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Cam Ward and the Canes Show Heart in a Comeback for the Ages

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Credit: AP/ Jed Jacobsohn

You’ve got to have heart.” These were the words Coach Jimmy McGinty delivered in the film The Replacements as the Washington Sentinels found themselves on the brink of defeat at halftime. Heart. The will to win, to never give up. With 8:06 left in the third quarter, Miami football found itself down 35-10 on the road at Cal. On a day when ESPN’s College GameDay was covering the game, #8 Miami was being embarrassed on national television.
Throughout the first half and the first four minutes of the third quarter, the Golden Bears dominated Miami. The Canes were able to score in the first quarter thanks to a Mark Fletcher touchdown and later added a field goal by Borregales. But those ten points were all they could muster for nearly 60% of the game. Meanwhile, the Golden Bears were schooling Miami’s defense with misdirection plays, motions, and eye candy that often caught the Canes out of position, leading to huge chunk plays, broken coverages, and touchdowns. For the second week in a row, Guidry’s defense was gashed and seemed woefully unprepared, allowing four 50-yard plays in the game.


With Miami down 21-10 in the third, Cam Ward, under pressure with three Cal defenders on him, threw across his body while falling out of bounds. The pass, aimed toward the middle of the field, landed squarely in the hands of a Cal defender for a pick-six, giving the Golden Bears a 28-10 lead. Cal then went up 35-10 with 8:06 left in the third quarter as their backup QB, Chandler Rogers, scored on a misdirection play. At this point in time, Miami had a 99.8 % chance of losing the game according to ESPN.


Then, it happened. Heart showed up. If there is one thing Mario Cristobal has harped on all offseason, it’s Cam Ward’s short-term memory—his ability to put bad plays behind him and focus on the task at hand. Ward led the Canes downfield, setting up a Damien Martinez touchdown and a subsequent Xavier Restrepo two-point conversion. Cal responded with a field goal, and entering the fourth quarter with 14:13 left in the game, the Canes were down 38-18.
What happened next is the stuff of major motion pictures and Heisman ceremonies. Ward threw for 277 yards in the fourth quarter alone, passing for two touchdowns (one to Isaiah Horton and the game-winning score to Elijah Arroyo) and rushing for another touchdown, cutting the lead to 38-32 with four minutes left.

His game-sealing drive, where he had to lead the Canes 92 yards with just 1:50 left on the clock, felt almost effortless. Ward found Xavier Restrepo—the X factor for Miami—for a clutch 77-yard catch and run, putting Miami in the red zone.

Miami would score with Elijah Arroyo, and the Canes sealed the deal with a Kiko Mauigoa interception on Cal’s final possession.


As bad as Miami’s defense was throughout most of the game, from the 8:06 mark in the third quarter onward, the Canes’ defensive adjustments held the Golden Bears to just three points. Miami was able to get off the field, play disciplined football, and prevent Cal from scoring touchdowns. Rueben Bain Jr. had 0.5 sacks with 1.5 tackles for loss, and Simeon Barrow also added a sack.That was all the cushion Ward needed. The Canes offense converted 3-of-4 fourth downs and 7-of-16 third-down opportunities, coming through clutch in the second half to secure the victory.

Reflecting on the win, Cristobal said, “Moments like this validate why it was so important to come back to Miami. To be part of getting it turned around where you fight to get it done and find a way to get it done. I don’t know how many teams in the country would have been able to come back against that defense. That defense leads the country in interceptions and is a top-10 defense from a production standpoint. We can be so good. We have to get there. We need to.”

For the past two weeks, Miami has found itself in instant classic nail-biters. First, against Virginia Tech, and now, with the third-largest comeback in program history—the largest since 2003 for the Canes and the largest in FBS this year—a 25-point comeback win to beat Cal on the road on a day that the start time for the game was at 10:30 PM . Last week, Miami was penalized in the AP poll for a nail-biter, but if we’ve learned anything, it’s that on any given Saturday, anyone can lose. In fact, four top-ten teams lost yesterday:


• #1 Alabama (to Vanderbilt)
• #4 Tennessee (to Arkansas)
• #9 Missouri (to Texas A&M)
• #10 Michigan (to Washington)


The week before, two top-ten teams lost to unranked opponents:
• Then #6 Ole Miss (to Kentucky)
• Then #10 Utah (to Arizona)


And in Week 2?
• Then #5 Notre Dame (to Northern Illinois)


Good teams can lose close games, but elite teams find ways to win. The Canes still have a lot to fix. Some of the same issues that were present last week are still glaring today—undisciplined football and a defense that’s been outplayed for the first three quarters. But in an era of college football where top-ten teams are dropping seemingly every week, this Canes football squad is discovering something special about itself. They don’t quit. They fight. They play to the last second, to the last inch. They have heart. They have Cam Ward, who has miles and miles of heart. And because of that, the Canes are 6-0.


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