ORLANDO, Fla. >> Rocco Becht scored from a yard out on fourth-and-goal with 56 seconds remaining and No. 18 Iowa State capped the best season in school history by rallying past No. 15 Miami 42-41 in the Pop-Tarts Bowl on Saturday.
Becht finished with 270 passing yards and three touchdowns for Iowa State (11-2), a program that entered this season — the 133rd year of Cyclone football — never having won more than nine games in a year.
The Cyclones didn’t stop at 10 wins, either. They rallied from a 10-point deficit in the second half — with Miami quarterback Cam Ward watching after a record-setting first half — to get win No. 11. Carson Hansen rushed for a pair of touchdowns.
Ward passed for three touchdowns in his final college game, while Damien Martinez rushed for a career-high 179 yards for Miami (10-3), which dropped its sixth straight bowl game and lost three of four games to end the season.
UConn 27, North Carolina 14 >> Joe Fagnano threw for 151 yards and two touchdowns to help UConn beat North Carolina in the Fenway Bowl, embarrassing Bill Belichick’s new team in his old backyard.
Belichick was not spotted in the home of the Boston Red Sox, about an hour north of the stadium where he and Tom Brady hung six Super Bowl championship banners. Interim coach Freddie Kitchens, who like Belichick is a former Cleveland Browns coach, took over when Mack Brown was fired and handled the bowl preparations.
Nebraska 20, Boston College 15 >> Dylan Raiola passed for 228 yards and a touchdown as Nebraska built an 18-point lead through three quarters in the Pinstripe Bowl and hung on to beat Boston College for its first bowl victory since 2015.
After Nebraska built a 13-2 lead in the first half on scoring runs by Rahmir Johnson and Kwinten Ives, Raiola hit Emmett Johnson with a 13-yard TD pass on fourth down with 3:02 remaining in the third quarter for a 20-2 edge and the Cornhuskers (7-6) held on for the win.
TCU 34, Louisiana-Lafayette 3 >> Josh Hoover passed for four touchdowns to help TCU beat Louisiana-Lafayette in the New Mexico Bowl.
Hoover was 20 for 32 for 252 yards with an interception. Eric McAlister had eight catches for 87 yards and a TD for the Horned Frogs (9-4).
Miami (Ohio) 43, Colorado State 17 >> Kevin Davis had a career-high 148 yards rushing and two touchdowns on just nine carries and Jordan Brunson also ran for two TDs to help Miami (Ohio) beat Colorado State at the Arizona Bowl.
Davis scored on a 4-yard run with 12:35 left in the third quarter, Matt Salopek forced a fumble that was recovered by Silas Walters and quarterback Brett Gabbert’s first rushing touchdown of the season — a 10-yard scramble that capped a 47-yard drive — made it 22-3 about 2 minutes later.
East Carolina 26, north carolina state 21 >> Rahjai Harris broke free for an 86-yard touchdown run with 1:33 left, giving East Carolina a pulsating victory over N.C. State in the Military Bowl in a game that descended into a wild brawl in the final minute.
Harris had 220 of ECU’s 326 yards rushing, and his big sprint near the end gave the Pirates (8-5) the lead back.