Ward’s play has Hurricanes thinking national title

It might be time to start believing in the Miami Hurricanes.

These aren’t the bad boy Hurricanes of the 80s and 90s, and it’s not the program of recent memory – the one that lacked an identity, and could never seem to get things right.

This year, Miami has a quarterback – one who is a Heisman candidate and has them in the conversation not only for an ACC title, but also a national championship.

A year ago, Cam Ward was at Washington State, and led the Cougars to four straight wins to start the season – two against ranked opponents, Wisconsin and Oregon State – only to have things come crashing down with six straight losses in the Pac-12.

Instead of entering the NFL Draft, Ward exercised his extra year of eligibility, transferring to Miami, with hopes of igniting a program that limped to the finish line itself in each of the first two years under head coach Mario Cristobal – and with a goal of raising his draft stock.

So far, he’s been successful on both counts.

Through five games, Ward has thrown for an FBS-high 18 touchdowns and has also eclipsed 300 passing yards in each. Considered a potential day two or three pick this past April, he’s catapulted into the first round in the majority of mocks for the 2025 Draft.

Miami, which went a combined 12-13 under Cristobal the past two years, is 5-0.

The Hurricanes opened the season with an easy win over rival Florida in The Swamp, followed by three blowout wins against weaker, overwhelmed opponents, then won a 38-34 nail-biter last Friday at home against Virginia Tech – a game in which Ward turned the ball over three times (two interceptions and a lost fumble), but brought the Hurricanes back from 10 points down in the final 12 minutes, surviving on an overturned Hokies Hail Mary as time expired.

“It showed that we can handle adversity, no matter whether it’s about offence or defence or special teams,” Ward said on a call with the media on Wednesday. 

“We can weather the storm. We just continued to play team football through the whole game. It’s going to be a four quarter game, so we were able to overcome our bad plays.”

Cristobal was impressed, but not surprised.

“[Ward] just kept going, and going and going – that’s him,” he said following the win over Virginia Tech. “He’s unfazed, and I’m proud of him for being a tough-ass, and finding a way to win.”

On Saturday, Miami heads to Berkeley for a meeting with Cal – an opponent Ward is familiar with from both his and the Golden Bears’ days in the Pac-12. It’s the second of eight straight conference matchups to close out the regular season – a stretch similar to the one that felled Ward and Washington State last year.

Miami entered this season as a contender for the ACC crown – a title that comes with a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff – but has asserted itself as the odds-on favourite, even after last week’s blip against Virginia Tech. Sure, other factors that have kicked in – notably, Florida State’s self-destruction, as well as Clemson’s 31-point loss against Georgia – but from Week 1 onward, there’s been a lone constant: The Hurricanes, and their standout quarterback.

A playoff berth would be Miami’s first since the era was ushered in in 2014, and a national championship would be the program’s first since 2001. 

With Ward, you can’t help but get the feeling things are different at Miami this year.