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While Miami football star Cam Ward achieved history in the Pop-Tart Bowl for the most career passing touchdowns in Division I, there was another point in the game that had fans talking. Ward would not play for Miami football in the second half which sparked some debate if he took himself out of the game or if that was the plan from the program all along.
In the latest report from Bruce Feldman of The Athletic, he would say that there was not that much surprise that Ware would not complete the game. Feldman would also mention how if Ward had opted out, it would lead to others following suit as many within the university cited his “leadership skills and competitiveness.”
“From talking to sources inside the Miami program, no one was surprised that Ward didn’t finish the game,” Feldman wrote. “The Athletic learned that Ward agreed to start the game but there was no timeline in terms of how long he would play. A big part of the reason Ward played, according to those program sources, was because he knew that if he opted out, 10 other players would’ve opted out as well. But if he started the game, those others would start, too.”
“I’ve had conversations with multiple Miami coaches and staffers who have repeatedly gushed about Ward’s leadership skills and competitiveness over the past year, and I doubt those sentiments have changed much,” Feldman continued. “I know they haven’t from a few of the people I have talked to since the Pop-Tarts Bowl.”
Miami football's Cam Ward was only supposed to play the first quarter
Apparently, the plan was that Ward would only play the first quarter of the Pop-Tart Bowl game against Iowa State, but on the first offensive snap of the game, the Miami football team would fumble the ball. The hopeful high pick in the next NFL Draft would not throw a pass until the middle of the first quarter and decided to play the second quarter because of the game script.
“The expectation going into Saturday’s game was that Ward was probably just going to play the first quarter, but the Canes fumbled their first snap of the game,” Fledman wrote. “On their second series, running back Damien Martinez went 75 yards for a touchdown. Ward didn’t end up throwing his first pass until midway through the first quarter. Miami ran only 14 plays in the first quarter; just six of them were passes, including a touchdown, so Ward decided to play the second quarter.”
As Feldman would continue to report on Ware and the Hurricanes' plan for him during the game, he would mention how it has become a pattern of players opting out of non-College Football Playoff games or entering the transfer portal.
“It’s become the norm during bowl season for non-Playoff teams to be without star players, who either opt-out or have jumped into the transfer portal,” Feldman wrote. “Last year, USC’s Caleb Williams, LSU’s Jayden Daniels and UNC’s Drake Maye — the first three picks of the 2024 NFL Draft — all opted not to play in their team’s bowl games.”
Ward appears to be a highly-touted quarterback come the NFL Draft so it seemed inevitable that he wouldn't play the entire game as the Hurricanes lost to Iowa State, 42-41.
