Berkeley, CA—In his first season with Miami, Cam Ward has already developed a reputation for dramatic comebacks at the helm.
The flashy quarterback threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Arroyo with just 26 seconds remaining, helping No. 8 Miami overcome a 25-point deficit to defeat California 39-38 on Saturday night.
Just a week after leading the Hurricanes (6-0, 2-0 ACC) to a fourth-quarter comeback victory against Virginia Tech, Ward pulled off an even greater feat, orchestrating Miami’s largest comeback since a similar 25-point rally against Florida in 2003.
“When No. 1 has the ball, the game is never over,” said receiver Xavier Restrepo, referring to Ward’s jersey number. “We have total confidence in him.”
That confidence proved justified. Ward led Miami to four consecutive touchdown drives to close out the game, dashing California’s (3-2, 0-2) hopes of securing a significant upset.
Hosting ESPN’s “College GameDay” for the first time, Cal was on the verge of claiming its second win over a top-10 team in the past 21 years.
However, Ward ensured the sellout crowd at Memorial Stadium left disappointed, as the Hurricanes fought back from a 35-10 third-quarter deficit. It marked Miami’s second consecutive heart-stopping win, following last week’s nail-biter against Virginia Tech, which was decided after a replay review.
“We can’t keep putting ourselves in these situations,” Ward said. “That’s two games now where we’ve had to make a comeback. We need to focus more. But a win is a win, and I’d rather have an ugly win than a pretty loss.”
Ward delivered 277 yards of offense in the fourth quarter alone—the most by any player in seven years. He now leads the nation in passing yards (2,380) and touchdown passes (20), in his first season since transferring from Washington State.
Ward threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Horton with 10:28 remaining to cut the deficit to 38-25. He followed that up with a 24-yard scramble into the end zone, bringing Miami within six points with 4:04 left to play.
Miami’s defense held firm, forcing a punt after avoiding a potential targeting penalty on replay review. On the next drive, Ward connected with Restrepo on a 77-yard pass, bringing the Hurricanes deep into Cal territory.
Despite a personal foul penalty pushing them back, Ward converted a third-and-20 with a short pass to Joshisa Trader that turned into a 22-yard gain to the 3-yard line. Two plays later, Ward found Arroyo on a jump pass to give Miami the lead.
Ward ended the contest with 33 completions on 53 attempts for 437 yards, two touchdown passes, and a rushing touchdown, overcoming an earlier interception that had contributed to Miami’s third-quarter hole.
On the opposing side, Cal’s Fernando Mendoza had some big moments against the team he rooted for as a child in Miami, but it wasn’t enough to secure the win.
Mendoza threw a 57-yard touchdown pass to Jack Endries in the first quarter and connected on a 51-yarder to Trond Grizzell, setting up Jaydn Ott’s 5-yard touchdown run, which gave Cal a 14-7 lead.
Ott scored again with a 66-yard catch and run on a fourth-and-1 play halfway through the second quarter, and Mendoza added a 59-yard pass to Jaivian Thomas in the third quarter to set up Chandler Rogers’ 9-yard touchdown run.
Despite these efforts, Cal was unable to hold off Ward and Miami’s furious comeback but Cal has no reason to hold their heads down they gave the Canes fits all game long.
Up Next:
Miami: Travels to Louisville on Oct. 19.
California: At Pittsburgh on Saturday.
