That’s why college football is so interesting. There always has to be an equal and opposite reaction to an action. Post the Miami Hurricanes vs. California Golden Bears game, it is the Hurricanes QB Cam Ward who finds himself as the center of mixed reactions. After all, the QB led the No.8 Hurricanes to a thrilling comeback.

At the same time, Ward became the magnet of Bears fans’ rage, given the penalty situation they had to bear blows. With this, the CFB fans got split into two teams: Team Ward and Team Bears. 

Miami’s redemption arc was led by Cam Ward’s heroics

No one can put Miami on the right track like Ward. The Hurricanes overcame a slow, mistake-riddled start and rallied for an unlikely win. While it might have seemed impossible at the beginning, Miami made a comeback from 25 points down to crush California in a 39-38 feat. This has been no less than a thriller, the protagonist being Ward himself. 

Just when the fully-packed stadium went into a frenzy all certain about what turn Hurricanes’ fate was about to take, Ward swooped in to flip the narrative with an anticlimax (sweet for Miami and bitter for the Bears). The QB tossed the winning 5-yard touchdown pass to Hurricanes tight end Elijah Arroyo with only 26 seconds left. Yes, JUST 26 SECONDS! That’s all the time Ward had to save his program. 

While already carrying the Heisman burden on his shoulders, Ward capped another big day. Not just the last-minute savior touchdown, Ward strengthened his Heisman with 437 yards passing. But some Cal fans got their feathers still ruffled at Mario Cristobal’s squad. 

Cam Ward’s rage fuels split reactions from fans

You may like it or not, but the Hurricanes gave their everything into the game. Cristobal and Co. flew across three time zones from South Florida. How could they just let a 20-point, fourth-quarter deficit spoil their cross-country trek? However, it’s Ward who deserves the maximum credit. The QB had to take things into his hands to create late magic for the second week in a row. Ward’s rage has been nothing short of art as Miami improved to 6-0 overall and 2-0 in ACC play. A fan aptly described Ward’s magic as “COMEBACK IT IS!”

Another Hurricanes fan pointed out how California failed to take advantage of Ward’s poor throw on the first play of the second half, “Insane game, Cal blew it.” “Word is a beast. Heisman worthy performance!” a fan is hopeful about the QB who entered October 5’s game having completed 70.2 percent of his passes for 18 touchdowns.

On the split side, Ward’s impressive stats do not hold any value for Bears fans as they just can’t forget how Cal got hit by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after another reception by Xavier Restrepo. One fan wrote, “Illegal man down field and no targeting call…”

To another fan, Cam Ward is not supposed to get the limelight since the penalty gave Hurricanes first and goal at the three-yard line which the QB hit Isaiah Horton for an 18-yard touchdown. “Nobody is surprised. We all knew Cal lost when the refs didn’t call the obvious targeting call after a review!!! Cheating for Miami,” they wrote. But who cares? Miami has already raised their QB to the pedestal. 

Meanwhile, if you want to explore concepts like NIL and NFL in detail you can check on the latest episode of the Think Tank podcast.