Halfway through his first season at Miami, Cam Ward has already shown he knows how to create excitement.
Ward threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Arroyo with just 26 seconds remaining, helping No. 8 Miami come back from a 25-point deficit to defeat California 39-38 on Saturday night.
Just a week after leading the Hurricanes (6-0, 2-0 ACC) back from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Virginia Tech, Ward achieved even more by orchestrating Miami’s biggest comeback since also overcoming a 25-point deficit against Florida in 2003.
“When 1 has the ball in his hands, the game is never over,” receiver Xavier Restrepo said, referring to Ward’s uniform number. “We have extreme confidence in that guy.”
And for good reason.
Ward directed four consecutive touchdown drives to finish the game, ruining what could have been a monumental day for the Golden Bears (3-2, 0-2), who hosted ESPN’s “College GameDay” for the first time and were close to winning against a top 10 team for the second time in 21 years.
Instead, Ward ensured that the sellout crowd at Memorial Stadium left disappointed after overcoming a 35-10 deficit in the third quarter. This victory marked a second straight thrilling win for the Hurricanes after needing a replay review to edge out Virginia Tech last week.
“We just can’t put ourselves in these situations to come back,” Ward said. “That’s two games straight we had to do that. We have to lock in. … It’s good to get a win. We’re not going to complain. An ugly win is better than a good loss.”
In the fourth quarter, Ward generated 277 yards of offense—the most for any player in seven years—and currently leads the nation in passing yards (2,380) and touchdown passes (20) in his first season since transferring from Washington State.
Ward threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Horton with 10:28 left in the game, bringing the score to 38-25. He then scrambled for a 24-yard touchdown to close the gap to six points with 4:04 remaining.
