Cam Ward, Miami Football News: Draft Scout Player News

08/31/24 - QB Cam Ward, rSr/2025, Miami

Cam Ward threw for 385 yards and three touchdowns - looking cool, calm and collected on a sweltering Saturday in the Swamp - and No. 19 Miami dominated Florida 41-17 to give coach Mario Cristobal a signature victory to start his third season at his alma mater. The Hurricanes controlled both lines of scrimmage and never trailed in the renewal of a once-heated rivalry. The latest iteration was a one-sided beatdown, the kind that sent Florida fans scurrying for the exits in the third quarter and raised speculation about coach Billy Napier's job security. Napier fell to 11-15 in Gainesville, including 2-10 against ranked opponents and 1-8 against rivals Miami, Florida State, Georgia, LSU and Tennessee. The Gators lost their sixth consecutive game overall and witnessed the end of their 33-game winning streak in home openers, a run that started with Steve Spurrier's arrival in 1990. Now, Napier has the same number of losses at Florida Field in two-plus seasons (five) as Spurrier had in a dozen years.

Ward, the former Incarnate Word and Washington State starter, showed why he was the Atlantic Coach Conference's preseason Player of the Year before ever playing a down in a Miami uniform. He completed 25 of 33 passes, with an interception. Ward became the first Miami QB since at least 1979 to throw for 300 yards in his first start with the team. Scott Covington threw for 295 against Boston College in in 1996, which had been the most by a Miami quarterback in his debut over the last 45 seasons. Xavier Restrepo caught seven passes for 112 yards, including a 24-yarder for a touchdown. Ward's best throw, though, was a 23-yarder in the back of the end zone to Jacolby George. - AP College Football

rSr/2025