Canes Go California Dreaming In 39-38 Victory Over The Bears
The 305 is still alive. You cannot count the Miami Hurricanes out until the clock strikes 0:00......and the officials leave the field.
On a Saturday where four teams in the Associated Press Top 10 lost on the road, Miami overcame a 25-point deficit to defeat California 39-38. Miami would not be number five.
Alabama, Tennessee, Michigan, and Missouri all took a loss on the road. Miami stepped up and pulled out a game they had no business winning.
Trailing by 25 points in the second half, with less than 23 minutes to play, Cam Ward took over and led the Canes to victory.
The defense also made key third-down stops to propel the Hurricanes.
To cap off the victory, on the final play for Cal, Kiko Mauigoa intercepted Francisco Mendoza and then slid down with five seconds to play. One kneel down and the game would be over.
To show how much Miami coach Mario Cristobal has grown over a year, he actually put the Canes in victory formation at the end of the game and had Ward take a knee.
For all of those who said Ward cannot lead a team back after being down, just look at his body of work. He has brought his team back two weeks in a row from big fourth quarter deficits.
The kid is a winner.
"At the end of the day Coach Dawson told me straight up 'this is how Tom Brady made his money in the league'," Ward said during his post game interview with Sportscenter. "I'm trying to get there, and I'm trying to get on his level you know."
The only thing Ward did not do, was strike the Heisman pose. There will be time for him to do that in New York. If he is not the clear favorite after the last two games. then it's a travesty of justice.
The NFL scouts in attendance wanted to see how Ward dealt with adversity. He needed to separate himself from the rest of the top quarterbacks in the nation. He not only dealt with adversity, he kicked the crap out of it.
The Miami Hurricanes might need to give their fans anxiety medication at their next home game, but the Canes are 6-0 and look to make a move into the Top 5.
To his credit, Mendoza had a brilliant game, despite the last play interception. He completed 11 of 22 passes for 285 yards and two touchdowns,
Mendoza, who went to Christopher Columbus High School, took this game personally as the former coaching regime at Miami failed to recruit him. He said he was a Miami fan growing up and was crushed they did not make him an offer.
He is probably crushed again as his defense and offensive line let him down and blew a huge lead.
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Scott Salomon joined On SI in April 2024 covering breaking news and analysis for the Miami Dolphins site, and has since contributed to the Miami Heat, Back in the Day NBA, Miami Hurricanes and San Antonio Spurs sites. Scott is based in South Florida and has been covering the local and national sports scene for 35 years. He's covered and has been credentialed for the Super Bowl, the NFL Combine, various Orange Bowls and college football championship games. Scott was also credentialed for the NBA All-Star game and covered the Miami Heat during their first six seasons for USA TODAY. Scott is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Communication and the St. Thomas University School of Law. Scott has two sons and his hobbies include watching sports on television and binge watching shows on various streaming services.