How do you tell your star quarterback to stop flinging the ball when all you’ve done since you recruited him out of the transfer portal is give him the green light to be aggressive?
You don’t. Not if you are Mario Cristobal and Cam Ward is your quarterback.
“You can’t let a guy make that many plays and have that much self-confidence, and the moment it doesn’t go your way, start getting nervous and start pulling the plug on the whole thing,” Cristobal said.
“Cam is a dog, man. He’s a dude. In his eyes, he was 1,000 percent convinced he was gonna get it done. That dude all week long knew this game was gonna be a challenge because of what they do coverage-wise. I’ve said it a million times, complete and utter faith in that guy and everything he represents and stands for.”
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Welcome to college football’s new world where an unranked double-digit home underdog can beat a top-10 team.
It happened twice on Saturday and almost a third time, but Ward and the eighth-ranked Miami Hurricanes never quit against Cal. Trailing by 25 points in the third quarter by mostly his own doing, Ward rallied the Hurricanes past the Bears 39-38 in another epic Heisman Trophy-worthy performance.
Miami fans who stayed up past 2 a.m. on the East Coast were rewarded with the biggest comeback victory by a Hurricanes team since 1999. Those who didn’t have Cuban coffee or Red Bull to keep them up surely were stunned on Sunday morning.
Ward threw for 437 yards and two touchdowns and ran a touchdown on a 24-yard dash. It more than made up for a bunch of bad decisions Ward made early — like taking sacks when he had open receivers underneath or throwing across his body into the middle of the field for a pick six.
Still, Miami, a 10-1/2 point favorite, found a way to survive and remain unbeaten while No. 1 Alabama lost at Vanderbilt and fourth-ranked Tennessee lost at Arkansas. It was the largest come-from-behind victory for the Hurricanes since they rallied from 28-0 down to beat Boston College by a field goal 25 years ago.
“You’ve just gotta keep playing football,” said Ward, who leads all FBS quarterbacks in touchdown passes (20) and passing yards (2,219). “At the end of the day, (offensive coordinator Shannon) Dawson told me this is how Tom Brady made his money in the league. I’m trying to get there. I’m trying to get on his level.”
Only 12 unbeaten teams are left at the FBS level, and Miami is one of two in the ACC (Pittsburgh is the other).
The Hurricanes have escaped with wins each of the past two weeks amid late-game controversy. A week ago, Miami beat Virginia Tech when officials reversed a touchdown catch on the game’s final play.
On Saturday at Cal, Wesley Bissainthe appeared to catch a break when officials reviewed his hit on Bears quarterback Fernando Mendoza and decided against calling Bissainthe for a targeting penalty with less than two minutes to play. Cal punted, and Miami marched 92 yards for the game-winning score 76 seconds later.
Does surviving two close calls against 3-3 Virginia Tech or 3-2 Cal mean the Hurricanes are not worthy of being ranked among the five or six best teams in college football? Not at all. If we’ve learned anything through the first seven weeks of this season, it’s that winning conference games isn’t as easy as maybe it used to be in the portal era.
The game tying 📻 @CanesFootball call by @canesvoice @DonBaileyJr @joshdarrow
🤯🙌🏼🤯🙌🏼🤯
🎥 @vicbermudez pic.twitter.com/RbJi8QGiYG
— AM 560 Sports WQAM (@560WQAM) October 6, 2024
Being undefeated should be celebrated at this point. Let’s not forget that Miami traveled further than any FBS team has this season to play in a game in the continental United States and played poorly for the better part of three quarters and still won.
Ultimately, Cristobal knows his team has a long way to go if it wants to win its first national championship in 23 years. This roster isn’t there yet. Ohio State, Alabama, Georgia and Texas are all deeper and more talented than these Hurricanes.
Miami’s defense played frighteningly bad assignment football, blowing coverages and assignments yet again (Cal had four pass plays of 50 yards or more).
The Canes had far too many bad penalties of the unsportsmanlike variety and receivers who dropped too many passes. And it’s evident Miami badly misses starting left tackle Jalen Rivers, who hasn’t played since the season-opening win at Florida.
But sometimes good teams just have a knack for finding ways to win games they probably shouldn’t. On Saturday, Miami was fortunate enough to be one of those again. The Canes will take that over feeling.
They’ll also take Ward just the way he is. Good and bad, it has been a heck of a ride so far.
Said receiver Xavier Restrepo: “When he’s got the ball in his hands, the game’s never over.”
(Top photo: Darren Yamashita / Imagn Images)
