Fans will have one more chance to watch Cam Ward orchestrate the nation’s No. 1 offense when No. 13 Miami plays No. 18 Iowa State in Saturday’s Pop-Tarts Bowl at Orlando, Fla.Ward, the fourth-place finisher for this year’s Heisman Trophy and a likely top-10 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, confirmed earlier this month that he will play. He told Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders in a viral video that “you’re going to see the best thing that ever happened in the Pop-Tart(s) Bowl. … Them ‘Canes baby.”Of the teams that didn’t make the College Football Playoff, Miami and Iowa State are the highest-ranked programs playing each other. It is their first meeting.”The intensity will be high. Both teams really want this,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. “And the competition and the caliber of athlete and player on the field is going to be awesome.”So, it means a lot to (us). And I’m sure it means a lot to Iowa State as well.”Said Cyclones coach Matt Campbell: “It’s certainly a great opportunity for Iowa State football. And we have great respect for everything they stand for.”The Hurricanes 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.Ward, a transfer from Washington State, set multiple single-season school records, throwing for 4,123 yards and 36 touchdowns while completing 67.4 percent of his attempts and tossing seven interceptions.Ward’s top receiver, All-American Xavier Restrepo, hasn’t said whether he will play in the bowl game, while running back Damien Martinez, a fellow senior also expected to be drafted, has announced that he will.The ‘Canes enter with a 10-2 record — only the second time in 20 years they recorded double-digit wins in the regular season — but lost two of their final three games, at Georgia Tech and at Syracuse, and consequently a spot in the Atlantic Coast Championship Game.That largely was due to their defense, which surrendered 42 points in the final three quarters against the Orange and 271 rushing yards to the Yellow Jackets.
