It was a season of Iowa State comebacks. And fittingly, that’s how it ended for the Cyclones.

Game MVP 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.

“If you look at this team, it’s really who they’ve been all year,” coach Matt Campbell said.

The win marked the fourth time in 2024 that Iowa State got a winning score with less than two minutes remaining. For this one, the Cyclones 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 for Iowa State.

And as the MVP, Becht got the honor of choosing which flavor Pop-Tart was to be sacrificed in a giant toaster.

“There’s only one,” Becht said. “Cinnamon roll.”

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 — those three losses by a combined 10 points.

Martinez and Mark Fletcher Jr. rushed for scores for Miami, which was seeking its first 11-win season since 2003.

Connecticut 27, North Carolina 14 >> Connecticut’s victory in the Fenway Bowl showed North Carolina coach-in-waiting Bill Belichick how much work he has ahead of him.

Joe Fagnano threw for 151 yards and two touchdowns to help the Huskies beat the Tar Heels at Fenway Park, embarrassing Belichick’s new team in his old backyard.

Belichick was not spotted at 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 with the New England Patriots.

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.

“The only thing I will say about that is we’re going to get up tomorrow and we’re going to go to work and try to make the program better,” Kitchens said. “And then we’ll see where we’re at the next time we kick the ball off. I know it starts and ends with a bunch of people that love football, that love Carolina, and love Carolina football.”

Mel Brown rushed for 96 yards for UConn (9-4) and Skyler Bell caught three passes for 77 yards, including a 38-yard touchdown that gave the Huskies a 10-0 first-quarter lead. Chris Culliver returned the ensuing kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown, but that would be Carolina’s only production in the first half.

Nebraska 20, Boston College 15 >> Dylan Raiola passed for 228 yards and a touchdown as Nebraska built an 18-point lead through three quarters 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.

Raiola completed 23 of 31 passes in front of a sizable Nebraska crowd that celebrated the team’s first bowl win since topping UCLA in the 2015 Foster Farms Bowl and first winning season since 2016.

Raiola completed passes to 10 receivers, including Jahmal Banks, who finished with four receptions for 79 yards.

Grayson James finished 25 of 40 for 296 yards as Boston College (7-6) fell to 0-3 in Pinstripe Bowl games.

Texas Christian 34, Louisiana 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).

TCU’s defense also had a solid day, holding Louisiana-Lafayette (10-4) to 209 yards, including 61 on the game’s final possession.

Ben Wooldridge was 7-for-20 passing for 61 yards for the Ragin’ Cajuns. He also threw an interception.

Miami (OH) 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.

After the Rams failed to convert a fourth-and-4 from the 5, Davis took a hand off up the middle and raced untouched for a 97-yard touchdown to give the RedHawks a 26-point lead with 6:45 remaining in the third quarter. George Swarn’s 98-yard TD against Western Michigan in 1984 is the longest run in RedHawks history.

Miami (9-5) is 9-7 all-time in bowl games.

Colorado State (8-5) committed four turnovers which the RedHawks converted into 19 points.

East Carolina 26, North Carolina State 21 >> Rahjai Harris broke free for an 86-yard touchdown run with 1:33 remaining, giving East Carolina a pulsating victory over NC 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 sensational sprint near the end of the game gave the Pirates (8-5) the lead back after they’d blown a 13-point advantage in the fourth.

But after an interception by Dontavius Nash ended NC State’s final drive, East Carolina’s attempt to run out the clock was interrupted by large-scale fight between the two in-state rivals — who play each other again to start next season.

Three players for ECU (8-5) and five for NC State (6-7) were ejected.

ACC teams are 1-9 in postseason bowls and playoff games this year after four more went down Saturday. North Carolina (Fenway), Boston College (Pinstripe), Miami (Pop Tarts) and NC State (Military) all lost.

Louisville, Duke and Virginia Tech still play in the coming days for the league.