least, Miami must leave the season with a bowl win. A loss could mean zero check marks on their to-do list and possibly being left outside the Top 25 in the season's final poll.
