SportsLine model reveals its college football picks for Iowa State Cyclones vs. Cam Ward and the Miami Hurricanes in the Pop-Tarts Bowl 2024 on Saturday

Cam Ward missed out on the College Football Playoff, the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game and the Heisman Trophy. He's not missing one more chance to play for Miami. Ward and the 15th-ranked Hurricanes (10-2) take on 18th-ranked Iowa State (10-3) in the Pop-Tarts Bowl on Saturday,

Iowa State and Miami weren’t far off from playing in the first 12-team College Football Playoff. The Cyclones made it as far as the Big 12 championship, which they lost to Arizona State, while the Hurricanes missed out on a trip to the ACC game after losing to Syracuse in the regular-season finale.

If ISU is to avoid being shredded by someone named Cam for the second straight game (ahem, Sun Devils running back Cam Skattebo), it will need to spy on Ward and shine in the secondary. As of now, star safety Malik Verdon seems iffy at best for Saturday’s game, so younger players at linebacker and safety will need to be at their absolute best.

QB Cam Ward has stated that he will play, which has resulted in the opening spread of Iowa State (-1/-115) flipping all the way over to Miami (-3.5/-175). The game total was similarly affected by the news, increasing from an open of 53.5 to 56.5.