Sports
Incredible Iowa State Pop-Tarts Bowl Win Highlights Surprising Postseason
In the era of the College Football Playoff, it’s easy to write off traditional bowl games as meaningless. Just don’t tell that to the Iowa State Cyclones.
A Pop-Tarts Bowl matchup between Iowa State and the Miami Hurricanes had every excuse to devolve into a glorified spring game. The Cyclones’ dud in the Big 12 Championship Game and Miami’s Thanksgiving weekend loss at Syracuse denied both teams a spot in the 12-team Playoff, setting the stage for what could have been a forgettable bowl game.
Meanwhile, the game itself garnered the attention of college football pundits and social media users more for its ludicrous brand placement gimmicks—an edible mascot and a trophy with a built-in toaster oven—than for its on-field product. The pageantry and history of the Rose Bowl Game, it was not.
Instead, the Cyclones and Hurricanes delivered one of the most thrilling games in this first postseason of the expanded Playoff era. Iowa State’s 42–41 win marked this year’s 12th bowl game decided by a one-score margin.
The slate included Navy’s 21–20 Armed Forces Bowl win over Oklahoma, featuring Blake Horvath’s program-record 95-yard touchdown run; Kansas State’s 44–41 defeat of Rutgers in the Rate Bowl, highlighted by Dylan Edwards’ 196 rushing yards; and two-, five-, and six-overtime marathons in the Famous Idaho Potato, Hawai’i, and GameAbove Sports Bowls. These games provided more compelling football than any of the Playoff’s first-round matchups.
To be fair, bowl season didn’t need the Playoff’s expansion to dilute the postseason. One need not search archives long to find newspaper columns from as far back as the 1980s lamenting the proliferation of bowl games.
In more recent times, the growing prevalence of player opt-outs—by those preparing for the NFL Draft—preceded changes to NCAA transfer rules. Post-pandemic bowl games featuring lineups that hardly resemble the regular-season squads are not uncommon.
For Iowa State, however, the Pop-Tarts Bowl provided a backdrop for the Cyclones’ own piece of history—one largely untouched by such roster turnover. With Rocco Becht’s goal-line touchdown carry for his fourth score of the day, Iowa State secured the first 11-win season in the 134-year history of the program.
Cyclones coach Matt Campbell emphasized the significance of this milestone during the bowl’s introductory press conference on Dec. 8, saying:
“What made Iowa State really special is our ability to have great resiliency. I know our kids are super excited about the opportunity to finish off.”
In much the same way, it’s easy to dismiss bowls in the present age; one could chalk a sentiment like Campbell’s up to naivety. We live in a brave new college football world dominated by NIL money and marked by floods of transfers throughout the offseason.
But it became apparent Campbell was not spouting empty rhetoric when Iowa State’s upperclassmen committed to the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
Jaylin Noel’s dedication proved vital to the win. The senior wide receiver caught eight passes for 117 yards and a crucial touchdown late in the third quarter, cutting a 10-point Miami lead to three.
“This meant the world to me, for me to be able to be a leader on this team,” an emotional Noel said about the bowl being his last game with Iowa State. “I had to play for them. Those guys come in every day and look up to me. If I wasn’t going to play, that’s just not what leaders do.”
“It hasn’t hit me yet,” Noel said of the bowl game being his swan song at Iowa State. “I love this team so much. I love Coach [Campbell] for everything he’s done for me. And this team means the world to me. There’s no better way to go out than [as] a champion.”
Bowl season means more opportunities to go out as a champion, whether the trophy is the Playoff’s cylindrical golden prize or a Pop-Tarts Bowl trophy with a toaster on top. It’s part of what has made college football special for generations, and this year’s bowl games suggest the postseason can retain some of that mystique even in this new era.
Sports
Dramatic goalkeeper goal earns Toronto FC draw with Philadelphia
Apr 18, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto FC goalkeeper Luka Gavran (1) looks on against Austin FC during the second half at BMO Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images A header from goalkeeper Luka Gavran six minutes into second-half stoppage time gave Toronto FC a dramatic 3-3 draw with the visiting Philadelphia Union on Wednesday.
Gavran was downfield with the rest of his teammates during Daniel Salloi’s late free kick, bidding for an equalizer. Salloi’s initial shot was deflected back out to Alonso Coello, whose pass into the box found Gavran’s head for his first career goal.
The draw extended unbeaten streaks for both clubs. Philadelphia is 1-0-2 in its last three matches while Toronto FC are 3-0-4 in their last seven. Toronto is also 4-0-9 in its last 13 home matches dating back to last June.
Josh Sargent and Kobe Franklin scored for Toronto (3-2-4, 13 points) earlier in the second half as it recovered from a 2-0 deficit.
Milan Iloski, Danley Jean Jacques and Nathan Harriel scored for the Union (1-6-2, five points). Harriel was almost the late-game hero for Philadelphia after the defender converted a header off a corner kick in the 89th minute.
Frankie Westfield’s eighth-minute free kick off the goalpost highlighted a dominant opening 25 minutes for Philadelphia. Toronto then controlled the rest of the first half, but Union defenders Westfield, Harriel, and Japhet Sery all made impressive individual plays to disrupt scoring chances.
With the back line helping stifle Toronto FC’s attack, Iloski put Philadelphia ahead four minutes into first-half stoppage time. Jovan Lukic’s through-ball found Iloski moving between two Toronto FC defenders and Iloski buried the shot after entering the box.
It was Iloski’s second goal of the season, then Jean Jacques followed with his second goal in the 52nd minute. On something of a broken play for Toronto, Jean Jacques beat Zane Monlouis to a loose ball in the box and his one-touch strike sailed into the net.
Sargent and Franklin then recorded their second goals of the season, as Toronto FC roared back to quickly level the score.
Four minutes after Jean Jacques’ tally, Sargent took the ball in the box and made a canny move to find space before burying his second goal. Franklin then banked a shot off the post and into Philadelphia’s net for the 64th-minute equalizer.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cincinnati tallies twice in closing minutes, earns draw vs. NYCFC
Apr 22, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York City FC forward Agustín Ojeda (26) runs with the ball during the first half against FC Cincinnati at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Smith-Imagn Images Andrei Chirila scored in two minutes into second-half stoppage time and Evander converted a penalty kick three minutes later, helping FC Cincinnati rally to a 4-4 draw against host New York City FC on Wednesday.
Chirila, a 17-year-old homegrown defender, converted from outside the box for his first career MLS goal in his second match. NYCFC’s Kevin O’Toole subsequently was whistled for a foul in the penalty area, setting up Evander’s heroics.
FC Cincinnati’s Kevin Denkey scored two goals in his return from a suspension due to yellow-card accumulation.
Roman Celentano made five saves for FC Cincinnati (2-4-3, 9 points), who are 0-3-2 on the road this season.
NYCFC’s Nicolas Fernandez scored two goals in the first half to boost his team-leading goal total to eight in nine matches. Fernandez, who scored three goals in 11 matches last season, became the fourth player in franchise history to score at least 10 goals within his first 20 regular-season appearances.
Agustin Ojeda and Talles Magno tallied in the second half and Matthew Freese turned aside two shots for NYCFC (3-3-3, 12 points), who are winless in their past five matches in MLS play (0-3-2).
Fernandez gave NYCFC a 2-1 lead in the 35th minute after running into a through ball from Maxi Moralez and sending a shot past the extended right leg of Celentano.
Ojeda extended NYCFC’s advantage in the 53rd minute after chasing down a through ball from Aiden O’Neill before scoring from a sharp angle.
Denkey converted a loose ball following a free kick by Evander to trim NYCFC’s lead to 3-2 in the 65th minute, but Magno deftly curled a shot into the far corner of the net in the 79th minute.
In the 20th minute, Celentano was unable to cleanly field a twisting service, and Fernandez alertly deposited the loose ball into the net to open the scoring.
Denkey forged a 1-1 tie 12 minutes later, a converting a cross from Ender Echenique with a leaping left-footed finish at the doorstep.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Behind Mark Vientos' clutch hit, Mets edge Twins, snap 12-game skid
Apr 22, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez (4) watches his RBI double against the Minnesota Twins during the fourth inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images Mark Vientos redeemed himself for an earlier baserunning miscue by delivering the tiebreaking single in the eighth inning, and the host New York Mets snapped a 12-game losing streak with a 3-2 win over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday.
The losing streak was the longest for the Mets since a 12-game skid from Aug. 10-23, 2002.
However, the much-needed victory may have been costly for New York, which lost shortstop Francisco Lindor due to left calf tightness after he scored from first on Francisco Alvarez’s double in the fourth inning.
Lindor, who was 2-for-2 with an RBI infield single in the first, was injured the same night Juan Soto returned from a 15-game absence caused by a strained right calf. The Mets won their first three games after Soto was injured on April 3 before beginning their losing streak.
Soto went 1-for-3 with a walk but was picked off for the second out of the eighth following his single. Brett Baty and Alvarez kept the inning afloat by drawing walks against Taylor Rogers (0-1) and Justin Topa, respectively, before Vientos’ bloop single to right scored Baty.
Vientos was thrown out at home by several feet for the final out of the sixth after running through third base coach Tim Leiper’s stop sign on Marcus Semien’s double.
Luke Weaver (2-0) threw the final 1 1/3 innings for the Mets. The right-hander, who also was the winning pitcher in New York’s previous victory on April 7, got Luke Keaschall to pop up with the bases loaded to end the top of the eighth. He allowed Brooks Lee’s two-out single in the ninth before striking out Byron Buxton to end the game.
Victor Caratini lofted a game-tying sacrifice fly in the fourth for the Twins, who have lost five of their past six. Buxton knotted the game again with a solo homer in the sixth.
Mets starter Clay Holmes gave up two runs on five hits and one walk while striking out three over seven innings. Twins starter Connor Prielipp allowed two runs on four hits and no walks while fanning six in his major league debut.
–Field Level Media
