Miami QB Cam Ward sets record in first half, then opts out second half of bowl game

NFL draft prospects opting out of their bowl games to avoid injury has become so common in college football that it’s actually surprising when players like Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter don’t. But Miami quarterback Cam Ward did something on Saturday that takes opt-outs to another level.

Ward played in Miami’s bowl game, threw three touchdown passes in the first half to set a new NCAA Division I career record, then sat out the second half and watched his teammates lose a 42-41 heartbreaker to Iowa State.

Even some NFL personnel evaluators who have no problem with players opting out of bowls entirely may have a problem with what Ward did: Playing long enough to pad your own individual stats and then leaving in the middle of a game, ​​while your teammates struggle to finish their season as winners, won’t sit well with some in the NFL who are considering whether to draft Ward.

In Miami’s postgame press conference, Miami coach Mario Cristobal declined to say whether he was on board with Ward’s decision.

“All meetings with players and decisions like the one we took them privately, we keep them private“, he said via ESPN. “So I prefer not to answer any questions as it relates to that. But I know he played his best while he was in there.”

Ward entered the game needing three touchdown passes to hit 156 in his career, which would be one more than the previous record set by Houston’s Case Keenum from 2007 to 2011. Ward caught the game’s third touchdown pass in the second quarter and continued to play until halftime, when Miami led 31-28. He played very well in the first half, but NFL teams will no doubt have some questions for him about the second half.