Miami quarterback Cam Ward, a Heisman Trophy contender, reached another milestone, although it came on a day when he wasn’t in the mood to celebrate.
Ward set a new Miami record for the most touchdown passes in a single season, achieving this feat on Saturday. His first touchdown pass of the game, a 74-yard throw to Elijah Arroyo in the first quarter of the fourth-ranked Hurricanes’ game against Georgia Tech, was his 30th of the season.
Ward ended the game with three touchdown passes, bringing his total to 32 for the season. However, Miami (9-1, 5-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) suffered its first loss of the year, falling to Georgia Tech 28-23.
Ward became the first FBS quarterback this season to reach 30 touchdown passes. Before Saturday’s game, he was tied with Steve Walsh for the school record with 29 touchdown passes. Walsh set the mark in 1988.
Ward, who is in his fifth year and previously played at FCS school Incarnate Word and Washington State, is now one of only five players in NCAA history to pass for over 17,000 career yards.
Entering the game, Ward was ranked No. 5 on the all-time list with 17,022 passing yards. His 74-yard touchdown pass moved him up to No. 3 on the list, surpassing Tyson Bagent (17,034 yards) and Timmy Chang (17,072 yards). Ward now has 17,370 career passing yards.
The only players ahead of him are No. 2 Dillon Gabriel (17,530 yards, entering Oregon’s game against Maryland on Saturday) and No. 1 Case Keenum (19,217 yards).
Ward has thrown for 3,494 yards this season, the third-most in a single season by any Miami player. He is on track to break the Hurricanes’ single-season passing record, which has stood for 40 years. The current record is 3,642 yards, set by Bernie Kosar in 1984. The only other player with more yards in a season for Miami is Brad Kaaya, who passed for 3,532 yards in 2016.
Ward is also fifth on Miami’s single-season completions list with 241, just 21 behind Kosar’s record of 262.
