CNN
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The Pop-Tarts Bowl offered fans a little bit of everything.

The menu included wild mascots, goals and college football history.

While the Pop-Tart mascots will be the ones that go viral on social media, the game itself was quite remarkable.

No. 18 Iowa State came back to beat No. 13 Miami 42-41 after Cyclones quarterback Rocco Becht scored a one-yard touchdown on fourth down and goal with less than a minute to play.

The redshirt sophomore finished the game with three passing touchdowns and 270 yards through the air to match his rushing score.

However, the end result wasn’t even the main topic of conversation.

Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward will likely go down in history as one of the best college quarterbacks of all time and will hear his name called in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. And he showed off his college dominance Saturday at Camping World Stadium in Orlando.

Ward threw his record-tying 156th touchdown pass of his college career to wide receiver Jacolby George for a 4-yard score in the first quarter.

He passed Case Keenum for the most all-time passing records in Division I – FBS and FCS history.

Ward finished the first half completing 12 of 19 passes for 190 yards and three scores before sitting out the second half. He finished his college career with 158 touchdown passes.

Although it was a close game at halftime and Miami led 31-28, backup quarterback Emory Williams took over for the Canes in the second half while Ward watched from the bench.

Ward’s absence caused a stir and sparked heavy criticism on social media.

After the game, Miami head coach Mario Cristobal remained silent about the decision to suspend Ward after the game ended.

“I think all meetings with players and decisions of that nature – we make them privately and keep them private. … I know (Cam Ward) did his best when he was there.”

Ward’s path into history was not the most straightforward.

The 22-year-old wasn’t heavily recruited coming out of high school – he began his college career at Incarcerate Word for two seasons before transferring to Washington State before the 2022 season.

Ward played two seasons in Pullman, Washington, racking up video game numbers before transferring a third time – this time to the University of Miami before this season.

The senior finished the season with 4,123 yards, 36 touchdowns and seven interceptions and was named the Heisman trophy Finalist – Lost to two-way star Travis Hunter of Colorado.

With the Hurricanes struggling on both sides of the ball, the decision to keep Ward on the bench drew the ire of many, including football analysts David Pollack and Todd McShay.

“Has anyone ever logged off at halftime of a bowl game? I don’t remember anyone doing it,” former ESPN analyst Pollack said on X. “Cam Ward did it today in the Pop Tart Bowl.”

McShay said: “I appreciate Cam Ward playing at all in today’s CFB era. But I just can’t imagine starting a game with teammates, especially as a quarterback, and deciding to back off while my teammates are still trying to get the job done in a back-and-forth battle. I am a realist. I know the climate. I’m not even knocking Cam here. It’s just different.”

The Hurricanes, who were currently leading the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) title, suffered their second straight loss and finished the season 10-3.

Why even play in the Pop-Tarts Bowl if you don’t want to celebrate with the Pop-Tarts mascots after scoring a program-defining victory?

With the victory, Iowa State secures its 11th win of the season – the first time in the program’s 133-year history that it has achieved this feat.

Becht was named the bowl game’s Most Valuable Player and selected a cinnamon roll Pop Tart mascot to go to the giant toaster where it was baked for the quarterback and his head coach Matt Campbell to enjoy.

And no, no people were harmed.