Extra Point: How Much did Saturday's Virginia Tech Game Hurt Cam Ward's Heisman Odds?
After winning Saturday's game against Virginia Tech on a hotly debated on-field touchdown reversal, Cam Ward's Heisman odds took a bit of a hit.
Ward tossed three interceptions in his worst statistical game yet as a Hurricane, but still managed to flash his poise in the backfield when his team needed it most. Miami pulled off the win via a final score of 38-34, but it still wasn't enough to keep Ward as the odds-on favorite to win the coveted Heisman trophy.
That distinction now belongs to Jalen Milroe after the Alabama quarterback torched the Georgia defense in primetime on Saturday night. Milroe's odds sit at +250 while Ward, who came into the weekend at +400, now sits at +500 to take home the trophy in New York.
Statistically, though, how much difference was there between the twos' games? Milroe tossed for 374 yards to Ward's 343 on five fewer attempts than Ward while the Miami gunslinger got a bit trigger happy and tossed a pair of picks to Milroe's lone interception. Ward, though, threw four touchdowns compared to only two from Milroe. Sounds similar, right?
The rushing numbers aren't all that different, either. Milroe ran for 117 yards on 16 carries for a pair of touchdowns while Ward racked up 73 yards on the ground for one touchdown on six fewer carries. In reality, then, the two didn't have polar opposite days at the office. Unfortunately for Ward, the difference lies in the opponent.
Milroe and the Tide faced off against a Georgia team that, even after Saturday, still has lofty postseason expectations to meet. The game took place in the national spotlight for everyone to see. This weekend, though, Ward and the rest of the Hurricanes get their chance in that same light, as College Gameday travels to Berkeley, California, for an ACC matchup (that still feels weird to say) between the California Golden Bears and The U.
