Iowa State and Miami Bowl Records & History: How Pop-Tarts Bowl Teams Have Fared

The Cyclones and Hurricanes have vastly different postseason track records.

Rocco Becht before Iowa State's 36–26 loss to Memphis in the Liberty Bowl on Dec. 29, 2023. / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

In the long, quirky history of bowl games, there have been few marketing successes as complete as the Pop-Tarts Bowl. The toaster pastry brand took over the Orlando-based bowl game in 2023 and immediately won plaudits for its lighthearted approach—complete with an edible mascot.

In 2024, the game has been blessed with a quality matchup—a showdown between No. 15 Miami and No. 18 Iowa State. It's the first meeting between the Hurricanes and Cyclones despite their similar nicknames, and will throw a spotlight on the teams' vastly different bowl histories.

Here's a look at Iowa State and Miami's postseason histories, along with some notes on particularly notable matchups.

Iowa State Bowl History: How the Cyclones Have Fared

SEASON	BOWL	OPPONENT	RESULT
1971	Sun	LSU	L 33–13
1972	Liberty	Georgia Tech	L 31–30
1977	Peach	NC State	L 24–14
1978	Hall of Fame Classic	Texas A&M	L 28–12
2000	Insight	Pittsburgh	W 37–29
2001	Independence	Alabama	L 14–13
2002	Humanitarian	Boise State	L 34–16
2004	Independence	Miami-Ohio	W 17–13
2005	Houston	TCU	L 27–24
2009	Insight	Minnesota	W 14–13
2011	Pinstripe	Rutgers	L 27–13
2012	Liberty	Tulsa	L 31–17
2017	Liberty	Memphis	W 21–20
2018	Alamo	Washington State	L 28–26
2019	Camping World	Notre Dame	L 33–9
2020	Fiesta	Oregon	W 34–17
2021	Cheez-It	Clemson	L 20–13
2023	Liberty	Memphis	L 36–26
2024	Pop-Tarts	Miami	TBD

Notes on Iowa State's Bowl History

The fact that the Cyclones did not reach any bowl game until 1971 is telling, as the Big Eight and its predecessors were quick to embrace the bowl system. Shaking off years of struggles in a difficult conference, Iowa State played in the Sun Bowl that year under coach Johnny Majors.

Unfortunately, the Cyclones would have to wait nearly three decades to win their first bowl game. That came in 2000, when quarterback Sage Rosenfels piloted Iowa State to a 37–29 win over Pittsburgh in the Insight Bowl.

Even more elusive for the program was a major bowl appearance, which finally came in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Coach Matt Campbell, shaking off a season-opening loss to Louisiana-Lafayette, guided his team to a 9-3 mark and a resounding Fiesta Bowl win over Oregon.

Miami Bowl History: How the Hurricanes Have Fared

SEASON	BOWL	OPPONENT	RESULT
1934	Orange	Bucknell	L 26–0
1945	Orange	Holy Cross	W 13–6
1950	Orange	Clemson	L 15–14
1951	Gator	Clemson	W 14–0
1961	Liberty	Syracuse	L 15–14
1962	Gotham	Nebraska	L 36–34
1966	Liberty	Virginia Tech	W 14–7
1967	Bluebonnet	Colorado	L 31–21
1980	Peach	Virginia Tech	W 20–10
1983	Orange	Nebraska	W 31–30
1984	Fiesta	UCLA	L 39–37
1985	Sugar	Tennessee	L 35–7
1986	Fiesta	Penn State	L 14–10
1987	Orange	Oklahoma	W 20–14
1988	Orange	Nebraska	W 23–3
1989	Sugar	Alabama	W 33–25
1990	Cotton	Texas	W 46–3
1991	Orange	Nebraska	W 22–0
1992	Sugar	Alabama	L 34–13
1993	Fiesta	Arizona	L 29–0
1994	Orange	Nebraska	L 24–17
1996	Carquest	Virginia	W 31–21
1998	Micron PC	NC State	W 46–23
1999	Gator	Georgia Tech	W 28–13
2000	Sugar	Florida	W 37–20
2001	Rose	Nebraska	W 37–14
2002	Fiesta	Ohio State	L 31–24
2003	Orange	Florida State	W 16–14
2004	Peach	Florida	W 27–10
2005	Peach	LSU	L 40–3
2006	MPC Computers	Nevada	W 21–20
2008	Emerald	California	L 24–17
2009	Champs Sports	Wisconsin	L 20–14
2010	Sun	Notre Dame	L 33–17
2013	Russell Athletic	Louisville	L 36–9
2014	Independence	South Carolina	L 24–21
2015	Sun	Washington State	L 20–14
2016	Russell Athletic	West Virginia	W 31–14
2017	Orange	Wisconsin	L 34–24
2018	Pinstripe	Wisconsin	L 35–3
2019	Independence	Louisiana Tech	L 14–0
2020	Cheez-It	Oklahoma State	L 37–34
2023	Pinstripe	Rutgers	L 31–24
2024	Pop-Tarts	Iowa State	TBD

Notes on Miami's Bowl History

Contrary to the beliefs of those who believe Hurricanes football was invented in the 1980s, Miami was reaching bowl games within a decade of its program's inception. Yes, the Hurricanes played in the very first Orange Bowl, losing 26–0 to Bucknell on its home turf.

It was a fitting beginning to Miami's bowl odyssey, as the Hurricanes would become more associated with the Orange Bowl than any other bowl game. Only Oklahoma, Nebraska and Florida State have appeared in more editions of that game, and at some point the Hurricanes have taken on all three teams in their backyard. Miami last appeared in the game in 2017, losing 34–24 to Wisconsin.

Befitting their status as one of the late 20th century's most dominant teams, the Hurricanes have competed for numerous national titles in bowl settings. Miami teams de facto clinched championships in bowls in 1983 (Orange), 1987 (Orange), 1989 (Sugar) and 1991 (Orange), and de facto lost a championship to Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl of 1986.

The Hurricanes' success continued into the era of a structured national championship system; they lost games in 1992 and 1994 that would have given them the Bowl Coalition national title. Less than a decade later, they beat the Cornhuskers in the Rose Bowl to win the 2001 BCS national title, and lost a Fiesta Bowl heartbreaker to Ohio State that would've given them that accolade in 2002.

Amazingly, Miami has not won a bowl game since upsetting West Virginia 31–14 in the 2016 Russell Athletic Bowl.

Iowa State, Miami Records in Bowl Games

Here's how the two teams' bowl records compare.

TEAM	WINS	LOSSES	WINNING PERCENTAGE
Iowa State	5	13	.278
Miami	19	23	.452

The Cyclones are trying to improve upon a rough bowl history, while the Hurricanes seek to end their eight-year bowl victory drought and creep back toward .500.

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