Why did Cam Ward only play first half for Miami in Pop-Tarts Bowl? Cristobal mum on decision
Cam Ward played in the Pop-Tarts Bowl for the Miami Hurricanes, just like he said he would.
But the star quarterback, bound for the NFL after the game ended, was only on the field for the first half of No. 13 Miami’s eventual 42-41 loss to No. 18 Iowa State on Saturday at Orlando’s Camping World Stadium.
He played admirably, completing 12 of 19 passes for 190 yards and three touchdowns.
But once the second half began, Ward was relegated to the sideline, with Emory Williams taking his place the rest of the way.
Why did Ward only play the first half? And when was that decision made? Coach Mario Cristobal opted not to dive into specifics.
“I think all meetings with players and decisions like that, we make them in private and we keep them private,” Cristobal said. “So I’ll defer not to answer any questions as regards as it relates to that. But I know he played his best while he was in there, and certainly Emory tried his best as well. ... We just came up short.”
Ward was not made available for interviews postgame.
The quarterback finished his one year with the Hurricanes completing 305 of 454 passes for 4,313 yards and 39 touchdowns against seven interceptions. The completions, passing yards and passing touchdowns are all single-season school records. So, too, is the 67.2% completion rate.
For his five-year college football career, which included two years apiece at FCS-level Incarnate Word and Washington State, Ward’s had 18,189 passing yards and 158 passing touchdowns — breaking Case Keenum’s record of 155 for most in a career at the Division I level — against 53 interceptions.
“Even more so the plays, the touchdowns and the highlight reels were the fact that he played a major role, along with guys like Jalen [Rivers] in bringing a team together,” Cristobal said. “We know again, I don’t want to beat a dead horse, when I came back to Miami after 20-plus years to make sure that Miami gets back to a certain level, and these guys have elevated it tremendously. His play was spectacular, but again, I think all the other stuff — the intangibles and behind the scenes stuff, getting together, bringing players together, galvanizing a team and galvanizing the program, teaching guys how to watch tape, I mean, you name all the things that are required to be a really good division one football player and a great teammate. He was exemplary.”
This story was originally published December 28, 2024 at 8:24 PM.
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