DATE: Saturday, December 27, 2024
WHERE: Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL
TIME/TV: 3:30 PM EST/ABC
LIVE AUDIO: 560 WQAM
MIAMI: Official Site | Schedule | Roster | Stats | Twitter
IOWA STATE: Official Site | Schedule | Roster | Stats | Twitter
The No. 13 ranked Miami Hurricanes (10-2, 6-2 ACC) will meet the No. 18 Iowa State Cyclones (10-3, Big 12 7-2) for the first time ever.
Storylines and Notables
The Miami Hurricanes wrap up their third season under the direction of head coach Mario Cristobal on Sat., Dec. 28, in the Pop-Tarts Bowl vs. Iowa State.
Miami has posted its first 10-win season since 2017 and only its second 10-win season since joining the ACC in 2004. UM is looking for its first 11-win season since 2003, when the Hurricanes finished 11-2.
QB Cam Ward, the 2024 Davey O’Brien Award winner and a Heisman Trophy finalist, was named ACC Player of the Year in early December. Ward posted the best single season by a quarterback in Miami history, setting the program’s single-season records for both yards (4,123) and TDs (36).
Miami has a record of 20-25 in bowl games and is looking for its first win in a bowl game since topping West Virginia, 31-14, in the 2016 Russell Athletic Bowl - a game also played in Orlando. Miami is 1-3 in bowl games in Orlando.
The Hurricanes ended the season just outside of the College Football Playoff, finishing as the No. 13 team in the final rankings before the start of the playoff released on Sun., Dec. 8.
Despite falling to Syracuse in its regular-season finale on Nov. 30, the Miami Hurricanes posted their first 10-win season since 2017, finishing 10-2 overall and 6-2 in ACC play. Miami ended the year No. 13 in the CFP rankings. Iowa State missed the playoff, losing to Arizona State in the Big 12 Championship Game.
Under the direction of Cristobal, Miami moved from five wins in Year 1 (2022, 5-7) to seven wins in Year 2 (2023, 7-6) to 10 wins in Year 3 (2024), 10-2) to continue an impressive trajectory.
The Hurricanes posted their first undefeated season at home since 2002 and first regular season undefeated home slate since 2017. Miami had the No. 1 offense in America by nearly every metric during the regular season.
Miami is playing in a bowl game for the 45th time in history and is 20-24 in 44 previous bowls. As a head coach, Cristobal has totaled a 3-3 bowl record, including a win at Oregon in the 2020 Rose Bowl.
Cristobal’s highest-ranked team as a head coach came on Nov. 3, when UM was ranked No. 4 in both major polls (Associated Press, LBM Coaches Poll).
Stats and Accolades
Miami
No FBS quarterback has thrown for more touchdowns than Ward, who is first in FBS with 36.
Ward became Miami’s first Heisman Trophy finalist since 2002 and also won the Davey O’Brien Award as the nation’s top quarterback. Both Ward and WR Xavier Restrepo were consensus NCAA All-Americans.
Ward also became the first Hurricane to win ACC Player of the Year, and was also named ACC Offensive POY.
Seventeen Miami Hurricanes were recognized with end-of-season distinction from the Atlantic Coast Conference; Miami’s 17 selections best the previous program record of 16, set during the 2017 season.
Ward, Restrepo, DT Simeon Barrow Jr., and PK Andres Borregales headlined the Miami student-athletes represented as the quartet earned All-ACC First Team plaudits.
TE Elijah Arroyo, OT Francis Mauigoa, LB Francisco Mauigoa, and S Mishael Powell comprised the Hurricanes’ second-team honorees.
Restrepo and Borregales collected First Team All-ACC accolades for the second straight year, while Francisco Mauigoa took home second-team praise in back-to-back seasons.
RB Damien Martinez, WR Jacolby George, OT Jalen Rivers, OG Anez Cooper, C Zach Carpenter, DE Tyler Baron, DE Rueben Bain Jr., DT Akheem Mesidor and CB OJ Frederique Jr. were All-ACC Honorable Mention.
The Hurricanes had two players earn consensus All-America recognition in Ward and Restrepo; it marked the first time Miami had two first-team All-Americans in the same season since 2020, when both Jaelan Phillips and Jose Borregales were recognized. A semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award, Restrepo set new school records for career receptions (200) and career receiving yards (2,844) in a standout career at Miami.
UM is the only program in the country with two players with at least 18.0 career sacks each (Mesidor, 22.0). The Hurricanes have three players in the top 40 in FBS in career sacks, entering Week 11 - DL Barrow with 16.0 sacks. His streak of three straight games with at least one sack ended in Miami’s win over Duke.
Andy Borregales's 72 career field goals are the third-most in Miami history, trailing only Michael Badgley (77) and Carlos Huerta (73).
Among active FBS kickers, Borregales is one of just four in the country who have 70 or more career field goals, joining Jonah Dalmas (Boise State - 93), Alex Raynor (Kentucky - 70) and John Hoyland (Wyoming - 73).
Notable Team Stats
Miami is the nation’s leader in third down conversion, capitalizing with a 56.5% rate as an offensive unit. The Hurricanes ended the regular season ranked No. 1 in all of FBS in total offense, averaging 538.3 yards.
After the regular season, Miami was ranked No. 1 in plays of 10 or more yards (237) and No. 1 in plays of 20 or more yards (91). Of the 91 plays of 20 or more yards, 72 are passing - the most in FBS. Of the 199 plays of 10 or more yards, 171 are passing - second-most in FBS. UM had only 48 passing plays of 20 or more and 129 of 10 or more yards in 2023. Miami was No. 1 in FBS in games of 500 or more yards (10) this season.
Miami is ranked No. 2 in FBS in scoring differential in second halves; UM’s +14.00 scoring difference is ahead of Ohio State (+12.92), Notre Dame (+12.17), and Penn State (+10.23) and trails only Indiana (+14.08).
Miami’s +9.58 scoring differential in the fourth quarter this season stands as the best mark in the nation.
At the end of the regular season, Miami was #17 in FBS in “defensive mayhem” - plays on defense featuring a tackle for loss, an interception, or a gained fumble. Miami has a 12.97% mayhem rate on defense; the Hurricanes have racked up an 8.43% sack rate, a 10.54% tackle-for-loss rate, and a 3.68% interception rate in 2024 so far.
Against FBS competition, Miami’s offense has gone three-and-out on just 5.51% of drives this season, which ranks as the best mark in the country. Only one other team in the nation has a three-and-out percentage of less than 10% on offense - No. 1 Miami (5.51%) and No. 2 LSU (9.09%). The Hurricanes averaged 3.14 points per possession - the best in FBS - and averaged 1.60 plays per point - the third-most efficient in the nation behind Indiana (1.52) and Notre Dame (1.58). The Hurricanes punted on only 18.9% of possessions - the lowest mark in FBS.
Through the regular season, UM tight ends have totaled 816 yards on 52 catches with 10 touchdown catches. In a win over FSU, Arroyo threw the first touchdown pass of his career on a trick play to Ward. Arroyo ranks fifth on Miami with 31 catches for 526 yards, six touchdowns, and the third-most touchdowns for Miami.
After the regular season, Miami ranks in the top 25 for total offense (#1) and total defense (#24). Five of the seven schools to qualify for the list were CFP teams, and the other was Ole Miss.
The Hurricanes eclipsed the 50-point mark for the fourth time at Louisville - the first year Miami had ever posted four-game performances in a single season in Miami history. They made it five games with a 52-31 win over Duke.
The Hurricanes score points on 58.27% of their offensive possessions - the best mark in the nation. Miami scores touchdowns on 46.46% of possessions, representing the best FBS mark.
Miami’s 5.51% three-and-out percentage on offense is by far the best mark in the nation.
The nation's lowest mark is the Hurricanes’ 18.90% punt percentage on all offensive drives.
The Hurricanes’ 3.14 points-per-possession average is the best mark in the country.
Stats and Accolades
Iowa State
No. 18 Iowa State looks to win its 11th game of the season and its third bowl game under Matt Campbell when it faces No. 15 Miami in the Pop-Tarts Bowl at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. It will be the first-ever meeting between the Cyclones and Hurricanes.
Iowa State has reached 10 wins for the first time in the program’s 133-year history. The Cyclones are bowl-eligible for the seventh time in nine seasons under Campbell. No Big 12 school has had more bowl appearances since 2017 than ISU.
Iowa State placed five players on the All-Big 12 First and Second Teams ... senior Jaylin Noel was named Co-Special Teams Player of the Year and a first-team selection at that position ... on the second team, ISU was represented by Stevo Klotz (FB), Jayden Higgins (WR), Jontez Williams (DB) and Malik Verdon (DB).
QB Rocco Becht has thrown a touchdown in 17 straight games. He’s just the fifth QB in school history to pass for 6,000 career yards. Becht has led the Cyclones to 17 wins in the last two seasons, the best two-year stretch in school history.
Becht has one of college football’s best wide-receiving duos, Higgins and Noel.
They are the first duo in school history and the only pair nationally with 1,000 yards each this season. In eight of 13 games, they have combined for at least 10 catches, 175 yards, and a score, the most nationally by a set of teammates.
Higgins was an Associated Press Third-Team All-American. Higgins is ISU’s 14th All-American since 2017, after the school had just three All-Americans from 1997-2016.
Notable Team Stats
Under Jon Heacock’s direction, ISU's defense has battled significant injuries at the linebacker position this season but is allowing just 21.5 points per contest. The Cyclones are 6-0 this season when giving up fewer than 20 points. The six games are tied for the second-most games in the Big 12, allowing less than 20 points.
Iowa State is one of the nation’s least penalized teams, with an average of 3.9 penalties per game. Its 27.9 penalty yards per game are the fewest nationally and the least by a Cyclone team since 1962.
Iowa State could not overcome three turnovers in the third quarter as it fell to No. 12 Arizona State, 45-19, at the Dr Pepper Big 12 Championship in Arlington, Texas ... the 45 points allowed equaled its most this season.
Iowa State is 2-7-1 all-time against teams currently in the ACC, with four of those games coming in bowl games. The Cyclones' last win against a team currently in the ACC came in the 2000 Insight.com Bowl against Pitt, who was in the Big East at the time.
The Cyclones are 1-2 all-time playing in the Sunshine State, including 0-2 in bowl games. J ISU’s lone win in Florida came in 1975, a 10-6 victory against Florida State in Tallahassee.
ISU has the third-most takeaways in the Big 12 Conference (21) ... it is the most for Iowa State since having 21 in 2013. J ISU is among the nation’s least penalized teams, committing just 51 penalties (3.9 per game), which ranks sixth nationally.
ISU’s 362 penalty yards (27.9 per game) are the fewest nationally. In five games this season, ISU has recorded two or fewer penalties.
Iowa State has faced nine 1,000-yard rushers of the season, the most nationally. It has faced four of the nation’s top 10 rushers and six of the nation’s top 20 rushers in Cam Skattebo (Arizona State), Kaleb Johnson (Iowa), RJ Harvey (UCF), Tahj Brooks (Texas Tech), DJ Giddens (KSU), Devin Neal (Kansas).
The Cyclone offensive line has allowed just 15 sacks this season, ranking among the nation’s top 20. In the last two seasons, ISU has allowed 29 sacks in 26 games inside the nation’s top-15 throughout two seasons.
ISU has been in the red zone 58 times this season, scoring 35 touchdowns (60.3 percent). Opponents, meanwhile, have just 31 red zone trips this season (20 touchdowns). The 31 red zone trips by opponents rank the Cyclone defense among the top 10 nationally.
Miami-Iowa State Connections
Iowa State has seven players on its roster from Florida, including star receiver Jayden Higgins, who grew up in South Miami and attended Westminster Christian.
Cyclone defensive back Jontez Williams’ father Andrew played defensive end at Miami from 2001-02 and was a member of Miami’s 2001 BCS National Championship team ... Andrew was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round of the 2003 NFL Draft and played two seasons.
ISU DL Alijah Carnell and Miami TE Elija Lofton were teammates last season at Bishop Gorman HS in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Bishop Gorman was the nation’s top-ranked team and won back-to-back state championships in their junior and senior seasons, combining 26-1.
Stats are as of December 27, 2024
Miami Athletics and Iowa State Athletics contributed to this report.
Line: Miami - 3.5
Over/Under: 57.5
Weather: 78 Degrees
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