It came down to the Miami Hurricanes defense — one that had struggled most of the day and had been the team’s Achilles’ heel all season — needing to make a goal-line stand. The Iowa State Cyclones were at the Miami 2-yard line, 6 feet away from taking the lead in the final minutes of the Pop-Tarts Bowl.

In the new age of college football with the 12-team playoff, there were concerns over whether the bowl games would still mean anything.