“Nobody played their best ball, so we just can’t put ourselves in these situations to have to come back,” says Miami quarterback Cam Ward, following an incredibly close game against the California Golden Bears.
Spirits were high, as Miami entered the Berkeley Stadium on Saturday night. After traveling across the country to play the Bears, the game had a painfully late start time for hurricane fans on the East Coast. Not only was kickoff late for fans, but the Miami team may have been thrown off by the jet lag. Going into Saturday’s game, the Hurricanes sat at #7 on the AP Top 25 College Football Poll, and have moved up to #6 after clinching the win against Cal. Miami can all the way back to win by a score of 39-38, after the ‘Canes was down 10-35 against unranked Cal in the third quarter. Luckily for the ‘Canes, other top ranked schools were taken down by underdogs this weekend; therefore, Miami’s win pushed them up a spot in the poll, despite the close matchup.
Cal Capitalized on Miami’s Early Mistakes
Late in the first quarter, on a fourth-and-2 play, Cam Ward connected with Elijah Arroyo, but was stopped by Cal safety Miles Williams, pushing Miami back one yard, resulting in a turnover. This allowed the Bears to begin a dominant stretch against the Hurricanes. During the post-game press conference, Coach Cristobal explained that the hurricanes failed to execute many routine passes and plays. Additionally, Cal’s offense was performing efficiently, as Fernando Mendoza completed a 51-yard pass to Trond Grizzell at the beginning of the 2nd quarter to put the Bears up 14-7. With eight minutes left in the first half, Mendoza completed a 56-yard pass to Jaydn Ott, making the score 21-10. Following this touchdown, Miami made a game-changing play that pushed them into an 18-point deficit; Ward through an interception to Nohl Williams who impressively returned it to give Cal a 28-10 lead. Cristobal added that the Miami team is “beat up,” after playing for six consecutive weeks. Luckily, they will have a bye week to sharpen up on their defense and polish technique in order to be a little more fine tuned in the Louisville game on October 19th.
Cam Ward had an Impeccable 4th Quarter
As the Hurricanes entered the 4th quarter, everything was on the line. As a top 10, undefeated team, they were down by 25 points to an unranked team, but that didn’t stop Ward and Miami’s offense from making an incredible comeback. Despite making mistakes, such as holding onto the ball for too long in the first quarter, Ward dominated the 4th quarter, proving his reliability as one of the nation’s best quarterbacks this season, as his team rallies around his confidence and execution. With just over four minutes left in the game, Ward scrambled for a 24-yard touchdown, brining the score to 32-38. In a sold-out stadium, Bears fans and Hurricane fans were nervously watching him work his magic to bring the ‘Canes back. With 26 seconds left, Ward threw an 5-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Arroyo and the Hurricanes secured the extra point. Despite coming back from a 25 point deficit, the Bears still had an opportunity to get into field goal range, but the Hurricanes ended their chances of scoring after Miami linebacker Francisco Mauigoa intercepted a pass from Cal’s Fernando Mendoza.
This matchup proved that the California Bears can play with the “big dogs,” but Miami proved that they deserve to stay at the top of the ACC. Cristobal said “it’s the best example of resiliency and toughness and just no quit mentality,” giving credit to the team’s ability to stay in the game even when winning seems unlikely.