Cam Ward Gets More Heisman Hype from CFB Fans with Miami's Road Win vs. Louisville
Mike Chiari@@mikechiari
Featured Columnist IVOctober 19, 2024
Behind another electric performance from senior quarterback Cam Ward, the No. 6 Miami Hurricanes remained undefeated Saturday with a 52-45 win over the Louisville Cardinals at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky.
Ward maintained his status as one of the top Heisman Trophy contenders by virtue of going 21-of-32 for 319 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions, while also rushing for 29 yards.
Although Ward has plenty of competition for the top honor in college football from the likes of Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel and Colorado cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter, college football fans and experts hyped his chances based on his showing against Louisville:
In what was perhaps one of the wildest college football games of the 2024 season thus far, Ward thrived and oftentimes made up for breakdowns by Miami's defense and special teams.
Ward's first touchdown of the game came during the first quarter when he scrambled around and threw a 27-yard dart to Jacolby George in the back of the end zone:
He followed that up with a 49-yard scoring strike to Sam Brown Jr. in the second quarter, which contributed to the Canes taking a 24-17 lead into halftime.
In a wild third quarter that featured two touchdowns by each team, Ward threw his third touchdown pass of the game to Xavier Restrepo and his fourth to Isaiah Horton:
Due in large part to a fake punt that resulted in a fourth-down conversion, Louisville tied the game back up at 38-38 early in the fourth quarter, shifting the pressure back to Ward and the Miami offense:
The dual-threat quarterback was up to the task, orchestrated a pair of touchdown drives that culminated with a two-yard run by Ajay Allen and a 30-yard run by Damien Martinez to put the Hurricanes ahead 52-38:
There was a somewhat controversial play on the drive that ended with a Martinez touchdown, as it was initially ruled that Ward had fumbled and Louisville returned it for a tying touchdown.
However, after further review, it was determined that Ward's arm was moving forward, so the pass was ruled incomplete and Miami went on to score a touchdown that extended the lead to 14.
The Miami offense proved to be championship caliber once again Saturday, as it racked up 541 total yards and converted nine of 14 third-down attempts, but head coach Mario Cristobal has plenty to work on in the other phases.
Miami's defense allowed 470 total yards and let Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough put up big numbers with 342 passing yards, four touchdowns and no picks.
Additionally, the special teams unit let up a 100-yard kickoff return touchdown by Caullin Lacy in the third quarter, as well as a successful fake punt.
Even so, the Canes are 7-0 overall and 3-0 in ACC play, and they are in the driver's seat in terms of earning the ACC's automatic bid into the College Football Playoff.
The next chance for Miami to improve its record and Ward to build upon his Heisman case will come next Saturday against a struggling Florida State team.
Meanwhile, 4-3 Louisville will look to get back on track Friday in a road game against Boston College.