‘Texas to Texas’: A look at Hurricanes QB Cam Ward’s touchdown catch and the history made
Quarterback Cam Ward has been making history all throughout his lone season with the Miami Hurricanes.
He found a new way to get into the Hurricanes’ record book on Saturday when he caught a touchdown pass, doing so in the fourth quarter of No. 6 Miami’s 36-14 win over the Florida State Seminoles at Hard Rock Stadium.
With the Hurricanes up by 16 late in the fourth quarter and facing second-and-goal from the FSU 7, Ward tossed the ball to running back Damien Martinez who then flipped the ball to tight end Elijah Arroyo.
Arroyo then proceeded to loft a pass to Ward, who caught it in stride on his way to the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown to put the Hurricanes up 29-7 with 4:32 left in regulation.
It was the team’s only passing touchdown of the game after Ward completed 22 of 35 passes for 208 yards but no passing touchdowns of his own.
“I was smiling in the huddle,” said Ward, who added that the team had been practicing the play for about two weeks. “The o-line already knew the play as soon as I started smiling. We repped it as much as we did and it finally gets called in a game like this — a rivalry game — that’s good. Elijah threw for more touchdowns than me, so you know we had a decent day on offense.”
The play call, according to coach Mario Cristobal: Texas to Texas.
Arroyo is from Frisco, Texas. Ward is from West Columbia, Texas.
“Down there, you get a lot of cover zero,” Cristobal said. “It was just something that [offensive coordinator Shannon] Dawson cooked up with the rest of the staff and it was the right time to call it. I think the fans got a kick out of it as well, and Cam got himself a touchdown.”
Ward has had plenty of touchdowns this season for Miami. He has thrown for 24 and run for another three.
But a touchdown catch by a quarterback? According to a search on Stathead, he’s the only Hurricanes quarterback to do that dating back to at least the 1956 season, which is as far back as the website tracks offensive data. Ward’s catch was the fourth instance of a quarterback catching a touchdown this season. Oklahoma State’s Alan Bowman, USF’s Byrum Brown and UTEP’s Skyler Locklear are the others who have accomplished the feat.
On the other end of the spectrum, Arroyo’s touchdown pass is the first for the Hurricanes by a non-quarterback since Duke Johnson’s 8-yard touchdown pass to Allen Hurns on Nov. 10, 2012, against Virginia.
Arroyo is also the 14th non-quarterback since 1956 to throw a touchdown pass for UM, joining Johnson, Phillip Dorsett (2011), Graig Cooper (2008), Francesco Zampogna (2007), Lovon Ponder (2006), Freddie Capshaw (2002), Jeff Popovich (1997), Dyral McMillan (1995), Kevin Williams (1992), Ottis Anderson (two in 1977), Chuck Foreman (1971), Tom Sullivan (1969) and John Acuff (1966). Arroyo is the only tight end from the group.
“Just something different for everybody,” Martinez said.
This story was originally published October 27, 2024 at 7:00 AM.
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